Developers shortened internationalization into the term I18N, counting the number of
letters between the first and the last letters of internationalization. L10N uses the
same naming scheme, coming from “localization”. Combined together, I18N/L10N
methods, protocols, and applications allow users to use languages of their choice.
I18N applications are programmed using I18N kits under libraries. It allows for
developers to write a simple file and translate displayed menus and texts to each
language. We strongly encourage programmers to follow this convention.
I18N and L10N are not FreeBSD specific. Currently, one can choose from most of the
major languages of the World, including but not limited to: Chinese, German, Japanese,
Korean, French, Russian, Vietnamese and others.
