Skip the typical software localization beginner's traps

Numbers

A number is a number is a number, you might suppose. Wrong. Numbers are formatted. Two things differ between countries: the decimal and the thousand separator.

Some countries, like the USA, use a comma to separate thousands and a point as a decimal separator. Therefore, one thousand and two cents are 1,000.02. Other languages, such as German, use a comma and a point in the opposite way, so 1.000,02 displays the same as the previous example. In Switzerland, it is 1'000,02 because the Swiss use the quote sign as the thousand separator.

What you need to do

Do not store numbers internally, in databases, or in files as formatted strings. Always use a numeric variable type like Long or Float.

When you display numbers, format them with the right system setting for the thousand and decimal separators. The Windows API provides functions to get the appropriate values. In .Net, check the culture name space. When you allow user input, make sure that the user knows which format is required. It is also a good idea to check this input, or consider to use masked input components.

How does Sisulizer support you

This is a internationalization issue (i18n) which is not covered by a localization tool like Sisulizer. This is something that has to take place in your source code typically before you begin to localize your software.

Anyway you can start localizing with Sisulizer even if you haven't solved these issues yet. Sisulizer's great Scan for Changes feature allows you to rescan your project, and see all strings that are new, or changed; you even don't lose translations of deleted strings.

Software localization traps

• Overview
• Languages
• Character sets
• Code pages
• Numbers
• Currencies
• Dates
• Time
• List separator
• Measurements
• Paper format
• Phone number
• Sort order
• Tax
• States
• Other traps
• Conclusion