from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
localisation
l10n
localised
<programming> (l10n) Adapting a product to meet the language,
cultural and other requirements of a specific target market
"{locale}".
Localisation includes the translation of the {user interface},
{on-line help} and {documentation}, and ensuring the images
and concepts are culturally appropriate and sensitive. There
may be subtle cross-cultural considerations, e.g. do the icons
make sense in other parts of the world?
{Internationalisation} is the process that occurs during
application development that makes localisation easier by
separating the details that differ between locales from the
rest of the program that stays the same. If
internationalisation is thorough, localisation will require no
programming.
The abbreviation l10n means "L - 10 letters - N".
(1999-06-09)