research-article

Globalization of graphics: delineating a research into using the scalable vector graphics file format to improve the translation of graphics

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David WaltersAuthors Info & Claims

SIGDOC '08: Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM international conference on Design of communication

Pages 87 - 92

https://doi.org/10.1145/1456536.1456554

Published: 22 September 2008 Publication History

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Abstract

Globalization of software products is not a trivial pursuit nor is it an inexpensive venture. The sheer number of items in a software product that can be subject to translation is overwhelming. The issue is further compounded as the number of required target languages increases.

This situation aptly describes the IBM® technical documentation translation challenge. With each passing year, the number of documentation pages grows. It is safe to assume that the number of graphics used to improve user comprehension also increases proportionately along with the amount of new textual information.

A system and process to automate translation is a necessity to curb the escalating cost of providing national language versions of graphics. IBM has such a system and process; however, they have been in place since the years of hardcopy manuals with some minor adjustments added when the World Wide Web tide swept the globe in the 1990s.

Many years have passed and the method of producing technical documentation has changed with the introduction of XML and new graphics file formats. The time has come to revisit the current process of creating graphics, inserting them in an XML authoring environment, and then translating the whole package.

This paper describes the current globalization of graphics environment and preliminary investigation into using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to improve the end-to-end translation process

References

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Davison, G., Murphy, S., and Wong, R. (2005). The Use of eBooks and Interactive Multimedia as Alternative Forms of Technical Documentation. SIGDOC Conference Proceedings 2005, 108.

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[2]

TheFreeDictionary.com

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TheFreeDictionary.com

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Murphy, S. (2005). Accessibility of graphics in technical documentation for the cognitive and visually impaired. SIGDOC Conference Proceedings 2005, 12.

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MacKinnon, N., Murphy, S. (2004). Designing UML Diagrams for Technical Documentation: Continuing the Collaborative Approach to Publishing Class Diagrams. SIGDOC Conference Proceedings 2004, 120.

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Cited By

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Pierce RAmant KMinerley KAnacleto JFortes RCosta C(2010)Globally distributed content creationProceedings of the 28th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication10.1145/1878450.1878474(135-142)Online publication date: 27-Sep-2010
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1878450.1878474

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Globalization of graphics: delineating a research into using the scalable vector graphics file format to improve the translation of graphics
1. Information systems

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Published In

SIGDOC '08: Proceedings of the 26th annual ACM international conference on Design of communication

September 2008

303 pages

ISBN:9781605580838

DOI:10.1145/1456536

General Chairs:
Henrique O'Neill
ISCTE, Lisboa, Portugal
,
Manuela Aparicio
ISCTE, Lisboa, Portugal
,
Program Chairs:
Carlos J. Costa
ISCTE, Lisboa, Portugal
,
Aristidis Protopsaltis
City University, London, UK

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 22 September 2008

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SIGDOC '08

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SIGDOC '08: The 26th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

September 22 - 24, 2008

Lisbon, Portugal

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Pierce RAmant KMinerley KAnacleto JFortes RCosta C(2010)Globally distributed content creationProceedings of the 28th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication10.1145/1878450.1878474(135-142)Online publication date: 27-Sep-2010
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1878450.1878474

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Recommendations

XSL-FO 2.0: automated publishing for graphic documents

Visualization with dynamically generated SVG

Globalization and Increasing Returns: Implications for the U.S. Computer Industry