1. Open Standards A winner or a loser? Terence Mac Goff, 3 rd June 2004

2. Contents Introduction What is an open standard? Who sets open standards? Why are they used in localisation? OpenTag, XLIFF, TMX and TBX Some quick demonstrations Summary Discussion

3. What is an Open Standard? Open standards are publicly available specifications for enhancing compatibility between various hardware and software components. Open standards allow anybody with the technical know- how and the necessary equipment to implement solutions which work together with those of other vendors.specificationcompatibilityhardwaresoftwaresolution

4. So where did they come from? Several organisations  ANSI – American National Standards Institute  ISO – International Standards Organisation  ECMA – European Standards institute  MILSPEC  Early languages such as FORTRAN and ADA were written to provide platforms for developers independent of hardware used.  Many more

5. Early open standards bodies Concentrated on measurements  Its pretty important to know how long a metre is  Its also important to know what time it really is... Concentrated on mechanical issues  What is a 40mm x 8 screw?  What is a “Philips” screw head? What depth are the cuts? The industrial revolution!  Interoperability of products  Multiple suppliers  Closed standards die off!

6. Progression.. So about computers then… Early standards revolved around interoperability  Driven by MILSPEC  ISO text file formats  EBCDIC text file formats  Programming languages (FORTRAN, ADA) Hardware standards later evolved  PSUs  Slot pinouts  Memory components  VHS vs BetaMax

7. The Internet The internet is perhaps the best example of how open standards work…  TCP/IP  HTTP  HTML  XML  NNTP  SMTP  POP  IMAP Are all open standards, supported by software companies worldwide

8. So why Localization? Translation memories have become critical to the business case for localisation Product generation cycles have shortened dramatically Memories need to be re-used across multiple platforms  XML  HTML  Traditional publishing environments  CMS systems Open standards provide a level playing field  Tools competitors can concentrate on innovation

9. Standards that are now available Open standards  OpenTag  XLIFF  TMX  TBX  XML Properties Closed standards  Trados TXT format  TRADOStag TTX format Closed standards promote inertia  Open standards promote competition

10. So what’s out there? OpenTag  Initial standards focused on the conversion process  XL8, Joust, S-Tagger, and ILE’s tools all focused on extracting text to formats that could be used with the TM tools of the time. HTML, FrameMaker, Interleaf, RTF etc.  The extracted text could then be translated, and re-integrated to the source files to produce a translated file  This was supposed to drive interoperability at the TM tool level, as the OpenTag format was freely available

11. Diagram of a traditional authoring process

12. OpenTag It provided an elegant framework for the extraction and re-generation of text in to localised files It allowed for a common format for extracted content Did not succeed, as each tool used its own specific internal formats and there was no business need to re-write internal storage routines

13. XLIFF

14. XLIFF was designed to provide enhanced functionality to OpenTAG and its ilk The goal was to produce a format which would allow a file to be process and tool independent  Same file can be used in multiple localisation tools  A self referential file Different vocabularies available  Support most common formats for software and UA Allows a tools supplier to work with XLIFF files, while maintaining their internal formats

15. XLIFF So it gives the following benefits  It allows developers of custom solutions to output localisable content to a structured format Allows people to output from proprietary Content Systems to a common platform  It provides a common platform for rich contextual information to be embedded in translatable files Information such as sizing information etc.  It provides a common platform for developers to support with their tools  It’s based on open standards formats (XML)

16. XLIFF But ………  Most TM tools can treat it as any other XML The unique features of the format are not heavily used  It can be a Sledgehammer to crack a nut  It provides a good platform for developers to develop export technology for  Has been mostly superseded in the mainstream market for most applications by XML with enhanced properties  Most tool suppliers have extended the utility of their products in regard to XML to make it much more informative and user friendly Will demo this later as an example

17. TMX

18. So why do we need TMX?  TMs cost money to generate and maintain across multiple projects  Many clients view them in the same way as capital investment A certain value is placed on each word A certain value must be extracted from each word over a period of time It’s expected that the value of a word in a TM will fall over time  Translation memories are the property of the client so the format should be usable in any tools that the client wishes to use  Therefore, TMX is a solution to a commercial problem…

19. TMX A good example is in an integrated Content Management system environment….

20. An integrated Content System

21. TMX The purpose of TMX is to allow easier exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors with little or no loss of critical data during the process TMX provides an open specification for the storage of translation memories The format is clearly documented The format also incorporates a verifiable third party testing scheme

22. So how does TMX work? Proprietary TM Database Tool A RTF TMX Document Proprietary TM Database Tool B HTML

23. TMX Too many companies are locked into proprietary solutions  High cost of maintenance  Restricts choice of tools and suppliers TMX allows tools suppliers to compete on features and function of the product, rather than locking users into proprietary tools and formats TMX is expanding its acceptance rapidly It will succeed because it addresses a commercial need!

24. TBX

25. TBX ® stands for TermBase eXchange TBX is a terminological markup framework TBX is maintained by OSCAR The TBX specification is free But why TBX?

26. TBX TBX allows greater flexibility than source target text files Facilitates more straightforward exchange of extended attributes Provides greater ease of use than Excel files in a TM environment Allows for easy import/export of term information Vitally important for a CMS orientated localisation system

27. So a few demonstrations of what we have been talking about

28. Conclusion

29. Open Standards Open standards are here to stay  Gaining wide acceptance  New features in TM tools may have an impact on the innovation and uptake of XLIFF for certain formats  Support for TMX growing rapidly  New TMX standard available which addresses segmentation (1.4b)  Customer demand for vendor independence is growing  The tools market has widened considerably with the advent of GMS/CMS systems Requirement for easy migration pathways  TM tool providers are now implementing the same standards Focus can shift back to innovation and features

30. Discussion