Identify localizable text

In a non-internationalized application, the interface that is seen by the user is unalterably written into the application code. Alternatively, however, the application developer can localize the displayed strings on the interface and add a layer of abstraction into the design of the application.

For example, suppose you are localizing the GUI for a banking system. The first window contains a pull-down list to be used for selecting a type of account. The labels for the list and the account types in the list are good choices for localization. Three elements require keys: the list itself and two items in the list.

Perform the following steps to identify localizable text in your application:

1. Determine the elements of the application that need to be translated.

   Good candidates for localization include:

   • Graphical user interfaces: window titles, menus and menu items, buttons, and on screen instructions
   • Prompts in command line interfaces
   • Application output: messages and logs

2. Assign a unique key to each element for use in message catalogs for the application.

   The key provides a language-neutral link between the application and language-specific strings in the message catalogs. Establishing a naming convention for keys before creating the catalogs can make writing code with these keys more intuitive for interface programmers.

Next step: Create message catalogs.