TABLE OF CONTENTS As shown in Figure 3.1, globalization splits into two distinct paths that are rejoined at a later stage of application development. These two paths are representative of 1) presentation/expression and 2) information. Following and then reconverging the paths is critical to a successful Web globalization effort. As emphasized in the previous chapters, multilingual support is fundamental. However, multilingual support is not the only critical component to a globalization solution. Of equal significance and potential complexity is globalized information (data- and transaction-oriented content and metadata). Metadata are the characteristics and rules that describe and constrain data (e.g., the value 840 is data, while the name of the element that holds the value of 840, the data type of that element, and the maximum allowable character length of that element are examples of metadata).
By definition, information can be considered as a fact or collection of facts that when combined in some logical form or manner can be interpreted, used, and applied. It is important to note that some facts are defined as atomic, in that they cannot be logically decomposed. Similarly, data are the granular components of information that align with a specific definition, follow a defined format, or are valued from a defined set. From a practical perspective, a postal address that includes street address, city, state, region or county, postal code, and country is considered information.
Similarly, a street address line from a complete postal address may be classified...
