A Tag Set for the Support of Internationalization and Localization
Richard Ishida, W3C Internationalization Activity Lead, W3C, UK
Felix Sasaki, Internationalization Activity Member, W3C, Japan
Intended Audience: Content Developers, Software Engineers, Site Coordinators, Systems Analysts, Web Designers, People working with XML based data.
Session Level: Intermediate
Purpose: Introduce the audience to the development of a standardized Tag Set for i18n and l10n needs.
The goal of the W3C Internationalization Tag Set (ITS) Working Group is the development of a set of elements and attributes that can be integrated into schemas for XML documents to support the Internationalization and Localization of documents.
The ITS tag set will provide a standard vocabulary for internationalization and localization needs. This vocabulary can be integrated into existing schemas such as DocBook or RSS, or into newly developed schemas. It will enable worldwide use of documents based on the schema, and will also support the needs of localizers who need to make translation more efficient. This paper will describe the basic concepts of ITS, its application scenarios, and the main features and questions which are arising during its development. A key issue is the mapping between the ITS vocabulary and existing, "given as is" schemas, which are possibly relying on different Schema Languages (DTDs, XML Schema, Relax NG).
Benefits for the audience: An overview of developments in this cutting edge area that will allow you to plan to integrate these concepts in your work, or allow you to push for their adoption with the relevant parties. An opportunity to raise issues and concerns that should be addressed by the Working Group.
Prior knowledge: Basic knowledge of XML.