i18n
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Programming
| Stands for | Internationalization |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
i18n stands for Internationalization, a programming abbreviation.
Designing software so it can be adapted to different languages, regions and scripts without code changes, by moving user-facing text into translation files and handling dates, numbers, currencies, plural rules and right-to-left layouts correctly.
Example: Wrap every UI string in the i18n helper so translators can work on the message files.
Usage notes
A numeronym: the 18 counts the letters between the first i and the final n. It is the engineering groundwork for localization (l10n). Libraries include ICU, gettext and i18next, and the Unicode CLDR project supplies locale data for formats and plural rules. Retrofitting it into an existing app is far harder than building it in from the start.
Related abbreviations
More programming abbreviations
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- J2EE – Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition
- JDK – Java Development Kit