The author describes in detail the steps necessary to plan and develop graphical user interface (GUI) software that adapts to different languages and national customs throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The particular windowing systems covered in this book are X Window System releases 5 and 6, Motif Toolkit release 1.2, and the Common Desktop Environment (CDE).

McFarland provides clear and complete descriptions of the considerations and activities needed to prepare GUI-based software for international markets. The topics covered include locale-sensitive operations, namely handling text data and message and data formats; displaying local language characters; keyboard input; and data interchange and  internationalization. 

The book is divided into 15 chapters:

• Designing for International Markets

• Locale-Sensitive Operations: Handling Text Data

• Locale-Sensitive Operations: Messages and Data Formats

• Displaying Local Language Characters with X11R5

• Displaying Local Language Characters with X11R6

• Keyboard Input: Background and Overview

• Keyboard Input with X Windows

• Keyboard Input: Supporting Over-the-Spot and Off-the-Spot Preedit and Status Styles

• Keyboard Input with On-the-Spot Preedit and Status Styles

• Keyboard Input with X11R6

• Data Interchange and Internationalization

• Using Resources and the Xt Toolkit with Your Internationalized Software

• Developing Internationalized Software with Motif

• Advanced Topics: I18N for the Motif Widget Writer

• I18N and the Common Desktop Environment (CDE 1.0)

The five appendices provide reference material on C library internationalization routines, X11R5, localizable Motif resources, and examples of keyboard input using X11R5 and Xmlm.