Software internationalization is designing software so it can be adapted to different languages, regions and conventions without redesigning its core logic. Software localization performs a particular adaptation. Preparing the machinery and supplying a translated or region-specific result are related but distinct tasks.[ref]
For example, a program displaying a file count can keep the numerical count separate from the message that presents it. The selected software locale and message resources can then determine the full phrase, word order and grammatical form. Building every message by appending a fixed word to a decimal number assumes more about language than the underlying count requires. Similarly, a date represented as separate year, month and day values can be formatted for a chosen audience, whereas the bare string 03/04/2026 leaves the month/day convention ambiguous.[ref]
The engineering work includes selecting suitable character encodings, supporting Unicode, accounting for text direction, and separating localizable resources from source code. International Components for Unicode supplies reusable implementations of many text and formatting services. Internationalization still needs application-level decisions: a display format cannot supply a missing unit, infer an unspecified date convention or replace a meaningful data model.[ref]

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