=====================================
Internationalization and localization
=====================================

.. toctree::
   :hidden:
   :maxdepth: 1

   translation
   formatting
   timezones

Overview
========

The goal of internationalization and localization is to allow a single Web
application to offer its content in languages and formats tailored to the
audience.

Django has full support for :doc:`translation of text
</topics/i18n/translation>`, :doc:`formatting of dates, times and numbers
</topics/i18n/formatting>`, and :doc:`time zones </topics/i18n/timezones>`.

Essentially, Django does two things:

* It allows developers and template authors to specify which parts of their apps
  should be translated or formatted for local languages and cultures.
* It uses these hooks to localize Web apps for particular users according to
  their preferences.

Obviously, translation depends on the target language, and formatting usually
depends on the target country. This information is provided by browsers in
the ``Accept-Language`` header. However, the time zone isn't readily available.

Definitions
===========

The words "internationalization" and "localization" often cause confusion;
here's a simplified definition:

.. glossary::

    internationalization
      Preparing the software for localization. Usually done by developers.

    localization
      Writing the translations and local formats. Usually done by translators.

More details can be found in the `W3C Web Internationalization FAQ`_, the `Wikipedia article`_ or the `GNU gettext documentation`_.

.. _W3C Web Internationalization FAQ: http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-i18n
.. _GNU gettext documentation: http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html#Concepts
.. _Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internationalization_and_localization

.. warning::

    Translation and formatting are controlled by :setting:`USE_I18N` and
    :setting:`USE_L10N` settings respectively. However, both features involve
    internationalization and localization. The names of the settings are an
    unfortunate result of Django's history.

Here are some other terms that will help us to handle a common language:

.. glossary::

    locale name
      A locale name, either a language specification of the form ``ll`` or a
      combined language and country specification of the form ``ll_CC``.
      Examples: ``it``, ``de_AT``, ``es``, ``pt_BR``. The language part is
      always in lower case and the country part in upper case. The separator
      is an underscore.

    language code
      Represents the name of a language. Browsers send the names of the
      languages they accept in the ``Accept-Language`` HTTP header using this
      format. Examples: ``it``, ``de-at``, ``es``, ``pt-br``. Both the language
      and the country parts are in lower case. The separator is a dash.

    message file
      A message file is a plain-text file, representing a single language,
      that contains all available :term:`translation strings
      <translation string>` and how they should be represented in the given
      language. Message files have a ``.po`` file extension.

    translation string
      A literal that can be translated.

    format file
      A format file is a Python module that defines the data formats for a given
      locale.
