Localization: 1 Localization Goals

The benefit of Geoworks' experience with previous international products was designed into GEOS from the start. The kernel was designed with the following three goals of localization in mind:

Ease of use
Localization should be easy to use. A cumbersome system would slow programmers and leave them reluctant to use the system.
Integration with the kernel
Functions used by many geodes should be part of the kernel. This allows for shared code, using less memory and making developers' jobs easier.
Economy
Anyone should be able to translate an executable's text without having to understand or access the source code.

If you plan to release your software in other languages, you should code it for easy conversion later. Even if you have no such plans, there are still good reasons for using the localization features of GEOS.

Stay Generic and Adaptable
By using localization code, your programs can work in a variety of environments without modification of source code. Even if you don't translate your geode into another language, users can still use it despite different keyboards and character sets.
Respect user's preferences
Much of localization deals with user preferences which differ from country to country. Regardless of country, users may make changes using the Preferences desk tool and will no doubt appreciate having their preferences maintained.
Conform to the system
You're probably going to end up using localization since much of GEOS is already localized. If your geodes are going to read DOS text files or alphabetize lists, you're going to use localized code; GEOS takes foreign character sets into account. Fortunately, localization functions are easy to use. In those situations where you don't absolutely have to use localized code, usually it's easier to use the localized functions than to write your own.

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2 How To Use Localization