From BlenderWiki
Weekly Reports
2011-05-27
1) This Week
- Dive into the code related to UI text rendering. Did some tests to see how the system works ( font handles, UI styles, python's blf handle, textdomain settings, etc ).
- successfully displayed some menu items with Chinese, and found a ttf for unicode characters.
2) Next Week
- Begin to write formal codes and commit. It may start with a unified framework for both C and Python to benefit from gettext. I have got some ideas.
3) Issues
- Font files will increase the Blender's size dramatically. Now we found the unifont.ttf, while takes 15MB and could be zipped to 3MB. We are still looking for a better way to handle this.
2011-06-03
1) This Week
- Add API: BLF_gettext(msgid) for C, and blf.gettext(msgid) for Python
- Enable the po&pot update system, simply with two python scripts
- Copy unifont.ttf.gz from source tree to target datafile path when "make install"( now ONLY works with cmake ); Set the locale the same with system's setting;
- Unzip and load unifont when init ui styles if necessary; Decorate labels in space_info.py with gettext(), and it works.
Then the i18n system is running now. You can see some local characters in the main menu.
- Replace the ascii characters in unifont with those in bfont( the default font of blender ), as the old ones are so ugly. Not commit,yet
2) Next Week
- Make some strings in C code translated by gettext().
3) Issues
- No big problems. I'll just test more, and settle them.
2011-06-10
1) This Week
- Commit a newly edited unifont.ttf
- Finish the i18n support for C code, so few technical problems left, now.
2) Next Week
- kick all texts on the UI run
- create wiki page for i18n system. Main sections:
i18n for Blender Developers
i18n for Blender Translators
i18n for Blender Users
3) Issues
- I think maybe we'll create a unicode.ttf by us own finally.
- I'll discuss it with my mentor and the committers-list later.
2011-06-17
1) This Week
- Started i18n wiki page
- Finish text handles for left panel, menu at the bottom, and half of the User Preferences dialog. It's a manual labor, which is heavier than I ever thought...
2) Next Week
- Continue completing text handlers.
3) Issues
Some new issues to settle:
1. Some strings in Python objects' __doc__ is used in UI
2. Some strings init like
static struct A[]= { { A,B,"text",C },... }
2011-06-24
1) This Week
- After finish the right panel, most of the work has completed, except those scattered sporadically in some corners
- Continue filling the wiki page.
2) Next Week
- Finish covering about 95% texts, and release first demo if possible.
3) Issues
- A few texts are used as an operator IDs, which are not suitable to be localized.
- A few texts are inside the addon scripts.
Just left them there.
2011-07-01
1) This Week
- Complete most parts of wiki
- I think 80% texts have been covered, now. A little less than the expect in last report, as I have taken three days off for the department's graduation trip.
2) Next Week
- Release first demo in 3 days.
- Start the Chinese translation program with BlenderCN
3) Issues
- Nothing special, but a little busy these days.
2011-07-08
1) This Week
- After finish the User Preference Dialog's Input page, I think most texts have been covered, now. And the whole solution seems reasonable.
- Start a testing translation program at http://code.google.com/p/blender-translation, mainly for the BlenderCN's translators to work on Simplified Chinese.
2) Next Week
- Continue dealing with the text handlers
- Compile it under Windows. I heart there are some problems.
3) Issues
- Nothing special.
2011-07-15
1) This Week
- Continue searching uncovered texts
- Midterm issues: Google's form, a video, a small conclusion to Mr. Mein ( attached below )
- The translation program has attracted Traditional Chinese, French and Bulgaria branches.
2) Next Week
- A drop-down menu to allow users change locale manually
3) Issues
- Meet a strange problem when merge from trunk. The software wouldn't load the unifont.
It took me two days to locate it at the newest startup.blend.c, which always load the default bfont.
I feel bad for the "datatoc"s, which could easily hide some important plots.
2011-07-22
1) This Week
- Show up the Language Selection button in the User Preference's System page, but with some known switch failure bugs. see the Issues section for detail
- Update the wiki's Notes for Translators section to help the translation program running at the Google Code. It has seven branches now and people there are thinking moving the program to launchpad.
2) Next Week
- Try to solve the langauge switch failure
- Start testing on more languages and platforms
3) Issues
- A setlocale("en_US") will be failed if I ever switch to zh_CN. The ui language will still be Chinese. Now I just skip the setlocale if I find it's using English, so as to run the original blender which speaks in English. Maybe this is a problem caused by my Linux( a Chinese local distribution only support Chinese and English ). I'm installing the newly released Ubuntu 10.04.3 to test multi-language.
2011-07-29
1) This Week - Finish the language selection button
2) Next Week - Enrich the document on the following questions:
a.How to switch language?
b.How to switch back to English?
c.Current languages' support status.
d.System preparation.
e.What to do if you got a message "could not change language to XXX nor XXX.UTF-8".
f.etc.
3) Issues
If any of you have any questions on multi-language feature, feel free to tell me. and I'll answer it in wiki to help all of others.
2011-08-05
1) This Week
- Add 5 sections in the wiki to answer some FAQs.
- Finish handling the /release/scripts/startup/bl_ui/properties_XXX.py scripts, increasing about 600+ new text items, and a zh_CN team is working on to translate them.
2) Next Week
Test on windows
3) Issues
Windows seems a little difficult for me. I havn't even compiled it well. Maybe I have to ask someone else to help me test finally. But before that I'd like to have a try.
2011-08-12
1) This Week
- Reviewed the code and did some cleaning.
- Tested building under windows. There seems no problem now.
2) Next Week
It's the last week before "Pencil down". I think Garlic is almost ready.
Besides, go on maintaining the wiki.
3) Issues
However, there seems some problems with trunk. I cannot run it well under windows.
2011-08-19
1) This Week
- Add 461 text items newly found.
- Asked help in bf-commiters, got some feedbacks to fix them. After that Mr. sirdude helped me make a linux build and mac build.
And someone from blenderCN told me windows is well. So Garic is almost ready, I think.
2) Next Week
- "Pencil down" related works, such as wiki, docs for google, snapshots, screencast, etc.
3) Issues
- No big problems. Just step by step and give my best shot.
Midterm Report(2011-07-14)
Video
Main parts completed
1. I18N implementation design.
In the wiki there are detail points for both C and Python issues.
2. Dive into the source code and pick out target texts. About 90+% of them have been handled, I think.
3. Start up an unofficial translation program on the googlecode.
It's mainly for Simplified Chinese, but now, Traditional Chinese, French and Bulgaria have been involved. Maybe it's better to move it to the official svn as early as possible.
TODOs
1. A drop-down menu to change locale manually.
2. Cover texts as many as I can find.
3. (Important!) Test different languages under different platforms.( Until now it has only been built under ubuntu, and only run with Simplified Chinese. )
Drawbacks
I'm not efficient on communications. I spend less time than most people on Facebook/Twitter/G+/IRC, as well as mail-talking. Not to mention that the BlenderCN chats on Chinese local clones of these products. I want to save time for my work, but sometimes it seems also inefficient to work behind closed doors.
So, please do not hesitate to email me if I'm too uncommunicative.
Final Report(2011-08-22)
Svn Path
https://svn.blender.org/svnroot/bf-blender/branches/soc-2011-garlic
Wiki
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/User:Xiaoxiangquan/GoogleSummerOfCode/2011/Internationalization
A Linux64 Build
Search Garlic on http://www.graphicall.org
Workflow Status
- Font loading...done
- Handle strings in gerneral C code...done
- Handle strings in makesrna code...done
- Handle strings in Python code...done
- BlenderCN helps translate a full Simplified Chinese version...done
- Language selection interface...done
- Be able to get input in international languages...TODO
- Document
-- Screenshots...Done
-- Implementation Design...Almost Done
-- Notes for XXX...Still need to be maintained
-- Developing Reports...Done
Final ( Shows how to change between different languages )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3nGUba27y0
