RE: [Distributed services] Locale Data Repository and associated web services

Hi Addison.
Comments below.

tom

>From: "Addison Phillips [wM]" <aphillips@webmethods.com>
>To: "tom garland" <tom.garland@sun.com>, <www-i18n-workshop@w3.org>
>Subject: RE: [Distributed services]  Locale Data Repository and associated web  
 services
>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 09:45:52 -0700
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dub-mail1.Ireland.Sun.COM id g3FGlZT02234
>
>Hi Tom,
>
>Let me see if I understand this.
>
>In order to make web-based services work in a globalized manner, we need to be 
able to request that specific locales and language preferences be applied to the 
data processing done by the server/service/application. I proposed that W3C 
define the structure for passing the request and "negotiating" the locale (and 
content language).

Right.

>
>Of course, this pre-supposes that *your* definition of "locale X" is the same 
as *mine*. By establishing an "LDR", we can ensure that there is a "clearing 
house" or "registry" that systems can use to synchronize their behavior. In 
addition, if my system or service doesn't have "locale X" installed, it can 
obtain the requisite locale data (or call the function) from a trusted external 
source and use that data to perform as if that locale were actually installed 
locally.
>
>Does that make sense?

Correct.

>
>Best Regards,
>
>Addison
>
>Addison P. Phillips
>Globalization Architect / Manager, Globalization Engineering
>webMethods, Inc.  432 Lakeside Drive, Sunnyvale, CA
>+1 408.962.5487 (phone)  +1 408.210.3659 (mobile)
>-------------------------------------------------
>Internationalization is an architecture. It is not a feature.
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: www-i18n-workshop-request@w3.org 
>> [mailto:www-i18n-workshop-request@w3.org]On Behalf Of tom garland
>> Sent: 2002年4月15日 7:35
>> To: www-i18n-workshop@w3.org
>> Subject: [Distributed services] Locale Data Repository and 
>> associated web services
>> 
>> 
>> Apologies for this late posting. We in at Sun's Globalization 
>> Engineering centre in Ireland have embarked on a project which we 
>> feel is relevent to this forum. 
>> 
>> What is this project?
>> 
>> The Locale Data Repository (LDR).
>> 
>> Goal: 
>> 
>> A single data store and set of services to allow applications to 
>> access and and use locale data via a web service or platforn service. 
>> 
>> Why are we doing it?
>> 
>> We have different platforms and projects many of which have their 
>> own locale data formats and different mechanisms for accessing 
>> same. This results in unneccessary duplication of work. We need 
>> to consolidate these formats and mechanisms
>> into a set of commonly agreed upon services which understand the 
>> needs of applications with regard to locale data. Standardizing 
>> these services would enable applications on different platforms 
>> to communicate, share, and understand locale data thus ensuring 
>> that not only to clients get verified locale data but they get it 
>> in the format they expect. 
>> 
>> 
>> In order to reduce risk and increase flexibility this project 
>> will consist of a set of loosely coupled clients and services. At 
>> the core of the project is a data store which will store all the 
>> locale data objects generated from tools which read in the 
>> platform data. All communication to and from the data store will 
>> be done by RPC calls (for example SOAP or XML-RPC). This ensures 
>> one data store implementation can be replaced with another as 
>> well as full network availability. Essentially the data
>> store to platform files represents milestone 1 of the project. We 
>> have just started participating in the li18nux-lade team (leader 
>> Helena S Chapman) which hopes to collect and verify the locale 
>> data with which we hope to populate the data store. The diagram 
>> below illustrates the initial architecture.
>> 
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         | Data  | <-RPC-> | Data Store | <-RPC-> | Platform  | 
>> -File-> | Platform |
>>         | Store |         | Interface  |         | Interface |    
>>      |          |
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>         
>> After this has been completed the next milestone will expose the 
>> data store as a full Service which will allow service based 
>> applications to use the locale  data and functions in the Locale 
>> Data Repository. This service based scheme  will communicate 
>> using an XML based locale format which we hope can be developed 
>> in association with the W3C. Hence this email. The application we 
>> will design at  this point will be a web based interface to the 
>> repository, used for editing  locales. We would be
>> willing to make this available as a sample implementation or  
>> test bed for this new locale format. The following diagram 
>> illustrates the architecture.
>> 
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         | Data  | <-RPC-> | Data Store | <-RPC-> | Platform  | 
>> -File-> | Platform |
>>         | Store |         | Interface  |         | Interface |    
>>      |          |
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>             /\
>>             ||
>>             RPC
>>             ||
>>             \/
>>         --------------         ---------------
>>         |            |         |             |
>>         |  Service   |         | Application |
>>         |  Interface | <-XML-> |             |
>>         |            |         |             |
>>         --------------         ---------------
>>         
>> The next milestone will involve moving entirely to the service 
>> based architecture and solidifying the XML locale format.
>>         
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         | Data  | <-RPC-> | Service    | <-XML-> | Platform  | 
>> -File-> | Platform |
>>         | Store |         | Interface  |         | Interface |    
>>      |          |
>>         |       |         |            |         |           |    
>>      |          |
>>         ---------         --------------         -------------    
>>      ------------
>>                                /\
>>                                ||
>>                                XML
>>                                ||
>>                                \/
>>                          ---------------
>>                          |             |
>>                          | Application |
>>                          |             |
>>                          |             |
>>                          ---------------
>> 
>> We have just embarked on this project so we're not sure how far 
>> others have taken this concept. Regarding Misha's recent email:
>> 
>> 1.  Why is topic X important?
>> 2.  Why should the W3C work on topic X?
>> 3.  How can you and your organization help with the work on topic X?
>> 
>> Hopefully 1. and 2. have been addressed above. As for 3. As 
>> stated above we are more than willing to participate in this 
>> forum and indeed come up with our own proposals to drive it. We 
>> are also willing use what we develope internally as a test bed 
>> for whatever comes out of these discussions.
>> 
>> rgds
>> 
>> tom
>> 
>> ----
>> Tom Garland
>> Engineering Manager
>> Globalization Engineering (Ireland)
>> Tel: +353 1 8199110
>> Email: tom.garland@sun.com
>> 
>> 
>

Received on Tuesday, 16 April 2002 02:51:10 UTC