L10n:Localization Process: Difference between revisions

L10n:Localization Process (view source)

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-Mozilla's [[L10n|localization]] (l10n for short) objective is to offer to as many users as possible Mozilla applications '''in their language and with a great user experience'''. This user experience is learning about, finding, installing, using and updating Firefox, as well as upgrading it to a new major version.
+Mozilla's [[L10n|localization]] (l10n for short) objective is to offer to as many users as possible Mozilla applications '''in their language and with a great user experience'''. This user experience is learning about, finding, installing, using, and updating Firefox.
-Because you are here, we believe you're looking for way to contribute to Mozilla applications in your language and find out what it takes -- you've started at the right place. <small>(However, you may prefer reading about localizing [[Update:Localizers|AMO]] or [[mdc:MDC:Localization_Projects|developer documentation]], too.)</small>
+Because you are here, we believe you are looking for a way to contribute to Mozilla's localization effort. <small>(You also may prefer reading about localizing [[Update:Localizers|AMO]] or [[mdc:MDC:Localization_Projects|developer documentation]], too.)</small>
+The process of becoming more involved with Mozilla localization is summarized on this page in three sections:
-The documentation on how to achieve the L10n objectives by getting more involved is split into three parts described below:
 # '''[[#1. Starting a New Localization|Starting a new localization]]''' (↓ below)
 # '''[[#2. Becoming an Official Release|Becoming an official localization]]''' (↓ below)
 # '''[[#3. Maintaining the Localization|Maintaining the localization]]''' (↓ below)
-A typical process of translating Mozilla applications involves:
+A typical process of localizing Mozilla applications involves
-*Localizing (translating and customizing) the application
+*translating and customizing the application
-*Getting your localization to testers (who'll test the quality of your translations and should offer general opinion on your work)
+*distributing your localization to testers who will provide feedback on the quality of your translations;
-*Localizing installation and migration (the purpose of doing this is so that user's can do everything from finding to upgrading the Mozilla application in their language of choice)
+*localizing the installation and migration process so a user easily can find and later upgrade the Mozilla application;
-*Translating web pages linked from the application
+*translating web pages linked from the application and Mozilla websites to help educate users and market your efforts to localize the product;
-*Translating Mozilla websites
-We are always looking for feedback to improve this page, if you have something to say good or bad please post to the [http://www.mozilla.org/community/developer-forums.html#dev-l10n forum] or [mailto:l10n-drivers@mozilla.org mail us].
+Because we are always looking trying to improve our process, if you have any remarks about this page or the localization process, please comment on the l10n [http://www.mozilla.org/community/developer-forums.html#dev-l10n forum] or [mailto:l10n-drivers@mozilla.org mail us].
 = 1. Starting a New Localization  =
-Your first step is to try to find other community members already working on localization or willing to help out. You should find them on the [[L10n:Teams]] page, which lists the teams by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_code language code]. If there is not a team yet, please create a wiki page in the L10n:Teams category introducing yourself, following the examples set forth in the other pages.
+Before you begin, please visit the [[L10n:Teams]] page, which lists existing localization teams by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_code language code]. If your locale exists, please email the locale owner to see how you can contribute.  If your localization does not exist, please create a wiki page in the L10n:Teams category and introduce yourself by following the examples set forth in the other pages.
-The easiest way to let users and testers see your Localization, is to create a "language pack", which is currently hosted within our [https://addons.mozilla.org AMO] Add-on infrastructure. By following this route of development (building a language pack) you get all the benefits that AMO brings: you don't have to worry about hosting costs, AMO will serve updates of your language pack to your users (once it passes the review process and is then considered public), you can create a nice description for your language pack, and in your language, too. Your language pack will continue to work during minor updates, because we're not changing our language strings on stable releases.
-The negative side of using language packs is that your users won't get a localized install experience of Firefox, including the profile migration dialogs. The in-product webpages will come up in one of the official languages of mozilla.com, bookmarks and search engines will be taken from the build that your users installed originally. If your users decide to upgrade to the next major version, your language packs will stop working, and get disabled like other incompatible Add-ons, until you uploaded a compatible version on AMO again. We are working on improving this process specifically for Language Packs to achieve our objective of a good user experience overall. If you're working on a dialect or a minority language, the disadvantages of language packs are not that bad because the user most likely speaks one of the main languages used by AMO, but for languages spoken by people without a second language supported by the Mozilla community (thus far), getting Firefox out there requires more work.
 Read more at '''[[L10n:Starting a localization]] →'''
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 = 2. Becoming an Official Release  =
-For your localization to be available directly for download on mozilla.com, there needs to be an official complete release rather than just a language pack add-on. Mozilla evaluates newly emerging localizations to possibly be turned into official localized builds. This depends on quality, popularity and other factors.
+For your localization to be available directly for download on [http://www.mozilla.com/ Mozilla's main website], you need to complete an "official release" that depends on the quality of the work, potential for end user popularity and adoption, and your ongoing ability to contribute from release to release.
-Doing an official release involves, among other things:
+An official release involves more than just translating the user interface of the Mozilla application.  Official localized versions include
-*More translation work (e.g. on installer and migration wizard)
+*translation of the installation and migration process,
-*Doing localized versions of the web pages built into the product, and the start page
+*localizing the start page and other web pages built into the product,
-*Customizing the user experience by, for example, translated bookmarks, possibly different search engines, etc.
+*customizing settings like "live bookmarks", locally relevant search engine plugins, and more.
-We also get more involved by doing some of the technical checks on the completeness and maturity of your localization. We'll also work with you to make sure that your localization is hooked up at the right places in our build and release process, and that the hooks to external services (such as search and web content handlers) are good for your locale and set up correctly. Once all the additional work is done, we will create up-to-date versions of the product for your language on our three major platforms and offers automatic security updates for it. Your job at this point is to make sure we don't break anything&nbsp;;-)
+Once official, Mozilla's l10n-drivers team ensures that your localization is connected to the build and release process.  , and that the hooks to external services (such as search and web content handlers) are good for your locale and set up correctly. Once all the additional work is done, we will create up-to-date versions of the product for your language on our three major platforms and offers automatic security updates for it. Your job at this point is to make sure we don't break anything&nbsp;;-)
 Once the official release is completed, your localization will be offered to people coming to the main Mozilla site as one of the language choices. Now it's time to take a step back and party&nbsp;:-)!