[ESW Wiki] Update of "geoGettingStartedwithI18n" by RichardIshida

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http://esw.w3.org/topic/geoGettingStartedwithI18n


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  Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations, which may be not only problematic to reproduce in other languages.  If acronyms have to be used, spell them out in the first occurrence in the text. For example, NBA (National Basketball Association) could be left as is in Spanish or could be translated to ANB (Asociacion Nacional de Baloncesto.
  
+ [[RI We should say, use the abbr element and provide expansion in title attribute.  This may belong inthe section about text content]]
+ 
  Consider measurement conversion. For example, consider adding “(6.2 km)” when referring to “1 mile”. This will also avoid inconsistencies between conversion done in different target languages; some translators may leave the “1 mile” unchanged, others may completely replace it with the conversion. Again, the key is to anticipate any confusion.
  
  When including examples such as a person’s name, use generic examples that are known world-wide.
  
+ [[RI Other cultural issues include things like whether people are used to paying for things over the internet]]
+ 
  == Images == 
  
- '''Icons easily recognizable in the U.S. become less obvious outside its borders.  The English term "home page" becomes the “initial page” in Spanish and the  “welcome page” in French. So, even if a structure with a chalet roof and a chimney is recognizable in your country as a “home” doesn’t ensure that its use as an icon to return to the Web site’s first page is viable.
+ Icons easily recognizable in the U.S. become less obvious outside its borders.  The English term "home page" becomes the “initial page” in Spanish and the  “welcome page” in French. So, even if a structure with a chalet roof and a chimney is recognizable in your country as a “home” doesn’t ensure that its use as an icon to return to the Web site’s first page is viable.
  
- Similar difficulties arise with images of  mailboxes, trash containers and shopping carts.'''
+ Similar difficulties arise with images of  mailboxes, trash containers and shopping carts.
  
  == Page Layout ==
  
- '''As you design Web page layout, there are a number of i18n issues. You will want to leave sufficient space for text expansion in tables, menus, online forms and illustrations. When text will be localized into double-byte languages, anticipate vertical expansion. Anticipate page layout issues when localized into languages written right-to-left.
+ As you design Web page layout, there are a number of i18n issues. You will want to leave sufficient space for text expansion in tables, menus, online forms and illustrations. When text will be localized into double-byte languages, anticipate vertical expansion. Anticipate page layout issues when localized into languages written right-to-left.
  
  Use only one space between sentences and after all punctuation marks.
  
+ [[RI is this an issue?]]
+ 
  Be careful with your selection of font size. While a site displayed in an 8- or 10-point font may work for German or Finnish users and provide more content on a given page, it won't work everywhere. You can't read Japanese in an 8-point font.
  
  As companies launch an increasing number of localized Web sites, user-friendly global navigation grows in importance. The term "global gateway" is frequently used to refer to the visual and technical devices that Web sites employ to direct visitors to their content. One of the more popular devices is a pull-down menu on the home page that includes links to localized versions of the content (eg. translations or alternative country sites). [link to JY FAQ]
  
+ [[RI I think navigation should go in its own section, though we could point to it from here. We should mention decisions about content negotiation vs explicit links, etc.]]
+ 
- Be aware of possible differences in sorting rules. For example, sorting in Traditional Chinese is based on the number of strokes in the character. In Swedish, the letter A-with-an-open-circle-on-top sorts after Z, not near A.'''
+ Be aware of possible differences in sorting rules. For example, sorting in Traditional Chinese is based on the number of strokes in the character. In Swedish, the letter A-with-an-open-circle-on-top [[RI A-ring Å]] sorts after Z, not near A.
  
+ 
- == Checklist for internationalized Web site design == 
+ == Checklist for internationalized Web site design ==
  
-   '''Terminology is consistent, simple and clear.[[BR]]
+   Terminology is consistent, simple and clear.[[BR]]
  
    Acronyms and abbreviations are limited.[[BR]]
  
    Culturally-specific examples, slang and images have been removed.[[BR]]
    Legal text (e.g. copyright, privacy statements) is appropriate..[[BR]]
- '''
+ 
+ 
+ 
  = Development View =
+ 
  Note that this section is still under construction [[BR]]
+ 
- '''Two of the most important issues for the developer who is new to I18n are character encoding (including the possible use of Unicode) and language declaration.
+ Two of the most important issues for the developer who is new to I18n are character encoding (including the possible use of Unicode) and language declaration.
  
- Some thought also should be given upfront to the physical organization of the files and directories that make up the internationalized Web site.'''
+ Some thought also should be given upfront to the physical organization of the files and directories that make up the internationalized Web site.
  
  == Character Encoding ==
  
- '''User agents (eg. browsers) must be able to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, so that the user isn't presented with unreadable text. So you will want to declare the character encoding of the document. For more on choosing an encoding, see the GEO Tutorial.(http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/tutorial-char-enc/)
+ User agents (eg. browsers) must be able to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, so that the user isn't presented with unreadable text. So you will want to declare the character encoding of the document. For more on choosing an encoding, see the GEO Tutorial.(http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/tutorial-char-enc/)
  
  Not all HTML and XML documents have to be encoded as Unicode, but it does mean that these documents can only contain characters defined by Unicode. It is a good idea to use a Unicode encoding wherever possible, since it simplifies many aspects of Web internationalization and is supported widely by HTML user agents, and by all XML processors.
  
- Unicode is a universal character set, ie. a standard that defines, in one place, all the characters needed for writing the majority of living languages in use on computers. It aims to be, and to a large extent already is, a superset of all other character sets that have been encoded.'''
+ Unicode is a universal character set, ie. a standard that defines, in one place, all the characters needed for writing the majority of living languages in use on computers. It aims to be, and to a large extent already is, a superset of all other character sets that have been encoded.
  
  == Language Declaration ==
  
- '''Applications exist that can use natural language information about content to deliver to users the most relevant information based on their language preferences. The more content is tagged and tagged correctly, the more useful and pervasive such applications will become.
+ Applications exist that can use natural language information about content to deliver to users the most relevant information based on their language preferences. The more content is tagged and tagged correctly, the more useful and pervasive such applications will become.
  
  The language attribute unambiguously specifies the 'natural language' of web page content. It should always be used to indicate the primary language of the web page (in the main page container element). If the language changes within the main page container element this should also be reflected.
  
  In current practice one can find XHTML documents that provide information about the language of a page in a number of different ways. One method is to use the ''lang'' and ''xml:lang'' attributes on the html tag. Other documents provide this information using a meta element. Language information may also be found in the HTTP header that is sent with a document.
  
- So how should you do it? GEO recommends that the lang and xml:lang attributes be used for specifying the language used for processing content, and the HTTP Content-Language setting or a meta element be used, if appropriate or needed, for identifying the audience for the documente. For more on this, refer to: http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-http-and-lang'''
+ So how should you do it? GEO recommends that the lang and xml:lang attributes be used for specifying the language used for processing content, and the HTTP Content-Language setting or a meta element be used, if appropriate or needed, for identifying the audience for the documente. For more on this, refer to: http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-http-and-lang

  
+ [[RI probably better to refer to the techniques doc]]
  
  
+ [[RI I think we should add the following sections:
+ 
+  - Bidirectional text
+  - International CSS properties
+ ]]
  
  
  == File Structure ==
  
- '''According to Microsoft’s development guidelines, the most efficient way to design a software [ or web] application is to split the application into two conceptual blocks: a code block and a data block. The data block contains all user interface items and no programming code, which means it is the only element that requires localization.
+ According to Microsoft’s development guidelines, the most efficient way to design a software [or web] application is to split the application into two conceptual blocks: a code block and a data block. The data block contains all user interface items and no programming code, which means it is the only element that requires localization.
  
- Externalizing all translatables to one resource file is more efficient because for each new language version of the application, only the resource file needs to be adapted. This structuring method also provides increased security, since those performing localization tasks do not need to access the source code.'''
+ Externalizing all translatables to one resource file is more efficient because for each new language version of the application, only the resource file needs to be adapted. This structuring method also provides increased security, since those performing localization tasks do not need to access the source code.
  
  
  == User Interface ==
+ 
+ [[RI I think this section belongs under the Design part. Unless we express this as ways that coding needs to support the design decisions.]] 
+ 
- '''There are many things to consider when developing a software user interface. The most important thing is to allow for text expansion. Add approx 30% extra space for buttons and in dialog boxes. For more on UI issues, please refer to the Designer View above.
+ There are many things to consider when developing a software user interface. The most important thing is to allow for text expansion. Add approx 30% extra space for buttons and in dialog boxes. For more on UI issues, please refer to the Designer View above.
  
- Ensure the menu tree fits on all screen resolutions. For example, the German translation for the Edit menu is “Bearbeiten”, and “Wiedergabe” for the View menu.  In both cases, the text has been expanded by 100%. For this reason, many Windows applications in European languages use a question mark symbol (?) instead of the word “Help” on menu bars.'''
+ Ensure the menu tree fits on all screen resolutions. For example, the German translation for the Edit menu is “Bearbeiten”, and “Wiedergabe” for the View menu.  In both cases, the text has been expanded by 100%. For this reason, many Windows applications in European languages use a question mark symbol (?) instead of the word “Help” on menu bars.
+ 
+ [[RI another topic that would fit here is text fragmentation - see http://www.multilingual.com/ishida43.htm ]]
+ 
+ 
  
  = RESOURCES =
+ 
- '''A wide range of articles, techniques, tutorials and FAQs are available on this site. Please refer to the listing on the [http://www.w3.org/international/ W3C Internationalization Home page].
+ A wide range of articles, techniques, tutorials and FAQs are available on this site. Please refer to the listing on the [http://www.w3.org/international/ W3C Internationalization Home page].
+ 
+ [[RI We should probably point to the topic and techniques indices - and maybe explain how to use the site/what's there]]
  
  Other resources include: [[BR]]
  
@@ -272, +301 @@

  
  For more information on Unicode, visit the Unicode Consortium web site at www.unicode.org
  
- Microsoft's Global Development portal has a wealth of information at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/default.mspx'''
+ Microsoft's Global Development portal has a wealth of information at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/default.mspx

Received on Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:29:30 UTC