Intro to Internationalization and LocalizationLocalization World Conference 2010, Seattle

Angelika Zerfasszerfass@zaac.deAdam Asnesadam@lingoport.com

Internationalization: Your Company, Code and Building it for the World

Adam Asnesadam@lingoport.com+1.303.444.8020

Internationalization ChallengeAdapt software to display and manage worldwide character set requirements and cultural formatsCompare data processingUS English, German, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew

Internationalization and Localization FitInternationalizationDevelopment oriented consulting and productsAdapt products so they can be localizable for any market

LocalizationTailored translation specific to market needsCoordinated management of strings for translationLinguistic Testing and more

Globalization ImplicationsGlobal initiativesExpanding opportunities, New customersCompetitive pressureLost time to marketIterative code fixing, problems keep slipping throughDevelopment costs in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars

Is It Internationalized?Developers often underestimate i18n requirementsMost dont know the answerAgile or other feature and release requirements often overrun less formally measured i18n requirements

There is a Management Value in being able to confirm global readiness

Internationalization ChallengeSoftware Data Path - its not just the displayDisplayInput TransformStoreRetrieveTransform

I18n Architectural ChallengeDatabaseCharacter encoding supportApplication Codee.g. Java, C++, VB3rd Party ProductsU/Ie.g. JSP,ASP, ASPXBusiness LogicPlatforms, Browser Support RequirementsMarketing RequirementsLocale behavior

I18n trouble spots developers challengeEmbedded Text & imagesCharacter set supportString Concatenation Date/time formattingSorting & searchingCurrencyTransaction processUser Locale Handling

Telephone formatsPostal formatsRegion-specific functionsShipping conditionsNumerical formatsPage layoutReporting, workflowDatabase enablingMulti-byte enabling

Practical ChallengesSift through hundreds of thousands or millions of lines of codeManaging fixing complex problems among teams of developers and outsourced resourcesCreating a product that looks, feels and behaves natively to its worldwide usersSource code must be adapted to seamlessly adapt to any language, streamlining support and updates

Traditional Approach - repeat, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat

Globalyzer Server and ClientsServerClientCommand Line

Sample Internationalization Issues

Example: Hard-Coded English Text1 million lines of source codeTypically Found: At least 40,000 Embedded Strings which cannot be efficiently translated

String orderStatus = Your order has been processed. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you shortly.;

Example: US-Centric Date Formatting

Typically Found:Over 10,000 Locale-Sensitive Formatting Calls

sStartTime = Format(rsData("StartTime"), "mm/dd/yyyy")

Double-Byte Character Encoding: The Binary Capital Letter AUTF-16 Unicode Double-byte encoding for all Languages00000000 01000001

ISO-Latin1 (and even UTF-8)Single-byte encoding for Western European Languages01000001

Example: Encoding CorruptionAttempted to add a Chinese Unit Name via an example ASP page

Example: Correct EncodingSuccessfully added Chinese Subject, Location & Notes text

Not Just for Older ApplicationsIssues for every programming langaugeMost newer programming languages are simpler to internationalizeThats good for business actuallyMore predictable processes, costs and results

I18n Needs: StakeholdersOur Software must be in Japanese, French, German, Chinese, and Spanish by November

Multi-tiered application?String extraction?Database components?Unicode?Testing Plan?

Localization a downstream concernSomebody elses problem in the world of many developersCreates an opportunity to educate and shepherd through globalization

Release PlanningAgileSequencing with testingYou never stop internationalizingMaintain your business drivers - REVENUE

InternationalizationAdding a way to attach things to a mobile phone so that it is more attractive for users in AsiaAdding the possibility to set the steering wheel on the right-hand sideEasily switch the cover of a fridge door a pink cover would sell more fridges in Asia than a white cover

InternationalizationDocumentation

Internationalization of DocumentationOne style does not fit allText and graphics / paper sizeProvide whitespace for text expansion during localizationMarketing material cannot be translated but usually has to be re-created in the target language to be effectiveRenault SloganGermany: Creteur d'AutomobilesUK: Cars for you

GermanyJapan

Text and GraphicWhen text is separated by a graphic, the translator cannot use a translation memory system effectively.

*Text ExpansionExpansion rate per languageSource text pages should leave enough space for translation

Multilingual Workflow Management*

Tools and Technologies in Localization

Tools and TechnologiesControl of terminology in authoring processUp to controlled language for use with machine translationTranslation ToolsTranslation Memory SystemTerminology Database (term check in authoring and translation environment)Interfaces to project management systemsInterfaces to content management systemsUse of standard formats (TMX, XLIFF)

ToolsMost solutions focus on one specific area of the processSelect tools that already have an interface with each otherCreate your own interfaces (if API is available)Content creation and localization belong together and should be seen as inter-dependent, not isolated processes

TechnologiesStandard formats for exchange of translation memory data (TMX Translation Memory Exchange format)exchange of terminology data (TBX Termbase Exchange format)file format-independent localization format (XLIFF XML Localization Interchange File Format)They don't solve all problems, but the most pressing ones

Managing Localization

The Traditional Process

Project PhasesKick off meetingTouch on a all aspects of project, size, timeline, number of languages etc.Analysis of source materialOutline potential L10n/I18n issues with source code, documentationScheduling and budgetingBased on size, timeline, number of languages etc. schedule resources, quotes, Terminology setupCreate glossary leveraging existing glossaries, adding additional terminologyPreparation of Source MaterialTranslation of Software / DocumentationTranslation, editing and proof-reading (TEP) of softwareTesting the SoftwareTesting of software for functional, linguistic and cosmetic defectsScreen Captures / DTP

CommunicateThe Project Manager is the central point for all communicationclient PMclient market centersproduct developers / product designersauthorsTranslators / proofreaders / reviewers / editorstestersDesigners / DTPTimely communication on process, problems and suggestions for solutions can greatly impact the success of a project

Questions and Answers

Adam Asnesadam@lingoport.comResourceshttp://lingoport.comWhitepapers, newsletter & articleshttp://i18nblog.comLatest updates

Angelika Zerfasszerfass@zaac.deResourceswww.zaac.dePresentation downloads in English and Germanhttp://www.zaac.de/uebersetzer.html

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