PT Application Globalization and Localization

Scenario 3 uses the PT application to begin addressing an issue that is assuming increasing importance for developers—making applications available in many languages. The implementation of localized features is not perfect in the PT application; for example, the user interface does not follow local conventions for addresses at this time, but with some further thought and development time, such formatting issues can be addressed.

The following topics discuss the issues that developers face when designing and implementing applications with globalization and localization in mind:

• Designing Globalized XML Template Files and Designing the Lingo Files discuss how the application handles text strings and other user interface elements requiring globalization and localization. Generating Menus Dynamically with XSL describes the design of a feature that uses XSL to generate locale-specific application menus each time a browser requests a page.
• Planning the Globalized PT Application discusses the issues you need to consider from the beginning of the application life cycle when designing an application to deploy in a variety of locales.
• Designing the Globalized PT Application discusses the parts of the PT application that the LitWare team designed with localization issues in mind.
• HTML AutoLayout Rules discusses how the PT application follows the standards that address the challenges of creating a globalized user interface.

In the Implementation section, many topics include detailed discussions of the code that implements the globalized and localized features of the PT application:

• Converting Text from Unicode to Character Data with the decode Function helps you understand the encoding issues specific to working with languages that require double-byte character sets.
• Merging XML Files to Create Localized HTML Files discusses how the PT application implements dynamic localization with XML and a custom COM object. For an example of the unescape function, see Locating a Parameter Value and Converting Text from Unicode to Character Data with the decode Function, menu.asp.
• About the Formats Component discusses a reusable COM component that transforms locale-sensitive information between a database and a user interface. Converting a Recordset to XML walks you through the code that calls Formats component methods. Formats is a wrapper on some functions from the Win32® National Language Support API (NLSAPI).