Skip
the typical software localization beginner's
traps
Author: Renate Reinartz
Measurements
You should never hard-code local measurements, like inches and miles. Whenever
possible, you should use the metric standards,
such as centimeter and kilometer.
You can
take the same approach for weight: instead
of pounds,
use kilograms. In addition, the liter is
more popular than pint or gallons.
The metric
system
differs in other countries. Moreover, ISO
favors the metric system now. Even kilobyte
is no
longer 1024 bytes in ISO; kilobyte is 1000
bytes, because average people are accustomed
to counting metrics.
I am personally
humbled and embarrassed that I missed that
for
seven years. On a more serious note, in some
European
Union (EU) countries, placing ads with
non-metric measurements is against the law.
Sisulizer
Info
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What
you need to do
Don't hard-code measurements and be prepared to select and convert them.
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More software localization traps
1. Languages
2. Character
sets
3. Code
pages
4. Numbers
5. Currencies
6. Dates
7. Time
8. List separator
9. Measurements
10. Paper
format
11. Phone number
12. Sort order
13. Tax
14. States
15. Other traps
16. Conclusion
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