Develop globalized applications

Here are some guidelines for designing, developing, and delivering globalized applications in this topic.

• Designing functions that are sensitive to national languages
• Supporting various types of hardware
• Translating the textual data in your application
• Making your application available worldwide

Globalized applications are those applications that have national language support. National language support allows users to enter, store, process, retrieve, print, and display data in their language of choice. National language support also allows users to see and enter data, commands, prompts, messages, and documentation in their language of choice, in formats that match their cultural expectations.

Although your reasons might differ, most internationalized applications are created because:

• The market demands globalized software products that have a local feel
• The application is used in a community that represents multiple cultures
• Revenue opportunities are expanded

• Goals and processes
  Before you invest your time and money into the development of globalized applications, you will benefit from a planning process that gives you an opportunity to consider how you can efficiently and effectively serve your users. The information in this topic will help you develop such a plan.
• Design globalized applications
  Your goal in designing international application components is to create components that support national languages independently.
• Programming considerations in globalized application design
  As you develop your globalized applications, the national language version environment often requires that you pay additional attention to how you prepare and compile your code.
• Deliver globalized applications
  As you prepare to deliver your globalized application, you should consider how globalization issues might affect the ways that your customers install and use your application.