A quick take on what to consider when preparing for an OS X software localization project

By Alex Voris, ENLASO Lead Engineer

OS X and the future of Apple

In 1999 Apple released a new operating system (OS) built on BSD Unix called OS X. Apple completely rebuilt the Macintosh OS and chose BSD Unix as the underlying system because it is more stable, powerful and even easier for software development. OS X is also well suited for localization and translation. Some languages directly supported by OS X are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Thai, Hebrew, Russian and Greek (among others). By providing support for a wide range of languages and dialects, OS X also increases demand for software translation globally. In addition, Apple provides developers with free and powerful tools to create dynamic multilingual applications.

Recently Apple has announced their new Intel based hardware. This will mean many changes in the future for how operating systems will work with Apple hardware and bridge the gap with the Windows masses. The new hardware will allow users to boot Apple hardware to OS X or Microsoft Windows XP and possibly other operating systems. New hardware will only be sold with OS X licenses but the option to dual boot will be available to users. Since consumers will have the option to install Windows, the Apple computer market is likely to grow with users who were hesitant to switch to a Macintosh because of the operating system. With this transition, home and business users will finally have an alternative to incurring the hassle of separate PC and Mac hardware. New users entering the market for the first time will not need to consider compatibility and be forced to choose. In essence there should be more users using OS X than ever before!

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Unicode support under OS X

With the release of OS X 10.2, Apple has made Unicode the standard encoding used throughout the operating system. This translates into an environment where languages can be interchanged with more frequency than legacy Mac OS. OS X handles multilingual text natively, making it suitable for any language supported by the Unicode standard. Having Unicode as the default encoding allows developers to focus their attention on software functionality rather than language compatibility.

Language Interface and the Operating System

Apple has made individually localized operating systems a thing of the past. A single installation of OS X allows users to change the interface language without the need to reboot, re-install or upgrade. By simply selecting the desired language, logging out and logging back in, the OS interface displays in the desired language. Unicode encoded text handling, at the heart of the operating system, makes language switching possible.

Furthermore, Apple bundles many high quality Unicode fonts with OS X. These fonts allow for a robust display of text in a number of languages. The variety of fonts included in the system allow for multiple language display without the need to install additional language packs, fonts or system encodings. High quality Unicode fonts also ensure accurate and consistent display and output across all system languages.

Multilingual applications

Thanks to Apple, developing software of OS X has been put in the hands of the public. X code tools is a complete software development environment included with OS X and X Serve (also available for download from Apple’s Web site). In most cases, applications developed in X code are inherently localizable. These applications can support multiple languages simultaneously without the need to have separate localized versions for each market (in other words, one application directly supports multiple languages rather than having a separate compiled application for each language). The resulting localized OS X applications contain all of the localized text resources internally in a single executable. Users can switch their system language and have the same application execute in the operating system language as long as that application has been localized for the desired language.

When considering translation of your OS X application, keep in mind that software can be translated on a per language basis, or across any and all languages of the system language set. Localized software can have additional languages added to the project at any time because localized content is modular. From a text handling point of view, an application translated into French can just as easily be translated into Chinese.

A software localization project requires more than just translating software strings. Once you a have a plan for localizing a OS X software product is developed, it is time to start thinking about obtaining quality translations for the user interface and associated documentation. Consistency in translation, good quality translation memory, and thorough software testing will result in a localized product that stands above the rest.

Localization tools

Apple provides tools, at no charge, to assist in the process of localization. Using the tools Apple has developed makes the process of localization simpler for development. Interface Builder and AppleGlot are the basic tools for extracting application text resources and modifying the application UI. Using these tools in conjunction with quality translations results in a professional localized product with a short turnaround time to completion.

Summary / Conclusion

Apple has some new and exciting technologies that could create an even larger audience globally. Now is better than ever to start thinking about getting software applications ready for use around the globe. It is comparatively easy since the tools needed to create and integrate translation into OS X software are available from Apple at no cost. Check out their Web site for more information on OS X technology and join the Apple Developer Connection to learn more about software development and localization for the Mac.

ENLASO's Mac Localization Solutions

For more information on how ENLASO can assist you with your Mac internationalization and localization challenges, please contact Chris Raulf at 303-516-0857 x103 or by email at craulf@translate.com