Modding Mac OS X

Understanding Localizations

Internationalization is an important buzzword at Apple. Basically, all it means is that an application must work consistently and beautifully, regardless of the country of operation. Because of this, all Mac OS X application resources are divided into localized and non-localized files. Non-localized files—those items that apply to all versions of a program (no matter what language, dialect, or cultural symbology)—appear in the top-level folder. Localized files appear in lproj subfolders and are specific to particular languages and regions. It is in these lproj subfolders that you’re most likely to encounter both those Mac OS X system resource files, which use the .rsrc extension, and localized string files.

Localized strings are actually stored in several places in the lproj subfolders, including rsrc files, help files, strings files, and NIB files.

TOOLS YOU NEED

For working through the examples in this section, you’ll need the following applications:

• System Preferences (/Applications)

• iDVD (/Applications)

Localizable strings allow application developers to customize their applications to their audience’s language. An English-speaking user might be asked “Are you sure you want to reset Safari?”, while a German user would read “Sind Sie sicher, dass Sie Safari zurücksetzen wollen?”

Localizations are not limited to strings. Dates in the United States are written as “Month Day, Year,” while most other countries use “Day Month Year” A string localization file ...