Translate Toolkit

Infobox_Software
name = Translate Toolkit
developer = Translate.org.za
latest_release_version = 1.1.1
latest_release_date = release_date|2008|03|26
operating_system = Cross-platform
genre = Computer-assisted translation
license = GPL
website = [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index translate.sourceforge.net]

The Translate Toolkit is a localization toolkit written in the Python programming language. It is free software originally developed and released by Translate.org.za in 2002. It was further developed as part of the WordForge project and is now maintained by Translate.org.za.

History

The toolkit was originally developed as the mozpotools by David Fraser for Translate.org.za. Translate.org.za had focused on translating KDE which used Gettext PO files for localization. With an internal change to focus on end-user, cross-platform, OSS software, the organisation decided to localize the Mozilla Suite. This required using new tools and new formats that were not as rich as Gettext PO. Thus mozpotools was created to convert the Mozilla DTD and .properties files to Gettext PO.

Various tools were developed as needed, including pocount, a tool to count source text words to allow correct estimations for work, pogrep, to search through translations, and pofilter, to check for various quality issues.

When Translate.org.za began translating OpenOffice.org it was only natural that the Translate Toolkit would be adapted to handle the OpenOffice.org internal file format. Translating OpenOffice.org using PO files is now the default translation method.

As part of the WordForge project the work received a major boost and the toolkit was further extended to manage XLIFF files alongside PO files.

Design goals

The main aim of the toolkit is to stop the proliferation of localization formats and reduce the multitude to only PO and XLIFF. This means building converters that can transform files to be translated into these two basic formats.

Another aim is to provide tools that assist in the quality assurance of localization. These tools check for consistency, for correct use of variables, and more. There are over 40 checks in the pofilter tool.

Lastly, the toolkit acts as a base for other localization related tools.

Users

Many translators use the toolkit directly, to do quality checks and to transform files for translation. Further there are several indirect users of the toolkit:

* Pootle - an online translation tool
* [http://open-tran.eu open-tran] - providing translation memory lookup
* Pootling - an offline translation tool
* Rosetta - the Ubuntu community translation tool; for OpenOffice.org localization
* OpenOffice.org - most community localization is done through PO files produced by the toolkit
* Virtaal - a localisation and translation tool

upported Document Formats

* Primary Localization Formats
** Gettext PO
** XLIFF (Normal and PO representations)
* Other Localization Related Formats
** TBX
** Java .properties
** Qt .ts, .qm and .qph (Qt Phrase Book)
** Gettext .mo
* Other Formats
** Plain Text
** Wiki: DokuWiki and MediaWiki syntax
** Mozilla DTD
** OpenOffice.org SDF
** PHP strings
** INI file
* Translation Memory Formats
** TMX
** Wordfast TM

OpenDocument Format support

Work was started in June 2008 to incorporate OpenDocument Format support [ [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/developers/projects/odf Project page for ODF format support] ] . This work is funded by the NLnet Foundation and is a collaboration between Translate.org.za and Itaapy

See also

* Translation Memory
* Computer-assisted Translation

External links

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit home page]
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/formats Supported document formats]
*
* [http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Translate%20Toolkit Python package index]

References