What are different aspects of Internationalization?

For the promotion of a software system or application, it should be available in all the different regions of the world. If it is not so, then the software artifact or the product remains confined to one region and is not exposed to the whole world.

Nowadays due to globalization, the software application developed in one region is used all over the world with the help of different regional standards and different regional standards. So there is a need felt for programming the software or application as such that it can be used easily and performs well when modified for use in different regions and languages.

In other words, we can say that there’s a need for internationalizing the product. Internationalization can be defined as a process of coding and designing a product in such a way that it can perform well and properly on any platform after modification for use in different regional standards and languages.

During the process of internationalization, the functionalities of the software product are kept safe and ensured. All the messages are kept externalized when they are being used in different languages, locales and standards.

Internationalization testing is well known as I18N testing. It is so called because there are 18 letters between I and N in the word internationalization.

Internationalization is implemented usually through pseudo-localization. This technique works on the principle of simulation of the local products. It involves many concepts that a localization center does when performing the localization of a software product.

Pseudo localization process involves 3 basic steps which have been discussed below:

- Messages files are translated by insertion of a suitable and specific suffix and prefix into every message file. Localizable non-message files are also modified but, they are not translated. Files in other formats are compulsorily modified in some way.
- The above pseudo- translated message files and other pseudo- translated files are installed in locale specified. Also the location is specified in the software product. For java resources, the files are named with a suffix relation to the required locale. Then the same procedure is followed for installation of the files.
- The software product is run or executed from the earlier specified locale. The GUI displays the prefixes and the suffixes that wre added to the file name instead of the default English names. All the files will run in their modified form including the localizable non message files.

The main advantage of this process is that one is allowed to use a software product including all its features without knowing the other languages. One can also translate the full files. Both internationalization and localization are a means for adapting a software product in different languages of the world.
- Internationalization seeks to make a software adaptable to any language but without modifying its internal structure.
- Internationalization and localization are together known as globalization.

An internationalized software product is fit for use in a defined range of locales. Several languages co exist in an internationalized system. A software system is considered fully internationalized only when the user has the choice to select the user interface language. The following are 4 pillars of the internationalization process:
- Computer encoded text
- Language
- Scripts
- Numeral systems.