[Sugar-devel] [IAEP] [SLOB] meeting reminder

[Dave Crossland]

Hi Tony!

On 3 April 2016 at 01:45, Tony Anderson <tony_anderson at usa.net> wrote:

> I can't imagine the process is so simple. The overwritten translations
> were probably on translate.sugarlabs.org.
>

Yes, that is the Pootle instance I referred to in my previous email, sorry
that I wasn't clear on this point.

(I had not looked at that site until this thread came up, and when I looked
at that page, I saw that the most completely translated Activity was
"Favourite Fonts" - and since I am passionate about the fonts topic, I
explored it, and found that I could create an account and overwrite the
strings within a few minutes.)


> Sugar developers need to determine which Pootle files to install in an
> image. Each individual Sugar activity has an independent set of
> translations which needs to be updated into a new version of the Activity.
>

(I am not sure what you mean by "Pootle files"? I wonder perhaps you mean
PO files, since Pootle is an acronym for PO O.nline T.ranslation
L.ocalization E.ngine, and PO is an acronym for P.ortable O.bjects, the
file type for translation strings used by GNU GetText :)

As Sugar, we need a process to handle this. I strongly believe it is a
> mistake to do perform localization directly on the Pootle server. It would
> be better
> to do the localization at the locale and verify it by use by the native
> language speakers (primary school children). Update for activities is to
> submit new po
> files in an updated version of the acitivity (version += 1). This process
> is under git version control. These updates, once vetted, can be updated on
> translate.sugarlabs.org. On a new Sugar release, OLPC or someone
> determines which activities and which versions of those activities to
> include in the image.
>

If the above was carried out, then what would you see as the purpose of
translate.sugarlabs.org?

My understand is that:

1. Sugar *distributors* need to determine which PO files to include in a
SOAS (or installation) disk image.

2. Each individual Sugar activity has an independent set of translations,
which needs to be updated by the individual Activity's section of the
community for each new version of the Activity, and these translations are
stored in a PO file.

3. translate.sugarlabs.org is a Pootle instance that manages a collection
PO files for many Activities, including the "core" ones developed at OLPC
10 years ago, and the most important/popular ones developed by members of
the Sugar Labs community.

4. Currently the translate.sugarlabs.org Pootle is configured to use a
'wiki style' permissions model where any user can overwrite any string.

I proposed that the translate.sugarlabs.org Pootle be re-configured to use
a 'pull-request style' permissions model, where any user can suggest
changes to any string, and those changes must then be reviewed and approved
by someone with a 'trusted' account.

I understand that your proposal is also to move to a 'pull-request style'
permissions model, where translators use desktop PO-file editors (such as
those listed at http://stackoverflow.com/a/394632/1174651) and submit the
PO file via an actual git pull request.

I fully support your proposal, since it is a different strategy to realise
the same goal (to change the permissions model) and in fact I probably
prefer it to mine: git is a "powerful idea" in the Papert/Kay sense, and
the more that git pull requests are used as a strategy to develop all
aspects of Sugar, the better :)

However, all else being equal, web based editors are more convenient than
desktop editors and so likely to see higher engagement.

-- 
Cheers
Dave
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