Internationalization

Internationalization is the process of designing an application so that it can be adapted to different languages and regions, without requiring engineering changes. Sometimes the term internationalization is abbreviated as i18n, because in the English language there are 18 letters between the first "i" and the last "n."
An internationalized program has the following characteristics:

With the addition of localization data, the same executable can run worldwide.
The text displayed by the program is in the native language of the end-user.
Textual elements such as status messages and the GUI componenet labels are not hardcoded in the program. Instead, they are stored outside the source code and retrieved dynamically.
Support for new languages does not require recompilation.
Other culturally-dependent data, such as dates and currencies, appear in formats that conform to the end-user's region and language.
It can be localized quickly.
After you've internationalized your product, it is ready for localization.

Global Markets