Self-learning localization service

• US 9,977,684 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2013
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Arseniev, Alexey, Hoefer, Felix F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Desir, Pierre-Louis
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, YI SHENG
• Application Number:
  US13/916,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20140372098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/42 Data-driven translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation

Abstract

The disclosure generally describes computer-implemented methods, software, and systems for self-learning localization services. A computer-implemented method includes: identifying, at a location remote from a first application, a request for localization of a string value associated with the first application from a source language to a target language, sending the string value to a translation request buffer in response to a determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, and triggering, in response to satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis, a translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language where the string value is retrieved from the translation request buffer. In some instances, the location remove from the first application is a centralized localization service accessible by remote requests from a plurality of applications.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, the method executed by one or more processors, the method comprising:

identifying, by at least one of the one or more processors, at a location remote from a first application, a request for localization associated with a particular user of a string value associated with the first application from a source language to a target language, the request received via a network connection;

transmitting, via the network connection, the string value to a translation request buffer in response to a determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, wherein the translation is delayed until a determination of satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis; and

in response to satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis, automatically triggering a translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language within a translation module, the string value retrieved from the translation request buffer, where a first heuristic analysis is satisfied based on receiving the identified request and having previously received at least one prior request for localization of the same string value from the source language to the target language, where the number of received requests exceeds a predetermined threshold value of requests, and wherein a second heuristic analysis is satisfied based on a determination that an identity or role of the particular user associated with the request for localization corresponds to a priority translation, wherein the second heuristic analysis causes the automatic triggering of the translation process regardless of whether the first heuristic analysis is satisfied; and

in response to determining that no heuristic analysis is satisfied and that no prior localization of the string value from the source language to the target language has been previously translated, transmitting, via the network connection, a notification of unavailability of the requested localization in a translation repository to the particular user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the translated string value in the target language to the translation repository, the translated string value in the target language associated with the string value in the source language in the translation repository.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to identifying the request:

searching a translation repository for a prior localization of the string value from the source language to the target language;

sending the string value to the translation request buffer and returning a negative response to the first application in response to the determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable; and

retrieving a prior localization of the string value in the target language from the translation repository and returning the prior localization to the first application in response to the determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is available.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the location remote from the first application comprises a centralized localization service, the centralized localization service accessible by remote requests from a plurality of applications, and wherein the centralized localization service is accessible as a REST-based application programming interface or a remote function call-enabled function module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified request includes a text ID, a target language ID, a source language ID, and the string value in the source language.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein triggering the translation process of the string value in response to the satisfaction of the at least one heuristic analysis includes triggering the translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language and at least one other language different than the target language.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, prior to triggering the translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language in response to satisfaction of the at least one heuristic analysis and after the determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, the request for localization of the string value from the source language to the target language is maintained in the translation request buffer.

8. A system, comprising:

at least one processor;

a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

identifying, by the at least one processor, at a location remote from a first application, a request for localization associated with a particular user of a string value associated with the first application from a source language to a target language, the request received via a network connection;

transmitting, via the network connection, the string value to a translation request buffer in response to a determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, wherein the translation is delayed until a determination of satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis; and

automatically triggering a translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language, the string value retrieved from the translation request buffer, the triggering performed in response to satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis, where a first heuristic analysis is satisfied based on receiving the identified request and having previously received at least one prior request for localization of the same string value from the source language to the target language, where the number of received requests exceeds a predetermined threshold value of requests, and wherein a second heuristic analysis is satisfied based on a determination that an identity or role of the particular user associated with the request for localization corresponds to a priority translation, wherein the second heuristic analysis causes the automatic triggering of the translation process regardless of whether the first heuristic analysis is satisfied; and

wherein automatically triggering the translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language in response to the satisfaction of the at least one heuristic analysis further includes automatically triggering the translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language and at least one other particular language different than the target language based on the automatic triggering of the translation process in the target language, where the at least one other particular language is not included in the identified request for localization.

9. The system of claim 8, the operations further comprising returning a negative response related to the request for the localization to the first application in response to determining that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable.

10. The system of claim 8, the operations further comprising storing the translated string value in the target language to a translation repository, the translated string value in the target language associated with the string value in the source language in the translation repository.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising, in response to identifying the request:

searching a translation repository for a prior localization of the string value from the source language to the target language;

sending the string value to the translation request buffer and returning a negative response to the first application in response to the determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable; and

retrieving a prior localization of the string value in the target language from the translation repository and returning the prior localization to the first application in response to the determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is available.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the location remote from the first application comprises a centralized localization service, the centralized localization service accessible by remote requests from a plurality of applications.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the identified request includes a text ID, a target language ID, a source language ID, and the string value in the source language.

14. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and comprising instructions that when executed by at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying, by the at least one processor, at a location remote from a first application, a request for localization associated with a particular user of a string value associated with the first application from a source language to a target language, the request received via a network connection;

transmitting, via the network connection, the string value to a translation request buffer in response to a determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, wherein the translation is delayed until a determination of satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis;

in response to satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis, automatically triggering a translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language, the string value retrieved from the translation request buffer, where a first heuristic analysis is satisfied based on receiving the identified request and having previously received at least one prior request for localization of the same string value from the source language to the target language, where the number of received requests exceeds a predetermined threshold value of requests, and wherein a second heuristic analysis is satisfied based on a determination that an identity or role of the particular user associated with the request for localization corresponds to a priority translation, wherein the second heuristic analysis causes the automatic triggering of the translation process regardless of whether the first heuristic analysis is satisfied; and

in response to determining that no heuristic analysis is satisfied and that no prior localization of the string value from the source language to the target language has been previously translated, transmitting, via the network connection, a notification of unavailability of the requested localization in a translation repository to the particular user.