Overview

The term "internationalization" is formally defined by X/Open as a "provision within a computer program of the capability of making itself adaptable to the requirements of different native languages, local customs, and coded character sets," which means, essentially, that internationalized programs can run in any supported locale without having to be modified. A locale is a software environment that correctly handles the cultural conventions of a particular geographic area, such as China or France, and a language as it is used in that area. So by selecting a Chinese locale, for example, all commands, system messages, and keystrokes can be in Chinese characters and displayed in a way idiomatic to Chinese dialects.

Digital UNIX Version 4.0 is an internationalized operating system that not only allows users to interact with Digital UNIX Version 4.0 in their native language, but also supports a full set of application interfaces, referred to as the X/Open Worldwide Portability Interfaces (WPI), to enable software developers to write internationalized applications. The code came from the OSF and was enhanced by Digital.

The internationalization subsystem in Digital UNIX Version 4.0 is based on POSIX 1003.2 and Single UNIX specifications. Commands, utilities, and libraries (including the curses library) have been internationalized, and a set of enhanced US English message catalogs and message catalogs that supports Asian languages have been included in the base system. In addition, Digital UNIX Version 4.0 supports the X Input Method (XIM) and X Output Method(XOM) to facilitate input of local language characters, text drawing, measurement, and inter-client communication which is implemented according to the X11R6 specification.

Note that Digital UNIX Version 4.0 also supports a 32 bit wchar_t datatype which in turn enables support for a wide array of codesets, including the full ISO 10646 standard.