Re: internationalisation

Mihai,

Now you seem to be getting the idea.

You can just use numbers and a generic text for critical errors
that the user cannot fix himself anyway.

Absolutely.

Another idea is to pseudo-translate your application. Select something
that
affects the whole string (like replacing all vowels with accented
variants).

Not sure about this one though. àftér àll, théré's möré tö làngüàgé thàn
àccents.

The key point here is the following:
Given the framework that a software creator uses, and given their particular
circumstances regarding software problem domain, education of user base, and
number and variety of software modules produced, does it make economical
sense to follow a well established but initially expensive route, or to
develop something tailored to suit. Even though the initial tailoring
involves some up front thought.

My opinion is that for most enterprises a tailored solution works best (for
localisation). Outsourcing the problem to a thrid party is likely not to be
cost competitive because they have to do the same job as yourself without
the intimate knowledge of your problem. Plus, development is ongoing so
ideally you need a solution that takes that into account. Hiring third party
contractors every 3 months or so would be a continual financial drain.

In my experience third party translations only work well for finished static
documents, and in sense they can save money. Software is never really
finished.

Just out of interest, imagine I've just fnished writing the Outlook Express
email client. what kind of cost would you estimate to translate the exe (not
help files) into, say, four European languages? FR, DE, ES, IT. Just a rough
figure.



"Mihai N." <nmihai_year_2000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns97773195C57BMihaiN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If I can maintain my competitive price and gradually increase the degree
of
translation, I will not do worse than I have been doing for over a
decade.
Your call. Each program is different.

It has been sugggested to me that the menus would help as a starting
point.
(Together with tool tips and status bar prompts that is about 800 strings
alone.)
I don't have any general advice. You can probably cut the obscure error
messages. You can just use numbers and a generic text for critical errors
that the user cannot fix himself anyway.
I never look at status bar prompts, so I am not so sure about that.
Another idea is to pseudo-translate your application. Select something
that
affects the whole string (like replacing all vowels with accented
variants).
Then use it. And translate what bothers you most.
Or log when you create a dialog. Then use the application for 30 minutes,
doing the most common things, and see what are the dialogs you used.
Don't use the test script, that was designed for maximum coverage (I hope
:-)

without a large in-house team of translators.
Have you considered a localization vendor? There are a lot of small
vendors
that do a good job and are a good match for a small company like yours.
Don't try the "big monsters" like SDL, Simultrans, Bownie, Lione Bridge,
etc.
Yes, selecting one is not easy, you should do your homework, check what
others say, check references, compare prices (but this is also what you do
if
you remodel the kitchen :-)
The nice part is that you can send your files and get free estimates. This
is
the custom. If they charge you just for an estimate, cut them from the
list.
And like with all the other things, don't go with the cheapest :-)


--
Mihai Nita [Microsoft MVP, Windows - SDK]
http://www.mihai-nita.net
------------------------------------------
Replace _year_ with _ to get the real email


.

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