In computing

Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...

, internationalization and localization (also spelled internationalisation and localisation) are means of adapting computer software

Computer software

Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....

 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

Locale

In computing, locale is a set of parameters that defines the user's language, country and any special variant preferences that the user wants to see in their user interface...

-specific components and translating text.

The terms are frequently abbreviated to the numeronym

Numeronym

A numeronym is a number-based word.Most commonly, a numeronym is a word where a number is used to form an abbreviation . Pronouncing the letters and numbers may sound similar to the full word: "K9" for "canine"...

s i18n (where 18 stands for the number of letters between the first i and last n in internationalization, a usage coined at DEC

Digital Equipment Corporation

Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...

 in the 1970s or 80s) and L10n respectively, due to the length of the words.