Ever wondered why we use i18n and l10n and what’s the difference ? Well I have been wondering this many times…
Maybe it would be some kind of geek code, like the first letter would be a version number and the number that follows would be something like :
number=(-8/3)*letter_number + 42
and then finishing with an n just for fun. So versions j and k would have disappeared in outer space - probably cause they were not exact… Who would like a j15.333333333333333…n and a k12.66666666666666…n ? - and everything would end up with a z(-54)n ….
Very unlikely, heh? So I was wondering … Till yesterday I got the answer, which is obviously much simpler…
Long words are abbreviated by keeping the first and the last letter, and inserting in the middle the number of letters between these two extreme ones. So very simply :
i18n = i[nternationalizatio]n, with 18 letters between the i and the n
l10n = l[ocalizatio]n, with 10 letters between the l and the n
v11n = v[ersificatio]n, with 11 letters between the v and the n
Easy and efficient… As Marry Poppins used to say, it’s just s30o!