> >There is an internationalization and globalization theme coming up on > >DevNet in the next few months. Would anyone like to suggest some > >specific ColdFusion topics? We obviously want to cover areas where > >people have the most difficulty and questions. > > 1. A discussion of storage "best practices" or "recommendations" as it > pertains to multi-lingual content would great. I've read numerous articles > suggesting that a database might not be the best solution. They tend to > recommend XML files instead. But to what extent? All my content? This might > lead to an article on using MX's built-in XML tags and functions.
This first point Dave makes is a biggie for a couple of reasons: 1) Much of the commentary made so far on this topic is entirely theoretical, and amounts to basic instruction on how to use CF's new XML-related tags and functions. The real solution killers are things like the administration user interface and generation engine for creating and updating these XML structures, and a realistic method for users to easily compose templates that will contain multi-lingual content. 2) Phasing-in support for additional languages across a huge i18n site after its initial deployment with a smaller core set of supported languages. The real world headaches this causes can be huge, especially if you are _not_ storing your XML in a database. Checking for full deployment of a newly-supported language's string resources before it goes live on a site can be nearly impossible without database support. I would also like to add a couple more important topics like: -- Pre-generating each language into its own "language set" of templates to ease web server and database server loads. -- Search engine implications (use of language packs, etc). -- The caveats of machine translation, e.g., "Hydraulic Ram" in English becoming "Water Goat" in another language. -- Human translation workflow caveats. and, of course, -- Where to draw the line in the religious war between XML elements and XML attributes when designing an effective structure for storing and utilizing language string resources. -- How to leverage the XML handling capabilities of SQL Server 2000 and Oracle 9iR2. There's more, of course, but these are near the top of my list. Respectfully, Adam Phillip Churvis Advanced Intensive ColdFusion MX Training http://www.ColdFusionTraining.com E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 770-446-8866 Team Macromedia Volunteer for ColdFusion http://www.macromedia.com/support/forums/team_macromedia/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
