To make globalization testing more effective, assign a testing priority to
all tested components. Components that should receive top priority:
Support text data in the ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
format
Extensively handle strings (for example, components with many edit
controls)
Use files for data storage or data exchange (e.g., Windows metafiles,
security configuration tools, and Web-based tools)
Have had many globalization problems in the past
Select a test platform
So, which operating system (OS) should you use for your international testing
platform? The first choice should be your local build of Windows 2000 with a
language group installed. For example, if you use the U.S. build of Windows
2000, install the East Asian language group. This combination gives you complete
international support for the language selected without imposing requirements on
the testers' language skills.
Even if you target a broader range of operating systems, Windows 2000 should
be your primary test platform. Earlier operating systems do not give you the
same flexibility with local settings and native support for the broadest range
of languages and cultures/locales.
You may also use other platforms that differ from your local build of Windows
2000:
MUI (Multilanguage User Interface) Windows 2000 — especially useful if
your code implements multilingual UI and it must adjust to the UI settings
of the OS. This approach is an easier implemented alternative to installing
multiple localized versions of the OS. To further enhance multilingual
support, Microsoft offers a separate Windows 2000 MultiLanguage Version,
which provides up to 24 localized language versions of the Windows user
interface. For more information, see Multilanguage User Interface (MUI).
Localized build of the target OS — German or Japanese are good
choices. Remember it might be harder to work with them if you do not know
the operating system's UI language. This approach does not have significant
advantages over the solutions above.
Most globalization problems found by testing occur when East-Asian-languages
support is active or when the OEM code page differs from the ANSI code page for
a given culture/locale. For example, you can select the following
cultures/locales in the U.S. build of Windows 2000 to test for potential
globalization problems:
Japanese
German
A combination of both (one selected for the System locale and another
for the User locale) whenever possible to cover multilanguage support
