Re: [PHP-DOC] translations not in sync. From: Egon Schmid ( <email protected>) (( <email protected>))
Date: 08/08/00

Manuel Lemos wrote:
>
> Hello ,
>
> On 07-Aug-00 18:37:33, you wrote:
>
> >To someone who knows how the translations to other languages are done:
>
> >There are some modules for PHP that change a lot, and their documentation
> >changes a lot as well, but only the English version. It appears that some
> >documentation just got copied&pasted into some (but not all) other
> >translations as it is, without actually being translated.
>
> >That sounds confusing. Let me give you an example. I kept writing and
> >updating documentation (English) for pspell module that I have just recently
> >written. It also got properly translated into Japanese (or so it appears,
> >for I do not know the language). But the German, Italian and French version
> >has exactly the same contents as the English version did some time ago,
> >which is incorrect and outdated.
>
> You are completely right to bring that to attention people doing
> translations. The way it is now it is not very organized and there is no
> way to determine if a translation is synchronized.
>
> >I do not have a problem with that. However, if someone get to translate this
> >in the future,
> >- Will they know to check wih the English version first, or will they just
> >translate an already outdated version?
>
> I don't think they will check the English version because the way it is is
> a painful job.
>
> >- How are they supposed to know which translation is the most current? Do
> >they just check the last-modified date on CVS for all translations and
> >assume that the last with the most changes is the most current, or is there
> >a better way to know which is the "master" version, and which are the
> >"translations"?
>
> The way it is there is no way to figure what is most up to date because the
> CVS server only stores commit dates and updates may have been lost since the
> translator have copied the english files until the first translation was
> commited.
>
> >I just asked those questions because it seems important, and I haven't seen
> >it brought up before. Sorry if I missed something obvious. I have a more
> >practical question as well though:
>
> >Since the German, Italian and French translations of pspell module are just
> >outdated versions of the English version of the document, should I bring
> >them in sync (on CVS) with the English copy, even though I am not
> >translating them, or should I leave it and hope that whoever does the
> >translation will check with English version first?
>
> Hang on. This needs further though, but I think that the right way to go
> is to have separate branches for each language instead of separate
> directories. This way people will always know which version of the
> original english files the translated files are in sync with.
>
> Not that people will literaly merge changes in the main (english) branch
> into their translation branch, but when they synchronize their versions
> they will commit as if there was a merge and the version of the master
> version will be noted and people will not loose updates in the main version.
>
> So, I think it is time to halt translations, create different branches for
> each language and re-commit what has been translated verifiying if the
> translation is still up to date. This is not a easy task, but better now
> than latter when there will be much even more documents to keep in sync.

I don't agree here. We have a branch for the English version with a
experimental ordering scheme. But now nobody maintains this branch.

-Egon 

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