The Unicode Standard has proven itself successful as the foundation for international technology platforms. This success drives Unicode into more environments, like embedded systems.

The requirements for these systems, which run a proliferating list of portable devices, everyday appliances, and specialized equipment, differ from typical computing needs. Whereas for server and desktop applications performance is often paramount; embedded systems demand minimal size and memory usage. The embedded environment typically includes specialized operating systems, restricted programming conventions (such as C++ without exceptions), ROM storage instead of disk, limited RAM without virtual memory, and limited stack usage. And, developing for these systems means additional barriers to code portability and special demands on configuration requirements.

This presentation overviews the specialized requirements and solutions for Unicode-enabled applications in embedded environments based on our experience adapting our Rosette, a globalization library, for these systems.