PureBasic Forums - English

Hi All

Does anyone know of a list of commonly used computer programme terms\words such as "File", "Save", "Save As" etc translated into several languages?

Cheers

CD

no, but please let me know when you do!
perhaps if we come up with a relatively small list some of the multilingual PB coders here can help, then we wont have to spend ten bucks a word on professional translation

Will do.

It may be an idea to produce a list and ask PBers to translate.

I am looking to make a multilingual app and hit the first hurdle. So I am codeing a small app to manage language files and integrate them. Please do remember that I am an amateur so it may be a little pathetic at first. Will post code etc here when I have something that does not crash when I cough.

CD

I'll need to figure out a good multilingual system soon too, of course there's already a few good existing examples of differing approaches on the forum but i'll be keeping a keen eye out!

anyway here's a start for the wordlist!

Maybe as a kind of CSV List?

managing the list with different translations and new additions/suggestions etc could get tricky though! i just Edited to add a couple and when i clicked Post mhs's post with translations was already there

collectordave wrote:Does anyone know of a list of commonly used computer programme terms\words such as "File", "Save", "Save As" etc translated into several languages?

This is really good idea. I've got a long way to go on multilingual, but have some for French and German that were offered by a couple of my users.

collectordave wrote:So I am codeing a small app to manage language files and integrate them

@collectordave and @Keya - have you checked out this solution from Freak? -- An easy to use solution for multilanguage programs
I've been using this for some while and it works great on all versions of PB so far. I think this is an incredibly valuable contribution from Freak.

Keya wrote:managing the list with different translations and new additions/suggestions etc could get tricky though! i just Edited to add a couple and when i clicked Post mhs's post with translations was already there

Yeah that could be tricky

Maybe with GitHub and separate language files, for freak's solution like deeproot suggested?

collectordave wrote:Does anyone know of a list of commonly used computer programme terms\words such as "File", "Save", "Save As" etc translated into several languages?

PureBasic *.catalog files?

Have a look at the Microsoft Language Portal website and the Terminology Collection at http://www.microsoft.com/Language/en-US/Default.aspx

Hi All and thanks for all the replies. Certainly is a topic a lot of programmers are interested in.

I have looked at all the examples on the forum and have had these thoughts. Some seem a little chaotic but all seem relevant to me.

I started by looking at how I would like to programme a multi-lingual application.

1. I want to programme in my native language

2. When my programme is complete I want to click a button or follow some very basic steps to add multi-lingual support to my application.

Further thoughts on item 2 would mean that I could, at a push, convert older applications to have multi-lingual support following the same steps. Of course the whole sequence has to match how my mind works, so it has to be simple.

When refering to multi-lingual support I considered what does that mean? Obviously I want all text displayed by the programme to appear in the selected language but also I want my users to have the ability to switch between languages with as much ease as possible without me having to add lots more code to my application. A line does however have to be drawn. An example of this is where an appllication has a database of textual information. It is beyond the scope of any generic programme to convert these texts. That will allways be down to the application developer. Each application is different and will have different messages for the user at different times these messages will have to be translated as well and need to be accessible to the programmer for translation and or modification based on an application by application basis.

Next consider the terms to be translated. All languages have words that are used two or three times meaning different things in the context in which they are used. Consider the term "Record" this could mean a single record in a database application or refer to a record in a music collection or even refer to recording a particular action such as a sequence of events or a movie or song. All spelt the same with different meanings so just this one term could in other languages have different words assigned to communicate the meaning of the word in that language and situation.

Ok so textual information has an impact on how it is done but so does how are languages selected and maintained. The easiest language selection I have seen is a simple dropdown combo with the national flag as an icon and the language to be selected written in the actual language to be selected. So I see a need to have access to national flag icons as well as translations.

Moving on a little you need to consider how will my application be maintained and how easy will it be to add more features, some approaches use an array to add translated words or phrases, I feel this can become quite bulky and leaves no room for me to easily and simply remember some of the terms used as they may also change from application to appllication, so I favour a dedicated variable approach e.g. Lang::AP_Ok is always "Ok" in any language selected after a while I would be remembering the common terms used.

Keeping all that in mind I feel I am now ready to start producing a little something. This may take a little time so please bear with me. I will post here when I have something (or need Help).

Hi All

Moving on.

It is apparent that any programme to help in producing a multiligual PB programme has to have several parts.

The first is of course the language files. Separate files are the better solution I feel, as then only the files for the languages you wish to support need to be distributed and maintained. However there are of course two states for the language files. The first is the standard file which contains all the common words and phrases normally associated with a GUI. The second is an application specific language file which not only contains all the common words but also hold all application specific phrases for a particular application. Both need to be maintained separately. There is also the need to separate words which are the same but whose meaning changes dependant on context so categories are required. These files need to be standard to allow further expansion e.g. if in the future a Greek language file is produced then simply adding that file to the application should enable support for Greek the same of course with any language.

So first, the common words language file.

This is split into Categories. These are:-

Common. This holds all the common words\phrases.
Media Player. This holds words normally associated with media players.
Database. Words used in the context of a database.
Errors. Common error phrases applicable to all applications.
My Application. Empty in the standard file but used when adding phrases used in a specific application.

These are in the files now. Any suggestions for further categories are welcomed.

This does leave a file with hundreds of words, each of which needs to be accessed by a variable name. The problem when codeing is to select the correct variable not the correct language as the varable value will be changed dependant upon the language chosen.

To help with this I have programmed a little Variable Selector application. This allows you to programme in a normal fashion then when you reach a point where a literal string is required for say a button caption you select the category of the word and then the word click the select button and the variable name is copied to the clipboard you can then simply paste this into the programme. Of coursew this is a multilingual App in itself. (English and German only at this point).

I am considering how the multilingual function can be integrated into an application. This needs some consideration before commencing the codeing phase. The first and easiest way is to have the language selection at application start. You can store the users selection in a preferences file after the first run and show the language selection only if no previous selection has been made. This is achieved by this in three lines of code.
The second is to allow your users to select a language on the run. This requires more thought as after selection all open windows need to be refreshed so a restart or other routine is required.

This is the point at which I am now.

The standard language files can be downloaded here:-https://www.dropbox.com/s/w6dk3wp7zhwq3 ... s.zip?dl=0

The Variable selector application can be downloaded here:-https://www.dropbox.com/s/gc0lcqk2leogt ... r.zip?dl=0

I suggest you start by using the variable selector by opening a text editor then selecting various variables and pasteing them into the text editor to see what happens.

Once used to the idea you can with an existing application create a "Resources" folder copy the language files into this folder and add "Locale.pbi" to your project. In you main form add the code lines above and you are ready to start. You can then run the Variable selector and run through your application changing all literal strings to their variable equivalent. No application specific stuff done yet, that is next. Once all your strings have been replaced by variables your application will be multiligual!

These are not final yet so contain only a small selection of words to use in an application I will improve this over the next few days.


All suggestions etc recieved with thanks.

I would like.

A routine to store the 16X16 country flag in the language file. Each file is an SQLite database.

Any translations to other languages of the standard files. I can help by producing a standard text list of all words and phrases in their categories.

Any suggestions for further common word\phrases or categories.

Regards

CD

My approach is born out of serving very large CAD-CAM apps where the list of prompts and tips can get fairly large. I store all 'language' files as UTF-8 plain text files (large list still results in a tiny file), and all files are distributed and installed via the app installer (on Windows, installed to App Data).

The advantage of using a simple list in a simple file is - simplicity. You will gather translations from more than one source. One of the most useful is in fact Google Translate. Another great source though are your existing customers. If you want help with translations, it is essential that you keep it very straight forward so that the person helping you endures zero hassle. Another tip - make it so that the User can swap languages on-the-fly in your app. That way, if they do not understand a specific prompt, they can try it in another language (and they can also suggest a better wording in their own language).

Concerning the 16 x 16 bitmaps of flags, they are very tiny - I store them in a datasection in a dedicated .pbi file.

@ideasvacuum thanks for the tips.

The simple app is just that so all strings set at startup. I have a small working example for setting the language on the run so to speak which I will post when happy.

I keep the strings in an SQLite DB as easiest for me at the moment. I know a few users that attempt to edit anything on the computer with notepad and have come unstuck with straight forward text files before.

I am also programming a small application to allow programmers to update the language files easily either for their own apps or the basic files.

The variable selector is just there as a manual aid when codeing a small application or adding extensions. It does just that in any language that is supported. I see this as being the inroad to adding application specific strings to the language files as well.

@Kwai chang cain

Thanks for the French translations I will make a French language file tonight.

If anyone else can provide a translation I can publish the word lists here in their various categories just leave a note on this thread.

Just a note. I have now updated the english and german language files and the Locale.pbi with the application so all words are supported. The ones on the list plus a few others as well. Used google translate for some so need checking. Again any modifications required please post here and I will update the files. The country flag is now held in the language file and retrieved when needed.

Thanks for the replies

Regards

CD