=====================================

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.

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: https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-i18n

.. _GNU gettext documentation: https://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html#Concepts

.. _Wikipedia article: https://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``, ``sr_Latn``. The language

      part is always in lowercase. The country part is in titlecase if it has

      more than 2 characters, otherwise it's in uppercase. 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``. Language codes

      are generally represented in lowercase, but the HTTP ``Accept-Language``

      header is case-insensitive. 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.