[Typo3] localization: l10n_modes?

[Andreas Bulling]

Hi all,

I develop an extension and wanted to add localization support to it.

So I've read http://typo3.org/documentation/document-library/doc_core_api/columns_fieldnam/
and selected the l10n_modes for the fields to the best of my knowledge but now I'm
not sure if I did it right...

Could someone please explain in _simple_ words what's the difference
between the possible l10n_modes and what consequences they have for the process of
translating records in the backend, displaying records in the frontend and concerning
the database values set for the translated records?

Thanks a lot in advance,
  Andreas