4.2.3.2 Personal Names, Honorifics, and Titles
Description
Names, titles and various forms of personal greetings can vary widely among cultures. In Japan, for example, given names
are rarely used. The suffix -san is usually added to the family name, for example, Tanaka-san. In China, the family
name comes first and is usually one syllable. It is followed by a one or two syllable given name. For example, in the case of Teng
Peinian, Teng is the family name and Peinian is the given name. Or, in Lai Pan Fu, Lai is the family
name and Pan Fu is the given name. However, when visiting and sending letters abroad, some westernized Chinese might reverse
their names, Western-style, such as Peinian Teng or Pan Fu Lai. Some countries also use special characters for
displaying foreign names. In Japan, for example, there are three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Of these, katakana
is used for foreign words and names; therefore, name fields should not be restricted to a portion of a character set.
Honorifics and titles can appear anywhere in a name. Even in English, a name might begin with Ms. or Dr.
and end with II or D.D.S.
Command Line Interface
A command line interface is often used to access a database of names. For example, commands can update an entry or search
the database. These commands handle names as parameters and must accommodate the varying fields.
Character Interface
A character interface lays out name fields in a particular order. For different cultures, the number of names and the
order varies. Ideally, an interface displays such information in the order most appropriate for a given locale. Field labels and
their corresponding data fields change according to the requirements of the current locale.
Graphical Interface
Graphical interfaces are similar to character interfaces. They can have a more elaborate layout, but the principles are
still the same.
Application Protocols
Some application protocols accommodate parts of a name. They can communicate name parts from an address book to an email
field or from a directory to a search results screen.
Storage and Interchange
Not applicable.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
APIs can carry out proper formatting for these items. These APIs might detect a locale or take a locale as an
argument.
Requirements for Compliance
In general, name handling code must not assume that any subset of the current charset is used in a name. This is
particularly important in some authentication code.
Command Line Interface
Command line parameters must be flexible enough to handle the varying name fields.
Character Interface
Character interfaces must have the flexibility to display name fields in varying layouts.
Graphical Interface
Graphical interfaces must have the flexibility to display name fields in varying layouts.
Application Protocols
Application protocols must accommodate the many name field possibilities.
Storage and Interchange
No requirement.
Application Programming Interfaces
Formatting rules for personal names, honorifics, and titles must be separate from the source code, configurable and
accessible through system or proprietary locale-specific APIs.
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