Wikimedia Engineering/WMF Tech Days 2012/i18n-best-practices-sept2012
Olipa kerran pupu, se hassu pupu on.
ഒരിടത്തൊരു രസികന് മുയലുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.
ஒரு முயல்குட்டி இருந்தது, அது ஒரு வேடிக்கையான முயல்குட்டி உள்ளது.
זה מצחיק אפילו בלי תרגום
Possible things to include:
[Motivation] "I18n is not an option"
- Don't schedule for later - start immediately.
- It doesn't just help speakers of other languages - it helps uncover bugs early.
- Give translators time to translate and to report issues
- Have time for fixing issues
- Don't say "It's only for the English Wikipedia" - It happened many times that it wasn't just for the English Wikipedia.
[Practical stuff] Message writing tips
- No lego
- Avoid "right"/"left"
- Avoid jargon, and if you really need it - document it.
- Having a glossary would be awesome.
- Good example: Wikidata (Wikibase) extensions
- Bad example? :)
- Avoid writing messages that assume the size of screen, button, table header. Translations can be much longer and much shorter. If you really-really need to have it, document it.
[Message documentation tips]
- Use {{msg-mw}} when needed
- Screenshots are supported
- Give examples with variables replaced
- What is it? Button text / page title / link / table header - it's important information
- Document everything, but especially:
- Adjectives - say what are they describing (can be masculine/feminine in other languages)
- Messages that use other messages or are related to them, with {{msg-mw}}
- For very short messages, say what part of speech it is - adjective, verb, noun, etc.
[Technical stuff] Tour on wfMessage (like, use numParams for numbers)
- wfMessage or $this->msg (depending on context (pun intented!))
- ->params ->numParams ->rawParams
- Pick one: plain, text, parse, escapes, parseAsBlock
- Tips on picking?..
- Tips of reviewing?..
- New code should accept Message objects (instead of string/array of keys/params)
- Write the whole message name. If you have to concatenate, add a comment with the full message wherever relevant.
New logging system
- Supports gender
- Supports flexible word order
- Flexible parameters
- Many logs yet to be converted (hardest part is to understand all the legacy parameter formats)
$entry = new ManualLogEntry( 'patrol', 'patrol' ); $entry->setTarget( $rc->getTitle() ); $entry->setParameters( self::buildParams( $rc, $auto ) ); $entry->setPerformer( $user ); $logid = $entry->insert(); if ( !$auto ) {
$entry->publish( $logid, 'udp' );
}
Particular tips on using messages in JavaScript
- Required packages
- Limitations
- jQuery.i18n future
[Call for action and pointers] Call for help for fixing reported i18n issues