Worldwide Software Development
Macintosh worldwide system software is designed to address the complex
problems you'll en counter when you design your applications to be compatible
with regional, linguistic, and script differences around the globe. Worldwide
system software consists of the Macintosh Script Management System ( which
is one or more script systems and the
International Utilities Package Data, the international resources, and
keyboard resources.
The Macintosh computer has always presented one of the most flexible
architectures for developing worldwide software. Because of the enhanced
support for script systems in system 7.0, it's easier for users to add one or
more non-Roman script systems to their Macintosh computers. With system
7.0, software can be localized with greater ease. Now it's even more
advantageous for you to create applications that can be used worldwide.
It's much easier to design software with worldwide support from the
beginning of your development process. This may mean that you create your
application so that it is easy to localize, or that you adapt it for use in a
specific area. Localizing software involves translating an application's menus,
dialog boxes, alert boxes, and content areas into a language or regional dialect.
handle text issues for all script systems. If your application is not
text-oriented but does simple text processing, using TextEdit provides adequate support.
If your application does moderate text processing, such as that accomplished
by a simple word processor, you probably want to incorporate
Script Manager capabilities. If it does intensive text processing, such as page layout, you can build in support beyond the Script Manager routines to handle text for a specific script system.
The following sections outline the major issues you need to consider when you
develop software for local or worldwide use.
For a complete description of the issues and a discussion of technical
implementation, see the TextEdit and Worldwide Software Overview sections These sections discuss the routines that assist you in developing your
application for worldwide use. See Macintosh Worldwide Development: Guide to
System Software for a complete discussion of developing worldwide software.
This book is available from APDA.
Cultural Values
Whenever you design a user interface, consider that differences exist in the
use of color, graphics, calendars, text, and the representation of time in
various regions around the world. It's important that you be able to localize
your user interface elements with ease. As an example, consider how different
cultures assign different meanings to colors. The color white represents
purity in one culture and death in an other. Therefore you may want to localize
elements of the user interface, such as the colors of text or graphics, in
versions of your application designed for different regions.