[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Need for a Debian-l10n-bidi mailing list?



On Mon, Jun 14, 2004 at 05:06:43PM +0430, Arash Bijanzadeh wrote:
> > 1. Localization the strings for RTL languages are only part of the whole
> > picture of truly localizing an interface. For example, progress bars
> > should also be RTL, the ok and cancel should be switched around...etc
> > .etc that means localizing an app is more than just translating the PO
> > files. It is getting involved in the changes the UI should adopt to
> > accommodate true RTL languages.

> I don't think all of this as a must be. There is lots of more important things 
> that should be done for RTL languages in linux, like a true support of RTL at 
> the shell.

I question whether the *shell* should ever have explicit RTL support.
Indeed, I wonder whether adding bidi and shaping support to slang at all
is really the correct course of action; it seems to be the only option
currently available, but is it really slang/curses that should be
responsible for this, or is it the responsibility of the terminal?

Hmm -- on second thought, shells (through libreadline, etc.) already
have to have special handling for utf8, for cursor keys; perhaps
bidi/shaping falls in the same category.  One way or another, decisions
need to be made about *which* level of technology is supposed to
implement RTL, and consistently enforced; debconf will already look
interesting running under mlterm now...

BTW -- for ligature characters, what do people expect the behavior of
cursor keys to be?

> > Therefore, I suggest we have a debian-28n-bidi (l10n + i18n) mailing
> > list that focus on localization and internationalization combined

> > The list will help us discuss translation and UI changes that focus on
> > bidi/RTL languages. For example we can discuss changes such ad:

> > - translation of PO files of course
> > - curses lib modifications to add language switching capabilities (not
> > sure if curses takes care of that)
> > - console fonts support (making sure there is a single font that all RTL
> > languages can use. if not we can add the necessary glyphs)

I think this would be best discussed with implementors of other
non-latin languages.  I know non-Latin support post-install has been
shaky at times, but it's definitely being worked on; best to collaborate
with the Russian, Chinese, etc. teams to avoid duplication of effort.

> This one is really important and may cause all the translations to be useless. 
> I think we need an BiDi enabled ISO image from d-i  CD so we can see what is 
> happening to our strings ( Just let us one week to translate some).

Well, slang -3.1 is already available from http://incoming.debian.org/
thanks to Alastair, and should be in the archive later today, so
starting tomorrow, all sid d-i CDs should have bidi/shaping support. :)

> It would be also great if Steve could provide us a mini-HOWTO for  creating a 
> simple application with BiDi-enabled Slang to check how it reacts in certain 
> circumstances

Installing libfribidi0 and slang1a-utf8 >= 1.4.9-3.1 should be enough
to give you bidi-enabled slang for all applications (e.g., debconf).

Cheers,
-- 
Steve Langasek
postmodern programmer

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature