Hello,
Some localizable messages in MediaWiki features and extensions have
very complicated, ambiguous and error-prone wording. A big example for
that would be FlaggedRevs, but there are others. MediaWiki also has
ability for changing messages according to number, gender and other
grammatical features. It's not enough to just translate a list of
strings there - the translation must also be tested in context.
The right way to do it is to have a test suite: A document that walks
the translator through all the use cases of the feature so that all
possible messages permutations and combinations appear.
There are plenty of methodologies and tools for testing code, as well
as books and courses that teach them. I tried to search for set
methodologies that focus on testing localization, but until now i
didn't find almost anything.
So, two questions:
1. Are there currently any tests in the MediaWiki test suite that
focus on localization?
2. Does anyone on this list know about testing methodologies that
focus on localization?
PS: I wrote a few things about it in the English Wikipedia article
[[Software testing#Internationalization and localization]], although i
admit that it's at least partly original research based on my own
experience.
--
Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי
http://aharoni.wordpress.com
"We're living in pieces,
I want to live in peace." - T. Moore