= Web site translation =

A BOINC project web site consists of a "generic" part (provided by BOINC's PHP files)
and a project-specific part (provided by the project).

Translation files for the generic part are kept in
'''project_root/html/languages/translations'''.
These files are installed when you create the project,
and updated when you use [http://boinc.berkeley.edu/trac/wiki/ToolUpgrade upgrade].
You can also copy them manually from '''boinc/html/languages/translations'''.

Translation files for the project-specific part should be kept in
'''project_root/html/project/project_specific_translations'''.
These files have names of the form '''es.po''' (es = Spanish).

When any translation file changes, you must run the script
'''html/ops/update_translations.php'''
for them to take effect on your web site.
This script combines  the generic and project-specific files into
a single compiled version, e.g. '''html/languages/compiled/es.po.inc'''.

== Making web pages translatable ==

Translatable web pages must be PHP, and must include
{{{
require_once("../inc/translation.inc");
}}}
Literal text is replaced with `tra("text")`. For example,
{{{
page_head("Current version");
}}}
is replaced with
{{{
page_head(tra("Current version"));
}}}

Keep in mind that word order differs between languages,
so you should avoid breaking a sentence up into multiple translation units.
For example, use constructs like

{{{
msgid "Already have an original 'Classic' account as of May 14, 2004?"
"%1We've transferred it, just %2activate it%3. "
"%4Otherwise %5create a new account%6."
msgstr ""
}}}

with the corresponding PHP:

{{{
printf(tra("Already have an original 'Classic' account as of May 14, 2004? %1We've transferred it, just %2activate it%3. %4Otherwise %5create a new account%6."),
"<br>", "<a href=\"sah_email_form.php\">", "</a>",
"<p><img src=\"images/arrow_right.gif\">",
"<a href=create_account_form.php>", "</a>"
);
}}}

== Generating a translation template ==

To generate a translation template (en.po),
edit the script '''html/ops/build_po.php'''
so that it processes your project-specific PHP files,
and run it from project_root/html.

== Getting volunteers to do translations ==

At this point you can use whatever mechanism you want to create translations of
your translation template.

The easiest way is to use the
[TranslateIntro BOINC Translation Service],
a web-based system that's used for BOINC itself and for SETI@home.
To do this:

 * Create a Subversion repository called '''locale''', with a subdirectory for each language.  This repository must be accessable by user '''boinctrans'''.
 * Post a request to the [http://lists.ssl.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/boinc_loc boinc_loc@ssl.berkeley.edu] email list, asking that your project be added to the BOINC Translation Service.

When this is set up, translations will automatically be checked into your locale/ repository.
You'll need to periodically update the working copy of this on your web server.
You'll also need to move translation files from, e.g., '''locale/es/web.po''' to '''project_root/html/project/project_specific_translations/es.po'''.
The easiest way to do this is to create a symbolic link from the latter to the former.