Difference between revisions of "Internationalization"

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Our aim is not only to provide a framework to ease the translation of Eiffel-written applications, allowing the user to chose his/her preferred language at runtime, but also to let the developer access information and formats based on users' locale.
 
Our aim is not only to provide a framework to ease the translation of Eiffel-written applications, allowing the user to chose his/her preferred language at runtime, but also to let the developer access information and formats based on users' locale.
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===Brief history===
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Orginally the internationalisation (i18n) project was started as a required project for an ETH Software Architecture course.
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The result was less then perfect; pages referring to this first version have been given an 'SA' prefix.
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Some members of this SA project team decided to rewrite the library as a semester project. Pages on the wiki not prefixed with 'SA' are either applicable to both or to the semester project.
  
 
==What is internationalisation?==
 
==What is internationalisation?==
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*Users will still be unhappy and get depressed ''but in their own language'', which we can all agree is a significant step forward.
 
*Users will still be unhappy and get depressed ''but in their own language'', which we can all agree is a significant step forward.
  
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==Who should do the achieving?==
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=== Specific goals of the semester project ===
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It is clear that our [[User:Carlo|Glorious Leader]] should be credited with any achieving. However he will have to delegate things somewhat, as he is is not [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksei_Grigorievich_Stakhanov Stakhanov].
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We can probably divide the project into the following parts, modulo preliminary research:
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''This should be probably be completed after we have got past M1''
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The new i18n library should provide translation as well as date, time, value and currency formatting.
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It should run on at least windows (with and without .NET) and linux.
  
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=Milestones=
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=Status=
  
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==M2: May 5 ==
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As of 16 October 2006 we have all features working and almost all tested.
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* [[Internationalization/feasibility|feasibility]]: look at string classes (unicode and not) and how strings are used in EiffelStudio (creation, composition) ''(Ivano, Carlo, Leo, Hong)''
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Some difficulty exists with the windows installation procedure. The linux version works without problems.
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* [[Internationalization/file_format|file format]]: compare existing file formats for dictionaries ''(Etienne, Andreas)''
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* [[Internationalization/tool_evaluation|tool evaluation]]: list and compare existing translation tools ''(Christian, Martino)''
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==M3: June ??? ==
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= Documentation =
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:At good point:
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* write an initial .po to start translating and have a .mo for testing ''(Leo, Carlo)'' ''[done]''
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* [[Internationalization/mo parser|mo parser]]: extract translated strings from .mo files ''([[User:etienner|Etienne]], [[User:Trosim|Martino]])''
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* compile a [[Internationalization/features list|list of basic features]] to provide (e.g. date/time format, system locale) ''[deferred]''
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* [[Internationalization/User_guide|User guide]]: how to use the i18n library
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:What need work:
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* [[Internationalization/Developer_guide|Developer guide]]: developer manual for the i18n library
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* [[Internationalization/code_parser|code parser]]: extract strings to be translated from source code and generate .po file
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* [[Internationalization/obstacles|Obstacles]]: setbacks we have encountered
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* [[Internationalization/translation function|translation function]]: map hard-coded strings to translated strings ''(Martino)''
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** find a solution with templates
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** globality: how to implement, the object should be shared between all modules (see [[Internationalization/class_structure|class structure]])
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** find out how to use plurals (see [[Internationalization/plural_forms|plural forms]])
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* Test unicode support in Vision2. [See test application in the [https://eiffelsoftware.origo.ethz.ch/svn/es/branches/soft-arch/Src/library/i18n/example/ SVN repository]]
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= Possible future developments =
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* collaborate with the [[ESWizard]] team. Create wizards for programms with translation facilities.
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=Relevant Links=
 
=Relevant Links=
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Everyone interested in this project is welcome to [http://origo.ethz.ch/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/es-i18n join our mailinglist] es-i18n@origo.ethz.ch
 
Everyone interested in this project is welcome to [http://origo.ethz.ch/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/es-i18n join our mailinglist] es-i18n@origo.ethz.ch
  
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== Semester project ==
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* [[User:leo| Leo Fellmann]]
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* [[User:etienner|Etienne Reichenbach]]
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* [[User:Mingmei|Hong Zhang]]
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* [[User:Trosim|Martino Trosi]]
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* Supervisor: [[User:Schoelle| Bernd Schoeller]]
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== Old SA project team ==
 
* Project Leader: [[User:Carlo|Carlo Vanini]]
 
* Project Leader: [[User:Carlo|Carlo Vanini]]
 
* [[User:leo| Leo Fellmann]]
 
* [[User:leo| Leo Fellmann]]
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* [[User:murbi|Andreas Murbach]]
 
* [[User:murbi|Andreas Murbach]]
 
* [[User:etienner|Etienne Reichenbach]]
 
* [[User:etienner|Etienne Reichenbach]]
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* [[User:hong |Hong Zhang]]
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* [[User:Mingmei |Hong Zhang]]
 
* [[User:cconti | Christian Conti]]
 
* [[User:cconti | Christian Conti]]
 
* [[User:Trosim |Martino Trosi]]
 
* [[User:Trosim |Martino Trosi]]
 
* [[User:Schoelle| Bernd Schoeller]]
 
* [[User:Schoelle| Bernd Schoeller]]

Latest revision as of 17:07, 17 October 2006

Our Eiffel Tower of Babylon

Overview

"Many [people] would simply love seeing their computer screen showing a lot less of English, and far more of their own language." -- gettext doc

Our aim is not only to provide a framework to ease the translation of Eiffel-written applications, allowing the user to chose his/her preferred language at runtime, but also to let the developer access information and formats based on users' locale.

Brief history

Orginally the internationalisation (i18n) project was started as a required project for an ETH Software Architecture course. The result was less then perfect; pages referring to this first version have been given an 'SA' prefix. Some members of this SA project team decided to rewrite the library as a semester project. Pages on the wiki not prefixed with 'SA' are either applicable to both or to the semester project.

What is internationalisation?

The first thing that comes to mind is translation. But internationalisation isn't restricted to enabling translation: it includes making it possible to localise notations (time, date, numbers), measures, paper size, and much more.

What should we achieve?

  • Applications should be able to load localized strings at runtime and be provided with localized format strings (e.g date format).
  • Developers can use tools that automagically extract strings from source code and can try to get them translated in a file to distribute along with the application.
  • Users will still be unhappy and get depressed but in their own language, which we can all agree is a significant step forward.

Specific goals of the semester project

The new i18n library should provide translation as well as date, time, value and currency formatting. It should run on at least windows (with and without .NET) and linux.

Status

As of 16 October 2006 we have all features working and almost all tested. Some difficulty exists with the windows installation procedure. The linux version works without problems.

Documentation

Relevant Links

Introduction to i18n

What other people have done

internationalisation with QT

howto for internationalisation of KDE programs

another KDE howto (doesn't Gnome do any internationalisation?)

Team

Everyone interested in this project is welcome to join our mailinglist es-i18n@origo.ethz.ch

Semester project


Old SA project team

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