I cc'd DC-REGISTRY on this, but it never showed up...
-----Original Message-----
From: Wagner,Harry
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 11:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: Internationalization
Dear Sugimoto San,
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am working with Stu Weibel and
Rachel Heery on the Dublincore Registry application. I am very interested
in the presentation you gave in Budapest earlier this year (unfortunately, I
was unable to attend), and in the work you have done on the multi-lingual
registry prototype (http://www.dl.ulis.ac.jp/DCML/DCML.html). One of the
important requirements for this application is that it be multi-lingual. I
would appreciate any advice or help you could provide based on your
experience in this area.
We are currently identifying the functional requirements for version 1 of
the Registry application. Whatever the version 1 requirements are, it seems
important that we enable multi-lingual functionality in a way that will
support our long-term requirements, which should include:
- multi-lingual user interface
- ability to search the registry using any supported language
- search results displayed in different languages
I have some experience with multi-lingual web applications using '.property
files', but none using an XML approach (i.e., TMX). Can you recommend one
approach over another?
We are also struggling with how to manage the data. Should we maintain one
version of the schema, and do the language translation at the presentation
layer, or maintain schemas in each supported language? If we maintain
separate schemas for each language, are there advantages to storing them in
their own database, versus all in one database?
Would you be willing to share the source for your prototype? Any help you
can provide would be much appreciated.
Best Regards,
Harry Wagner
-----Original Message-----
From: Rachel Heery [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2001 6:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Internationalization
On Tue, 14 Aug 2001, Wagner,Harry wrote:
> What level of internationalization are we considering for phase 1 of the
> Registry project?
Good question ....
Do we intend to provide a UI that supports multiple
> languages, i.e., http://pcatstats.oclc.org/servlet/PcatLocale (click on
the
> flags), or an English UI that can display the elements, qualifiers and
types
> in the supported languages?
>
I think what we need to ensure that we can move forward to provide both,
but what is essential is that we show we can provide element definitions
and labels in multiple languages early on so that we can demonstrate the
value of the registry to the international community. I think that will be
the tricky bit that we need to tackle first and prove we can do.
Translating the UI is obviously 'a good thing' and it would be good to
show some sample translated screens, but I think people would assume that
is possible and awaits the necessary effort.
Actually showing that the registry can 'add value' by providing
definitions and labels in various languages is the key thing.
I would suggest that Phase 1 would do this for roman character set only,
special characters might be too challenging??
Shigeo Sugimoto has done interesting work on this which he presented to
the last SCHEMAS workshop see
http://www.schemas-forum.org/workshops/ws3/presentations/shigeo/index.htm
Rachel
> Best Regards,
> Harry Wagner
> OCLC / DCMI
> Dublin, OH 43017
> (614) 761-5178
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
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Rachel Heery
UKOLN
University of Bath tel: +44 (0)1225 826724
Bath, BA2 7AY, UK fax: +44 (0)1225 826838
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
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