The evolving Story of Locale Support, part 13: Divvying up locales, yet again!

by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2011/12/21 07:01 -05:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2011/12/21/10249983.aspx

Previous blogs from this series:

• part 12: Logic dictates that we keep a sense of proportion about the RATIO
• part 11: What language is that keyboard for?
• part 10: Perhaps it is best to think of it as unintelligent design?
• part 9: Nastaleeq vs. Nastaliq? Either way, Windows 8 has got it!
• part 8: [Finally] taking care of some [more] languages in Pakistan
• part 7: That would be a "call and a raise" for Hawaiian
• part 6 (Behind the Cherokee Phonetic layout in Windows 8)
• part 5 (...until the decision was made to not refuse to add it)
• part 4 (working beyond one's bugs, and the case for an MSKLC update)
• part 3 (working beyond one's bugs, the setup)
• part 2 (raising the roof on keyboards)
• part 1 (Some people don't want to double-d's)
• part 0 (The introduction)

Now in the past, I've written The Locales of Windows 7, all divvied up, which included:

• Table 1: the locales representing languages into which Windows 7 localizes
• Table 2: the locales representing languages for which Windows creates Language Interface Packs, aka LIPs
• Table 3: locales whose identifiers are not directly associated with any localizations of Windows, even if a related identifier might make for one representing a suitable localization

I've also written the sequel, The Locales of Windows 7, divvied up further, which included the slihttky more niche:

• Table 4: the locales into which Windows Server 2008 R2 is localized
• Table 5: the locales into which PowerShell is localized, by Microsoft
• Table 6: the locales into which Visual Studio is localized, by Microsoft

And in The evolving Story of Locale Support, part 5 (...until the decision was made to not refuse to add it), which listed a bunch of locales added to Windows 8 that at some point might make nice entries to an updated version of Table 3.

I didn't comment about how many of them might be added to a nice updated version of Table 2, because that list is still confidential info. Though if history is a guide then some of the new languqages and some of te exiting ones might fit there.

Also, in The evolving Story of Locale Support, part 2 (raising the roof on keyboards), I Listed a bunch of new keyboards added to Windows 8, some of which have no LCIDs, as I pointed out in that very blog (I described some of my implementation concerns on this matter in The evolving Story of Locale Support, part 11: What language is that keyboard for?).

But there is yet another list -- a missing list.

You see, Table 3 should have, rather than being called

Table 3: locales whose identifiers are not directly associated with any localizations of Windows, even if a related identifier might make for one representing a suitable localization

should have instead been more accurately called

Table 3: locales supported by Windows 7 whose identifiers are not directly associated with any localizations of Windows, even if a related identifier might make for one representing a suitable localization

Because just yesterday the question was asked:

I am wondering if en-HK is a supported culture in Windows 7? From this document, it says it’s supported in Windows XP &
Server 2003, but yet I get a CultureNotFoundException trying to instantiate the culture with “en-HK” or it’s LCID 15369.

Any suggestions? If not, please forward to a more appropriate alias, thanks.

One of the people (Alexander) got that mail forwarded it to me, and he (Alexander) is on the small list of people I have Outlook set to let the mail get to me even though I'm on vacation (as I mentioned in I plan to go somewhere that starts with a "T").

And it is an interesting question, so I thought I'd take it up now!

The problems with that Locale IDs Assigned by Microsoft web page are numerous, and I'll get into that some other day.

But for now I'll give a first crack at yet another table:

Table 7: Locales whose LCD values are reserved but which are not really supported in Windows 8 or earlier

 Note that en-HK is one of the many locales on this list.

Some also recognize Urdu - India,which I discussed in Where's the other Urdu?, a blog where I also talked about the Locale IDs Assigned by Microsoft page and some of its problems.

I'd love to comment about some of the reasons why a locale would end up here on this page, reserved, but in many cases the reasons would be mere suppositions on my part.

I mean I know about my fruitless campaign for an Urdu - India that was champoioned by and ulimately tied to a Microsoft VP who left under unhappy at the lack of direction of many efforts he championed in the unused potential of Microsoft India -- technologies that ultimately were marginalized and now have no owners (an issue I also was unable to influence in the endd since no one had the resources to take the work on). But that's heroic tale of throwing an elbow that didn't connect, a little too much inside baseball, and something that ultimatelty blew my stack on sports metaphors that only some o my readers will get.

Alternately, I know about the campaign of harassment by a professor that led to the Yiddish locale being added to this list, and I could revel my readers with tales like that. But although it came to me from a reputable source, it is still hearsay -- and I'd like to keep blogs admissible. :-)

Kind of hints at future Table 8: Locale lists that are broken in one or more ways. :-)

But for now, that Table 7 list should do. And I got a question of a customer (albeit an internal customer) answered, which id good since i still do serve at the pleasure of the customer....

Timwi on 21 Dec 2011 2:14 PM:

Michael S. Kaplan on 21 Dec 2011 4:30 PM:

cheong00 on 21 Dec 2011 5:50 PM:

Michael S. Kaplan on 21 Dec 2011 6:25 PM:

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