internationalization versus localization

[Matt]

I am confused what's the differences between
internationalization localization. Or they
are both referring Java API supports on building multi-lingual
java applications??

Please advise. thanks!!

 

[Michael Borgwardt]

I am confused what's the differences between
internationalization localization. Or they
are both referring Java API supports on building multi-lingual
java applications??

According to http://java.sun.com/j2se/corejava/intl/index.jsp

"Internationalization is the process of designing software so that it can be adapted
(localized) to various languages and regions easily, cost-effectively, and in particular
without engineering changes to the software. Localization is performed by simply adding
locale-specific components, such as translated text, data describing locale-specific
behavior, fonts, and input methods."