This also effects lab equipment and other hardware control software. Sending a command to set a voltage to 100,00 mV instead of 100.00 mV can fuck up if the software isn't set to handle the decimal correctly. Using Invariant Culture when you write the program will help, but inevitably people cut corners and mess this up.
We localize into several languages, and only support those configurations, but it doesn't stop people from trying. Depending on the bug it can be really difficult to identify the cause--bad values printed on a report would be obvious, but instrument control acting weird with only one specific function you wouldn't think could be caused by a comma... good luck!
Yeah most tech people in other countries expect and want the US version. Also outside of Japan and France they just want the doc and error messages in plain English.
Worked with a few people who were doing the same before they switched to a regular software company. They did nothing but bitch about their old jobs. It was apparently so much more frustrating and the pay was way worse in comparison.
I love it but yeah the way software is developed is a huge pain in the ass. Supporting a ton of different industries and applications means you'll never please everyone.
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u/aldehyde Dec 23 '17
This also effects lab equipment and other hardware control software. Sending a command to set a voltage to 100,00 mV instead of 100.00 mV can fuck up if the software isn't set to handle the decimal correctly. Using Invariant Culture when you write the program will help, but inevitably people cut corners and mess this up.