Action Item: rework 4.1 and 4.1.1 (cf. http://www.w3.org/2007/05/15-i18nits-minutes.html#action11)

Dear all,

I worked on my action item related to the BP (cf.
 <http://www.w3.org/2007/05/15-i18nits-minutes.html#action11>
http://www.w3.org/2007/05/15-i18nits-minutes.html#action11).
 
Please note: I included some ideas for additional content. They are prefixed
by <NEW>.
 
Cheers,
Christian

== old ==
4 Generic Techniques
 
This section provides a set of generic techniques that are applicable to
various guidelines, for example, how to add ITS attributes or elements to
different types of schemas.
== new ==
4 Generic Knowledge
 
While addressing internationalization-related issues with ITS or the Best
Practices described in this document,  
generic knowledge such as optimized XPath expressions is helpful. This
section covers this generic knowledge.
 
== old ==
4.1 Writing ITS Rules
 
Whether they are external or embedded, there are a few things you should
take in consideration when writing ITS rules.
 
Note: Try to keep the number of nodes to be overriden to a minimum for
better performances. For example, If most of a document should not be
translated, it is better to set the root element to be non-translatable than
to set all elements. The inheritance mechanism will have the same effect for
a much lower computing cost.
 

Note: Because a rule has precedence over the ones before, you want to start
with the most general rules first and progressively override them as needed.
Some rules may be more complex to take in account all the aspects of
inheritance.
== new ==
4.1 ITS Markup
 
There are a few things you should consider when creating ITS markup.
 
4.1.1 Create Rules in Good Time
 
<NEW> Create rules even you currently do not need it. Sooner or later,
someone will for example ask which elements really need to be translated.
ITS rules will in this case refresh your own memory, and will communicate
effectively the information that is needed.
 
4.1.2 Consider Your Processing Environment
 
<NEW> Be sensitive against your processing environment. It does for example
not make much sense to write ITS with global selection if your processor
cannot cope with it.
 
4.1.3 Take Advantage of Default and Inheritance.
 
Two ITS provisions help to keep ITS markup to a minimum: defaults and
inheritance. Since, for example, the ITS default for elements is "translate"
this does not need to be coded explicitly. In a similar vein, since ITS
inheritance for many data categories passes information from higher-level
nodes to lower-level nodes, you only need to provide ITS markup for
higher-level nodes.
 
For example, if most of a document should not be translated, it is better to
set the root element to be non-translatable than to set all elements.
 
<TODO>Include example
 
Note: Keeping the number of nodes to be overriden to a minimum increases
performance. 
 
The precedence defined for rules elements needs to be taken into account: If
identical selections are defined in different rules elements within one
document, the selection defined by the last takes precedence. Thus, you may
want to start with the most general rules first and progressively override
them as needed.
 
4.1.4 Create your XPath Expressions with Care
 
<TODO>
 

Christian Lieske
MultiLingual Technology Solutions (MLT)
SAP Language Services (SLS)
SAP Globalization Services
SAP AG
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