Native Language Support (NLS) is based on languages and character
sets that are predefined and built into the operating system.
These are referred to as supported languages. Hewlett-Packard has
assigned a unique language name and language ID number to each
language supported in NLS. In some cases, Hewlett-Packard has more
than one supported language corresponding to a single natural language
(for example, NLS supports French and Canadian-French, because
upshifting is handled differently). When language-dependent
characteristics differ within the same natural language, NLS can create
separate native languages to represent these differences.
Each of the supported languages may also be considered a language
family that is applicable in several countries. German may be used
in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and any other place it is requested.
The NATIVE-3000 language (an artificial language) represents the way
the computer dealt with language before the introduction of NLS.
For example, the collating sequence for NATIVE-3000 is the same as
the order of characters in the USASCII code. The NATIVE-3000 date
format is returned by the existing MPE XL intrinsic FMTDATE.
Anytime NATIVE-3000 is used in a native language function, the result
is identical to the function performed prior to the introduction
of NLS. NLS intrinsic calls using a language parameter of 0 always
work correctly, even if native languages have not been configured on
the system.
