Just in time localization

• US 6,490,547 B1
• Filed: 12/07/1999
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Atkin, Steven Edward, Borgendale, Kenneth Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): EDOUARD, PATRICK NESTOR
• Application Number:
  US09/457,412
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 704/8, 704/1, 704/10, 707/536, 345/334, 345/340, 345/171, 345/763, 345/764, 717/1, 717/2, 717/7
• US Class Current: 704/8
• 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

Abstract

User interface text for dialog boxes, menus, and the like is “localized” with respect to human languages is achieved at run time by transmitting a translation request containing a text string to be translated, an identification of the source language, and an identification of the target language to a Web server providing text string translation services. The response from the Web server contains the translated text string, which is employed by the user application within the user interface. Text strings for all of the user interfaces of a particular user application may be translated in this fashion as a group at the time an unsupported human language is first requested, or text strings may simply be translated on-the-fly during operation of the underlying user application on an as-needed basis. the translated text strings may be preserved locally for future use, until a translation of the user interface text to the requested human language is provided by the user application developer. In a preferred embodiment, an extension of the Java ResourceBundles class is utilized to support run-time human language translation of user interface text. The new class, JILResourceBundle, obtains the translation of the user interface text strings when an unsupported language is requested, and may be inserted into a Java Application Resource file placed within the user'"'"'s classpath to avoid the necessity of rewriting the underlying user application in order to utilize the new class.

Claims

1. A method of providing human language translations of user interface text, comprising:

determining whether user interface text for a user application is available in a requested language from storage containing the user application; and

responsive to determining that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application,

sending a translation request including a user interface text input parameter, a source language input parameter, and a requested language input parameter to a translation server, and

obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application, establishing an Internet connection to a Web server providing translation of text strings from a first human language to a second human language, wherein identification of the first human language is the source language input parameter and identification of the second human language is the requested language input parameter.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

selecting a text string from the user interface text;

transmitting the selected text string as the user interface text input parameter to the translation server with au identification of a source human language in the form of the source language input parameter and an identification of a requested human language in the form of the requested language input parameter; and

receiving a text string translated from the source human language to the requested human language from the translation server.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

repeating the steps of selecting a text string, transmitting the selected text string, and receiving a translated text string until all text strings for the user interface text have been translated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server farther comprises;

obtaining a translation for items of the user interface text for the user application as needed for a user interface display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

obtaining a translation of the user interface text from a default language to the requested language for the user application as needed for a user interface display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

loading a Java resource bundle containing the user interface text in a default language, and

(a) transmitting a text string from the user interface text within the loaded java resource bundle to the translation server, and

(b) receiving a translation of the transmitted text sting to the requested language from the translation server; and

repeating steps (a) and (b) for each text string within the user interface text.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the user interface text string in each available language within a Java resource bundle, and

means for receiving a translated text string from the translation server.

9. A system for providing human language translations of user interface text, comprising:

a system executing a user application;

a translation server accessible to the system;

means for determining whether user interface text for the user application is available in a requested language from storage containing the user application; and

means, responsive to determining that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application,

for sending a translation request including a user interface text input parameter, a source language input parameter, and a requested language input parameter to the translation server, and

for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

means, responsive to determining that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application, for establishing an Internet connection to a Web server providing translation of text strings from a first human language to a second human language, wherein identification of the first human language is the source language input parameter and identification of the second human language is the requested language input parameter.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

means for selecting a text string from the user interface text;

means for transmitting the selected text string as the user interface text input parameter to the translation server with an identification of a source human language in the form of the source language input parameter and an identification of a requested human language in the form of the requested language input parameter, and

means for receiving a text string translated from the source human language to the requested human language from the translation server.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for repeatedly selecting a text string, transmitting the selected text string, and receiving a translated text string until all text strings for the user interface text have been translated.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

means for obtaining a translation for items of the user interface text for the user application as needed for a user interface display.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprises:

means for obtaining a translation of the user interface text from a default language to the requested language for the user application as needed for a user interface display.

15. A computer program product within a computer usable medium for providing human language translations of user interface text, comprising:

instructions for determining whether user interface text for the user application is available in a requested language from storage contains the user application; and

instructions, responsive to determine that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application,

for sending a translation request including a user interface text input parameter, a source language input parameter, and a requested language input parameter to the translation server, and

for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

instructions, responsive to determining that the user interface text is not available in the requested language from the storage containing the user application, for establishing an Internet connection to a Web server providing translation of text strings from a first human language to a second human language, wherein identification of the first human language is the source language input parameter and identification of the second human language is the requested language input parameter.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprise:

instructions for selecting a text string from the user interface text;

instructions for transmitting the selected text string as the user interface input parameter to the translation server with an identification of a source human language in the form of the source language input parameter and an identification of a requested human language in the form of the requested language input parameter; and

instructions for receiving a text string translated from the source human language to the requested human language from the translation server.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising:

instructions for repeatedly selecting a text string, transmitting the selected text string, and receiving a translated text string until all text strings for the user interface text have been translated.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprise:

instructions for obtaining a translation for items of the user interface text for the user application as needed for a user interface display.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions for obtaining a translation of the user interface text input parameter to the requested language from the translation server further comprise:

instructions for obtaining a translation of the user interface text from a default language to the requested language for the user application as needed for a user interface display.