151 lines
4.9 KiB
HTML
151 lines
4.9 KiB
HTML
<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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<META NAME="Author" CONTENT="Rick Elliott">
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Mozilla/4.04 [en] (WinNT; U) [Netscape]">
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<TITLE>Testing the Localized Resources</TITLE>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY TEXT="#000000" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LINK="#0000EE" VLINK="#551A8B" ALINK="#FF0000">
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<H2>
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<A NAME="testkit"></A>4. Ensuring Quality</H2>
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The quality of your localized version will have a large impact on its acceptance
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in the marketplace. You can greatly enhance your chances of producing
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a quality product by using experienced and skilled localizers, and by performing
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post-translation testing.
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<P>When performing the actual translation, you should be sensitive to a
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number of issues:
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<UL>
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<LI>
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Completeness: you should aim for as thorough a translation as possible.
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Try not to leave portions of the product untranslated. However, be aware
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that some terms may best be left in English, depending on local conventions.</LI>
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<LI>
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Suitability: all translations should be suitable and appropriate for product,
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the language, the market and the customers you intend to reach. This
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includes using the proper technical terminology for a give platform or
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computer operation, as well as using language that is readily understood
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by the average user of the product in a given language. You should,
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where possible, try to use terminology which is similar to other products
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available on the same platform (without violating copyrights or trademarks,
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of course).</LI>
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<LI>
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Accuracy: you should be sure your translation conveys the same meaning
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and intention as the original English.</LI>
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<LI>
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Grammar and spelling: you should be sure your translation is grammatically
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accurate and free from spelling errors.</LI>
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</UL>
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Keep in mind that engineers do not necessarily make the best localizers!
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<P>Once localization is complete, there are two basic types of post-translation
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testing that should be done:
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<BR>
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<TABLE BORDER WIDTH="100%" >
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<TR>
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<TD>Linguistic Review</TD>
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<TD>Checking all translations for accuracy and appropriateness in the actual
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context in which they appear.</TD>
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</TR>
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<TR>
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<TD>Functional Testing</TD>
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<TD>Ensuring the product still functions as designed (or at least as well
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as the US English product).</TD>
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</TR>
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</TABLE>
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<BR>For the linguistic review, you should have an independent reviewer
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(i.e. not the person who implemented the translations) check every string
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for the items listed above. In some cases, it may be enough to review
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the running product itself; however, it is also valuable to print out your
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translations and review them externally from the product.
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<P>For the functional testing, your best resource are the directions contained
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in the localization notes and this document. You should review the completed
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product's localization notes with this document in hand, double checking
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that you have followed all the instructions contained here.
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<P>Consider the following general guidelines when testing:
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<UL>
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<LI>
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It is helpful to have a second copy of the product running with the English
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version so you can compare them side by side (a second computer might be
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helpful or required for this).</LI>
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<LI>
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Walk through every menu in each module you have localized looking for translation
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accuracy, pick letter conflicts and other problems.</LI>
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<LI>
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Bring up as many dialogs as you can, looking for translation accuracy,
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pick letter conflicts, truncated strings and functionality issues.</LI>
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<LI>
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Exercise the installer in as many ways as possible:</LI>
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<UL>
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<LI>
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Select every installer option</LI>
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<LI>
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Be sure to test the deinstaller</LI>
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<LI>
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Look at the icons and folder names created</LI>
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<LI>
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Use accented or multibyte file and directory names</LI>
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<LI>
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Install to non-existant and read-only directories</LI>
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<LI>
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Install to drives with insufficient disk space</LI>
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<LI>
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etc.</LI>
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</UL>
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<LI>
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If functional problems are found, you should compare the same steps you
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took in the localized product to the English product: if the two products
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fail in the same way, it is a "core" bug, which can only be fixed by changing
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the core product's executable. If the localized product fails while the
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English product does not, then it is probably a translation-related bug;
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these can be fixed by altering the way you localize the product (perhaps
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by not translating a particular item, or by translating it differently).</LI>
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</UL>
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The following section tells you how to report bugs in the localization
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kit itself, or in the core product.
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<BR>
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<CENTER><TABLE COLS=3 WIDTH="50%" >
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<TR>
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<TD>
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<CENTER>[<A HREF="usingKit.html">BACK</A>]</CENTER>
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</TD>
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<TD>
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<CENTER>[<A HREF="reportingBugs.html">NEXT</A>]</CENTER>
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</TD>
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<TD>
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<CENTER>[<A HREF="toc.html">CONTENTS</A>]</CENTER>
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</TD>
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</TR>
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</TABLE></CENTER>
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<CENTER> </CENTER>
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<CENTER><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica"><FONT SIZE=-2>1998, Copyright Netscape
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Communications Corp. All Rights Reserved</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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