How does Unicode benefit internationalization in software development?

Unicode significantly benefits internationalization in software development by enabling consistent character representation across different platforms. This is crucial in a globalized world where software applications are used by diverse populations that utilize various languages and scripts.

With Unicode, developers can represent characters from virtually all written languages, from Latin to Cyrillic to Asian scripts, in a standardized way. This means that an application can display text in multiple languages without the need for multiple encodings, which can lead to confusion and errors.

When a piece of software is using Unicode, developers do not have to worry about whether a particular character will display correctly on different systems or devices, as all systems that support Unicode understand the same character representations. This consistency promotes better user experiences and reduces the likelihood of bugs related to character encoding.

In contrast, choices like simplifying code structures or optimizing performance are not directly related to the primary function of Unicode, which is character representation. Moreover, Unicode does not inherently reduce the need for libraries; instead, it provides a framework that applications can utilize to handle a wide range of characters seamlessly.