Localization
PowerBuilder provides resources for international developers
including localized runtime files, localized versions of the PowerBuilder
Foundation Class Library (for PowerBuilder Enterprise and Professional
editions), and the Translation Toolkit. Some of these resources
are usually available after the general release of a new version
of PowerBuilder.
Localized runtime files
Localized runtime files are provided for French, German, Italian,
Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. You can install
localized runtime files in the development environment or the user’s
machine. If you install them on the development machine, you can
use them for testing purposes.
The localized PowerBuilder runtime files handle language-specific
data at runtime. They are required to display standard dialog boxes
and user interface elements, such as day and month names in spin
controls, in the local language. They also provide the following
features:
- The
DayName function manipulation The DayName function returns a name in
the language of the runtime files available on the machine where the
application is run. - DateTime manipulation When you use the String function to format
a date and the month is displayed as text (for example, the display
format includes “mmm”), the month is in the language
of the runtime files available when the application is run. - Error messages PowerBuilder error messages are translated into the language
of the runtime files.
Localized PFC libraries
In order to convert an English language PFC-based application
to another language such as Spanish, you need multiple components.
You will need to test the application on a computer running the
localized version of the operating system with appropriate regional
settings. You must also install the localized PFC libraries and
the localized PowerBuilder runtime files. When you deploy the application,
you must deploy it to a computer running a localized version of
the operating system, and you must deploy the localized runtime
files.
The localized PFC libraries are the same as the original PFC
libraries, except that, wherever they occur, strings in windows,
menus, DataWindow objects, dialog boxes, and other user interface
elements, and in runtime error messages, have been translated to
the local language. This includes, for example, day and month names
in the Calendar service. All services remain otherwise the same.
The only difference between the original PFC libraries and
the localized PFC libraries is that all text that displays to the
end user has been translated. In a Spanish PFC application, error
messages displayed by the PFC are in Spanish, month names in the
Calendar service are in Spanish, column headers in DataWindow objects
and Menu items are in Spanish, and so on.
These translations were originally made using the Translation
Toolkit, which adds a string in the format %LANGUAGE% to
the comment associated with every object that contains a translated
string. For example, if you look at a PFC library that has been
translated into Spanish in the List view in the Library painter,
you will notice the string %SPANISH% at
the beginning of the comment for many objects.
The dictionaries originally used to translate the PFC libraries
into each language are provided with the Translation Toolkit. You
can use the dictionaries to translate the rest of your application
into a local language using the Translation Toolkit, and you can
view the dictionary in a text editor to see which strings have been
translated.
The localized PFC libraries work in coordination with the
localized runtime files, regional settings, and the localized operating
system.
Regional settings
PowerBuilder always uses the system’s regional settings,
set in the Windows Control Panel, to determine formats for the Date and Year functions,
as well as date formats to be used by the SaveAs function.
The use of these regional settings is independent of the use of
PowerBuilder localized runtime files or PFC libraries.
The regional settings are also used to determine behavior
when using Format and Edit masks. For more information, see the
section on defining display formats in the User’s
Guide
.
Localized operating system
The localized operating system is required for references
to System objects, such as icons and buttons, which are referenced
using enumerated types in PowerBuilder, such as OKCancel!, YesNo!, Information!,
and Error!. These enumerated types rely on
API calls to the local operating system, which passes back the appropriate
button, icon or symbol for the local language. For example, if you
use the OKCancel! argument in a MessageBox function,
the buttons that display on the message box are labeled OK and Cancel
if the application is not running on a localized
operating system.
About the Translation Toolkit
The Translation Toolkit is a set of tools designed to help
you translate PowerBuilder applications into another language. It
includes a standalone translator tool that is used by the person
or group translating the text of the application.
When you use the Toolkit to create a project, a copy of each
of your application’s source libraries is created for each
project. The application’s original source libraries are
not changed.
How the Toolkit works
You work with the phrases (one or more words of text) in an
application. These phrases are in the application’s object
properties, controls, and scripts.
You use the tools to:
- Extract phrases from
the project libraries - Present the phrases for translation
- Substitute translated phrases for the original phrases
in the project libraries
Using the translated project libraries, you use PowerBuilder
to build the translated application.
For more information, see the online Help for the Translation
Toolkit.