Development process

Education for developing internationalized applications

When you intend to develop NLS-enabled applications, you need to consider additional initial education. The following topics are important to learn about:

• General globalization concepts
• Available globalization support on i5/OS™
• Available globalization support on other systems and applications with which your application operates
• Isolation of different parts of an application
• Data presentation corresponding to cultural conventions
• Design and coding for textual data parts
• Translation process
• Product and system integration
• Packaging, installation, and setup
• Product support and maintenance

Based on the globalization enabling guidelines, first prepare a prototype application and test the chosen way of implementing the application for your specific environment. Afterward include the globalization enabling guidelines in your general application development processes, guidelines, and standards.

Implementing internationalized applications

When implementing an internationalized application, the most important objective is to produce only one set of running code. You must differentiate consistently between running code and textual data. It is essential that you standardize the chosen approach throughout the whole application. Work with unique and clearly defined naming conventions. To understand and to maintain this information in the application, handle parameters called from a program in a consistent way.