Localizing WMI Class Information

WMI implements a technique that allows multiple localized versions of the same class to be stored in the repository.

The class definition is separated into the following versions:

• A language-neutral version that contains only a basic class definition.
• A language-specific version that contains localized information, such as property descriptions that are specific to a locale.

The language-specific class definitions are stored in a child namespace beneath the namespace that contains a language-neutral basic class definition.

When you request a localized class definition for a specific locale, WMI combines the basic class definition and the localized class information to form a complete localized class. You can get a localized version of a WMI class by specifying a locale when you connect to WMI and setting a flag that indicates that you want localized information. WMI then merges the information from the language-neutral and the language-specific versions of the class definition to form a localized class.

WMI classes that contain localized information are marked with the Amendment qualifier and are called amended classes; a class supports localized information if it has this qualifier. You can determine which locale the class has been localized for by checking for another qualifier called Locale. The locale qualifier contains a localization identifier (Windows LCID) that identifies a locale. For example, the locale for American English is 0x409. If a qualifier in an amended class contains localized information, it contains the amended qualifier flavor.

WMI localization includes the following tasks:

• Creating localized class definitions
• Compiling localized MOF files
• Localizing property values
• Retrieving amended classes

For more information, see Amended Class Considerations.