Internationalization (i18n) issues
An internationalization issue is caused by the way the software is implemented.
Language testers can report internationalization issues by entering the data specified in the selected quality profile. A quality profile is derived from a quality framework, e.g., DQF or MQM, which determines the available categories for the i18n error. For details, see the Quality frameworks section and Manage quality profiles guide.
Internationalization issues are usually corrected by developers.
Most i18n issues are caused by developers' assumptions, such as assuming that what works in their language will also work in other languages.
I18n issues examples:
Hardcoded strings
Hardcoded strings in the user interface cannot be translated.
Fix: developers must externalize the string in a resource file and assign a string ID.
Setting a string to uppercase or lowercase programmatically can also be considered an example of hardcoding.
Concatenation
Concatenation of strings can come in various forms, for example:
Two strings are concatenated to form a new string. Fix: developers must define a separate string with a unique string ID.
A colon is 'glued' to a string. In some languages (such as French), there must be a space before a colon: "name:" will be translated as "nom :". Fix: developers must include the colon as part of the string or use a different design that does not require colons
Concatenation of punctuation can change the meaning of a string.
Example 26.The Japanese translation for ‘search’ depends on the letter case and punctuation:
The second option displays the original string.
Options in which developers implemented the uppercase and concatenation of the ellipsis require different translations.