2009/9/4 Ceki Gulcu <ceki@qos.ch>

<snipped>
If I understand you correctly, the spreadsheet would be used to
transform a resource bundle from one encoding to another? It would
read in one encoding and write in another. Right?

No, sorry I didn't explain it more clearly. The spreadsheet would be 'the' source file for all the languages in a bundle. Each language has its own column. The first column lists the keys so that reading across each row, the key is followed by one or more language strings, each in a different language and each being a translation of the others.

Using the spreadsheet, the hypothetical compiler would simply extract the keys and in turn each language column would produce a corresponding properties file. The properties file encoding can be whatever you want (so choose UTF-8 or stick with nasty old 'native2ascii' ASCII files). Or output to XML.

IIUC, spreadsheets allow the complexities of character encoding to be hidden from the user.

In my limited experience of working with translation services, this is an approach they like.

Rick
--
Big Bee Consultants Limited : Registered in England & Wales No. 6397941
Registered Office: 71 The Hundred, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 8BZ