This topic describes the way that globalization has been implemented on i5/OS™, including topics that describe globalization-specific values on the system and topics that describe how services and functions in i5/OS support globalization.
i5/OS supports many languages; you can work in the language of your choice. i5/OS also ensures that the data you send to and receive from the server appears in the form and order you expect. By supporting many different languages, the operating system works as you expect it to work, from both a linguistic and a cultural point of view.
i5/OS uses a common set of program code, regardless of which language you use on the system. For example, the program code on a U.S. English server and the program code on a Spanish server are identical. Different sets of textual data are used, however, for different languages.
Textual data is a collective term for menus, displays, lists, prompts, options, online help information, and messages. This means that you see Help for the description of the function key for online help information about a U.S. English server, while you see Ayuda on a Spanish server. Using the same program code with different sets of textual data allows i5/OS to support more than one language on a single server.