Leveraging Versata for Multiple Languages

1
Leveraging Versata for Multiple Languages

• David M. Hewitt
• Versata Solution Architect
• david.hewitt_at_versata.com

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Overview of Presentation

• Brief Intro to topic of multiple languages
• Extremely brief overview of Versata
• Discussion of multiple language issues
• Discussion of an Internationalization extension
  to Versata
• Demonstration of a small application
• Question and Answers via chat

3
What is Multi-Lingual

• Ability to build an app in one language and
• Without rebuilding or redesign
• Run in multiple languages

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Example

• The error message for the Credit Limit business
  rule

BusinessObject.CUSTOMERS.Constraint.ActBalanceChec
k Account balance (0) exceeds credit limit
(1).
BusinessObject.CUSTOMERS.Constraint.ActBalanceChec
k Kontoabgleichung (0) uumlbersteigt Ihre
Kreditlinie (1).
5
Versata Business Logic Development and
Management

• What and Why

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Versata Thumbnail

• Automates Business Logic (transactions, process)
  for J2EE using declarative logic
• New Development, integrates existing systems
• N-Fold Reduction in Time, Cost Risk
• Development, and especially Maintenance
• Making the business more responsive
• Promotes Enterprise Performance
• Leverages staff expertise in a complex J2EE
  environment

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Declarative Business LogicExecutable Business
Requirements
Requirements/Analysis Object Models, Use Cases,
UML, RUP
Versata Logic Server
Specifications
Versata Logic Studio
Graphical Logic Designers
JSP, Servlet, Beans
rules and processes
Java IDE
Logic Repository (XML)
This means Fast (deploy, change) 50X (a
declaration replaces 1 page of Java) 98
automation Simple - Leverages Existing Skills,
Reduce Risk
Database
Applications
Middleware
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BackgroundConcepts
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Software in Multiple Languages

• Software for multiple languages is challenging
• Software for multiple cultures is even harder.
• Requires an understanding of large body of
  knowledge
• Technical
• Foreign language knowledge
• Foreign culture
• Easy to underestimate challenges

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What Are Those Funny Acronyms

• I18n - Internationalization
• I (18 characters) n
• multiple languages and cultural conventions
  without the need for redesign
• L10n - Localization
• linguistically and culturally appropriate to the
  target locale
• G11n - Globalization
• integrating internal/external business functions
  with marketing, sales, and customer support in
  the world market

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More Acronyms

• Unicode - 16bit code, currently v3.2.0
• 95,221 characters (in 65536 spaces)
• Room for 870,000 more
• Java is Unicode basic multilingual plane
• Covers all current languages (except Klingon
  which was rejected on 21-May-2001)
• Many historical languages and symbols
• Deals with characters
• http//www.unicode.org/unicode/standard/WhatIsUnic
  ode.html
• UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32
• Each require at most 4 bytes per character

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Yet More Acronyms

• ISO 10646
• ISO-8859-1, ISO Latin 1
• ASCII
• DBCS, SBCS encoding
• Shift-JIS, Big5
• CP1252

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I18n Issues

• Capabilities of end-user machine
• Capabilities of Database
• NCHAR, Unicode, UTF-8, DBCS
• Creation of HTML Web based apps
• Browser encoding
• Fonts available (fixed vs. proportional)
• Java Swing-based applications
• Input Methods (IME)
• Server language, Database language

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I18n Issues (continued)

• Business Logic (context)
• Sorting
• Collation
• Dates, Calendars
• Currency
• BIDI (Bi-Directional Languages)

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Versata and I18n
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Service Summary

• Development Time
• Develop in 1 language
• Extract Strings into properties file
• Edit Properties file for each locale
• Translation time
• Extract strings into a property file
• Edit property file for each locale (validate
  layout)
• Create login for each locale (specifies apps
  locale)
• Runtime per login locale localizes
• Date, time, etc
• Screen Text
• Constraint Text

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Runtime Extensions for I18N

• Versata Business Logic and Presentation Engine
  are pure Java, and extensible (superclassing)
• For Internalization
• Extend Business Logic for translatable dynamic
  constraint messages
• Extend Presentation Engine for translatable
  screen text
• Currently a services offering
• Consulting for additional assistance

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Cautions

• Changes server-side code for ALL repositories
• Increased processing of HTML
• not yet measured and correctable
• Does not deal with hard problem of different
  languages occupying different screen real-estate
  and different directions
• Requires functional UTF-8 Encoding
• BIDI Issues have been ignored.

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Advantages

• Multiple Language support with minimal effort
• Separates translation from coding via property
  files
• Keeps coding simple without managing lookup key
  tables
• Languages can be added by adding a new property
  file to a running system

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Demonstration

• Very simple Customer/Order application
• Development was done in English
• Property files and login screens were added for
  French, German, Spanish, Japanese
• Small launcher html page built
• Error messages such as Credit Limit Exceeded are
  dynamic
• Und jetz, wir anfangen. C'est bon, n'est-ce pas?

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Demonstration Screen Samples
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English Login
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German Login
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Sample Property Files and Runtime Result

• Which row of how many?

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Sample Property Files and Runtime Result

• The error message for credit limit rule

BusinessObject.CUSTOMERS.Constraint.ActBalanceChec
k Account balance (0) exceeds credit limit
(1).
BusinessObject.CUSTOMERS.Constraint.ActBalanceChec
k Kontoabgleichung (0) uumlbersteigt Ihre
Kreditlinie (1).
26
References

• www.unicode.org
• www.alanwood.net/unicode/index.html
• java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.1/docs/guide/intl/faq.html
• The Java International API Beyond JDK 1.1
• by Mark Davis (mark_at_macciato.com) and Helena Shih
  (hshih_at_us.ibm.com)
• Java Report, February 1999, pp. 27-36
• discusses the various classes created for
  internalization

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Contact Information

• David M. Hewitt
• Solutions Architect
• 1 416-820-4876
• david.hewitt_at_Versata.com

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Thank you for attending!
Thank you for attending!
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