Sun Microsystems Releases Internationalization Code for Solaris Operating Environment

Sun Microsystems is releasing the source code for the internationalization technologies for the Solaris(tm) Operating Environment to X.org, a non-profit, international consortium responsible for standards requirements in the X Window System.

This code, made available under the X license, will provide open source software developers with an easy way to design applications which operate in virtually all national language environments and among the operating systems that utilize X-windowing technologies, such as Linux and Unix variants. The Solaris Operating Environment X internationalization (X I18n) technology provides a clear and concise framework of rules that makes it easier for developers to write global software. Its support for 37 languages and 123 locales, including languages involving Complex Text Layout such as Arabic, Hebrew and Thai, has made the Solaris Operating Environment internationalization technology the leading environment for global application development. The decision to release the Solaris Operating Environment X internationalization enhancements under a commonly recognized open source license emphasizes Sun's ongoing desire to improve the standards of glob al application development for open source platforms. X open source users will be able to mix languages in the same document, use commonly understood methods for keyboard input, and exchange files in multiple languages.