xml-dev - Multi-lingual experiment - a call for action

["Didier PH Martin" <martind@netfolder.com>]

Hi,

I am proposing a group effort to create a multi-lingual document so that we
can concretely see what is a multi-lingual document instead of talking about
the subject in the abstract. Let's create a very simple document with the
following DOCTYPE. This document will be freely available for XML-DEV people
to experiment with.

We need element translation in any language we can get. The encoding will be
in Unicode (UTF-16) so that we can read the document with any Unicode
enabled word processor or XML editor. At the same time, this can be used as
a test for the multi-lingual support of XML authoring tools.

The document is a simulated document that is the result of a query to a
database.

The original document:
<!DOCTYPE xmldev-experiment [
<!ELEMENT xmldev-experiment(item)+ >
<!ELEMENT item (title, author, publisher, price) >
<!ATTLIST item  xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED >
<!ELEMENT title (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT author (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT publisher (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT price (#PCDATA) >
<!ATTLIST price currency CDATA #REQUIRED>
]>
<xmldev-experiment>
<item xml:lang="english">
<title>STL Tutorial</title>
<author>David Musser</author>
<publisher>Addison Wesley</publisher>
<price currency="can">54.50</price>
</item>
</xmldev-experiment>


what is required for the experiment:
a) a translation of the DTD into other languages
b) a translation of the content into other languages

We'll produce documents that include elements encoded in different languages
and this will represent the output of a database where the fields are
encoded in a particular native language but with a translation in other
languages like below:

(please if the translation is not perfect, please, do not hesitate to
mention it, I didn't spoke German since quite a long period of time)

<!DOCTYPE Erfahrung [
<!ELEMENT Erfahrung (Objekt)+>
<!ELEMENT objekt (titel,autor,herausgeber,einkaufspreis)
<!ATTLIST objekt  xml:lang CDATA #REQUIRED >
<!ELEMENT titel (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT autor  (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT herausgeber (#PCDATA) >
<!ELEMENT einkaufspreis (#PCDATA) >
<!ATTLIST einkaufspreis devise??? CDATA #REQUIRED> Note: I am not sure about
the word devise to translate currency, I am maybe mixing up with an other
language.
]>

<Erfahrung>
<objekt xml:lang="english">
<titel>STL Tutorial</title>
<autor>David Musser</autor>
<herausgeber>Addison Wesley</herausgeber>
<einkaufspreis devise="CAN">54.50<einkaufspreis>
</objekt>
</Erfahrung>

And so forth

If we can get DTD translations in Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and so
forth this would be even better. The more languages we get, the best it is.
You can send me the translated DTD encoded in Unicode to my email address. I
will make the documents available to the XMLdev people for testing,
discussion or experiments. The documents will be posted on an FTP site for
free download.

Cheers
Didier PH Martin alias Bacon :-)
----------------------------------------------
Email: martind@netfolder.com
Conferences: XML Europe (http://www.gca.org)
Book: XML Professional (http://www.wrox.com)
column: Style Matters (http://www.xml.com)
Products: http://www.netfolder.com


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