Internationalization & localization testing

Internationalization & Localization Testing

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What is internationalization & Localization?Why do we test about Internationalization & Localization?Example of test cases and bugsTips and Tricks



What is internationalization & Localization?

Internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market.

Internationalization is the process of designing a software application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes.

Localization is the process of adapting internationalized software for a specific region or language by adding locale-specific components and translating text.



The distinction between internationalization and localization is subtle but important. Internationalization is the adaptation of products for potential use virtually everywhere, while localization is the addition of special features for use in a specific locale. Internationalization is done once per product, while localization is done once for each combination of product and locale. The processes are complementary, and must be combined to lead to the objective of a system that works globally



Focal points of internationalization and localization efforts include:Language Computer-encoded text Alphabets/scripts; most recent systems use the Unicode standard to solve many of the character encoding problems.Different systems of numeralsWriting direction which is e.g. left to right in German, right to left in Persian, Hebrew and ArabicSpelling variants for different countries where the same language is spoken, e.g. localization (en-US, en-CA) vs. localisation (en-GB, en-AU)Text processing differences, such as the concept of capitalization which exists in some scripts and not in others, different text sorting rules, etc.Plural forms in text output, which differ depending upon languageInput Enablement of keyboard shortcuts on any keyboard layoutGraphical representations of text (printed materials, online images containing text)Spoken (Audio)Subtitling of film and video



Focal points of internationalization and localization efforts include:

CultureImages and colors: issues of comprehensibility and cultural appropriatenessNames and titlesGovernment assigned numbers (such as the Social Security number in the US, National Insurance number in the UK, Isikukoo in Estonia, and Resident registration number in South Korea.) and passportsTelephone numbers, addresses and international postal codesCurrency (symbols, positions of currency markers)Weights and measuresPaper sizes



Focal points of internationalization and localization efforts include:

Writing conventions

Date/time format, including use of different calendarsTime zones (UTC in internationalized environments)Formatting of numbers (decimal separator, digit grouping)Differences in symbols (e.g. quoting text using double-quotes (" "), as in English, or guillemets (), as in French).

Any other aspect of the product or service that is subject to regulatory compliance



2. Why do we test about Internationalization & Localization?

Software is often localized by translating a list of strings out of context, and the translator may choose the wrong translation for an ambiguous source string.Technical terminology may become inconsistent if the project is translated by several people without proper coordination or if the translator is imprudent.Literal word-for-word translations may sound inappropriate, artificial or too technical in the target language.Untranslated messages in the original language may be left hard coded in the source code.Some messages may be created automatically at run time and the resulting string may be ungrammatical, functionally incorrect, misleading or confusing.Software may use a keyboard shortcut which has no function on the source language's keyboard layout, but is used for typing characters in the layout of the target language.




Software may lack support for the character encoding of the target language.Fonts and font sizes which are appropriate in the source language, may be inappropriate in the target language; for example, CJK characters may become unreadable if the font is too small.A string in the target language may be longer than the software can handle. This may make the string partly invisible to the user or cause the software to crash or malfunction.Software may lack proper support for reading or writing bi-directional text.Software may display images with text that wasn't localized.Localized operating systems may have differently-named system configuration files and environment variables and different formats for date and currency.




Software may lack support for the character encoding of the target language.Fonts and font sizes which are appropriate in the source language, may be inappropriate in the target language; for example, CJK characters may become unreadable if the font is too small.A string in the target language may be longer than the software can handle. This may make the string partly invisible to the user or cause the software to crash or malfunction.Software may lack proper support for reading or writing bi-directional text.Software may display images with text that wasn't localized.Localized operating systems may have differently-named system configuration files and environment variables and different formats for date and currency.




To avoid these and other localization problems, a tester who knows the target language must run the program with all the possible use cases for translation to see if the messages are readable, translated correctly in context and don't cause failures.



3. Example of test cases and bug:Test cases:



3. Example of test cases and bug:Test cases:Description:Verify that Next Plan, Change Plan, Print Preview buttons are displayed with Chinese after switching browser language into Chinese

Step:Open browser and change language into ChineseNavigate www.identifix.com websiteCreate new vehicleGo to Maintenance tabObserve Next Plan, Change Plan, Print Preview button

Expected Result:The name of Next Plan, Change Plan, Print Preview button change to Chinese



3. Example of test cases and bug:The result:



3. Example of test cases and bug:Bugs:Summary: Chinese name of "Change Plan" on pop up displays same with "Which Schedule" on its pop up as ?



3. Example of test cases and bug:Bugs:



4. Tips and Tricks

Prepare a suitable test environment for testing applications Follow the correct translation Begin testing with static elements Pay attention to the controls, and error messages Ensure that data entry can be done in terms of localization Do not forget the national and regional particularities



Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/http://swaretesting.blogspot.comhttp://www.edistalearning.com/KnowledgePapers/Localization_Internationalization_Testing.pdf

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Internationalization & localization testing

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