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Tools to develop documentation in many languages ?
Subject:Tools to develop documentation in many languages ? From:Ruslan Zasukhin <sunshine -at- public -dot- kherson -dot- ua> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:34:17 +0300
Hi All,
I am new to this list, and I hope this is correct place to ask this
question. Please excuse me for English, I am not English-native.
We plan to start develop in our team documentation for our DBMS Valentina.
This will be big work. With potentially many books, many parts in each book
and so on.
We dream about having documentation in several languages.
And this requirement I think adds a lots of complexity.
Really. If we develop docs just in English, then no problems.
Member of team just change something and this go to release.
But if you have several languages, then most probably you will have several
different people that do translation. E.g.
Russian -> English one person
English -> German other person
English -> Japan and more
English -> Spain and more...
The main problem that I see -- synchronization.
Let somebody change few words on page 35 in Russian docs, and on page 48.
This can do programmer for example.
Now translator should correct English docs in the same way.
But I do not see ANY EASY way to do this for translator, if he/she is not
informed about EXACT place of changes. Right? For example Adobe Indesign do
not have any features to compare 2 versions of documents and VISUALLY show
different places, like this can do DIFF tool or even better CodeWarrior,
Bbedit from MacOS.
The only way I see is:
* all docs are splinted to small TEXT/XML documents.
* all these documents are in the CVS.
Usage of CVS gives a lots of help.
It keep versions.
It is standard free tool.
we can give access to CVS for translator worldwide
it can show DIFERENCE between versions VISUALLY, so translator
easy can find changes in latest version.
Usage of many small documents simplify concurrent access to docs for team
work.
Okay, so we have a lots of small TEXT documents. Now we need put this into
e.g. Indesign. Well Indesign do have option "Link text on place". This is
good, when we extract from CVS new version, then Indesign document become
updated automatically. But still problems if changes increase the size of
part.
Also come issue with styles. We think it is possible to find some solution
using XML text instead of just text.
-----------------
Taking all this into account, I very wonder, how professional experienced
tech writes solve all this problems ?
I think this is standard problem for any team.
-----------------
Taking all this into account I have even formulate the DREAM TOOL to resolve
all this. And as far as I see not exists such application.
DREAM IS:
* app which have good editor of course.
* which have own repository like CVS, so team can work with it
* repository in fact must be DBMS
* each small part/paragraph should go as RECORD in the DATABASE.
* each such record may be marked by key words
* record can be linked.
* Now in THIS app we must have create books just adding existed records in
the required order.
* generate that book into PDF or HTML or other formats.
* its obvious that in such design with DBMS usage it is very easy
create several books over the same records.
* now important. Each record in DBMS marked by timestamp,
* each record exists in several versions.
so I can even say:
generate book for THIS version/date
and just in one mouse click get it.
* APP must be able show in editor 2 pages for 2 different languages,
so translator can easy compare and edit.
* translator must be bale easy find records modified in say last 5 days.
And so on....
Does exists anything similar ?
How you guys resolve such tasks?
Not Adobe tools, not word, nothing what we have check do not give such
features :-(
--
Best regards,
Ruslan Zasukhin [ I feel the need...the need for speed ]
-------------------------------------------------------------
e-mail: ruslan -at- paradigmasoft -dot- com
web: http://www.paradigmasoft.com
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