Patent Application
20240028356
Many computer-implemented products must be distributed in multiple languages. For example, a web application is a client-server application in which a client (i.e., user interface) runs in a web browser. It is advantageous if the web application supports multiple language versions to enable usage by a larger audience.
In some instances, the translations of computer-implemented products are produced by professional human translators, which requires re-architecting the existing website backend and frontend technology to accommodate multiple languages. However, this option is time-consuming and costly. Another technique relies on pure machine translation; however, this lacks context and may have trouble with abbreviations, acronyms, diminutives, colloquial words/phrases, proper nouns, and/or common nouns.
Disclosed embodiments address the above-mentioned problems by providing one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for translating elements of a user interface in near real-time.
In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method for translating a user interface, the method including determining a plurality of user interface (UI) elements in the user interface of a web application, wherein the plurality of UI elements has an original value, sending a request to a translation component to translate the plurality of UI elements from a source language to a target language, receiving a first value for each of the plurality of UI elements from the translation component, sending a request to a central server to retrieve at least one translation scenario, the at least one translation scenario including a second value for at least one of the plurality of UI elements, receiving the second value for the at least one of the plurality of UI elements from the central server, wherein the original value is in the source language and the first value and the second value are in the target language, allowing a user to provide a third value for each of the plurality of UI elements, allowing the user to select the original value, the first value, the second value, or the third value for the plurality of UI elements for display in the user interface, and rendering the user interface with the selected values for the plurality of UI elements.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the present teachings will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
Embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The drawing figures do not limit the present teachings to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.
In order to demonstrate a web application to a user, it is preferable to show the user the application in the user's own language. However, acquiring a translation of an application for such a customized demonstration is costly and time-consuming. When an urgent request is made for a demonstration, no translation may be available in time. Additionally, when designing a user interface (UI) for an application, a primary language such as English text is frequently relied upon. Thus, upon translation to a different language the UI may become distorted. For example, there may not be enough space in the UI for the translated text. Therefore, a solution is necessary to provide a method for allowing a web application to be translated into a target language quickly and efficiently for use in development and demonstration purposes, as well as for use in the end product.
Translation is frequently based on a file-based word mapping, by using “key value pairs”. Typically, the same key will be used for the same values across many different files. Thus, there may be a database table that includes a word or phrase and a corresponding translation of that word or phrase. However, this type of translation lacks context, as it is only looking at a single word or phrase and not how the word or phrase is used. For example, “complete” could be used on a clickable button or a readable text and could be used as a noun or a verb. Additionally, if an exact text is not found in the translation file, it may be skipped completely, and the final translation will be incomplete.
The web application 120 is a software application executable by a web browser 130 at the user device 110. The web application 120 can be coded in a browser-supported programming language, such as JavaScript®. The web application 120 can also be associated with a browser-rendered markup language, such as hypertext markup language (HTML). Further, the web application 120 may include one or more user interfaces 140 or website screens accessible via the web browser 130 by a user over the Internet. Exemplary user interfaces 400, 500, and 600 are shown in
A developer may use a source natural language (e.g., English, French, German, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Polish, or other natural language) to develop the user interfaces 140 of the web application 120. Users of different natural languages, however, may be unable to effectively utilize the web application 120 unless the user interface 140 is translated to their natural language. Thereby, the user device 110 can be configured to communicate with cloud-based translation component 180 and/or CT server 190 via a communication network. The communication network can include a wide area network (WAN). e.g., the Internet.
The translation component 180 translates the user interfaces 140 of the web application 120. Providers of such components include, but are not limited to SAP® (e.g., SAP translation hub), Yandex®, Google®, or Bing®. In some embodiments, the translation component 180 includes a master translation database 182. In some embodiments, master translation database 182 may be created and maintained by the developer of the web application 120. In some embodiments, master translation database 182 may include translations (or replacement texts) for a plurality of UI elements. In some embodiments, the translation component 180 additionally or alternatively includes a machine translation service 184. However, the translation component 180 receives no feedback or interaction from a user.
In an embodiment, to supplement and improve the translations provided by the translation component 180, the computing environment 100 may include CT server 190. In an embodiment, the CT server 190 may include translation repository 192 and scenario repository 194. Translation repository 192 may store multiple translations of user interfaces 140 of web application 120. Scenario repository 194 may store the scenario data and/or sharing preferences associated with different users, different businesses, and different domains. The CT server 190 may also include a CT database 196 for storing and compiling the data from the translation repository 192 and the scenario repository 194. Further, the CT server 190 may be deployed on a cloud. Translation services could be used not only at a client site (e.g., browser JavaScript® library), but also on a server site of the web application allowing faster access to translation. In some embodiments, CT server 190 may make requests directly to the translation component 180. In some embodiments, the web browser 130 may not need to be connected to translation component 180 and may only connect to CT server 190, which includes translation repository 192.
In some embodiments, upon translation, the user may be allowed to revise the translation and/or provide feedback on the translation. Further, the feedback may be considered for updating the translations. Hence, the instant translation may provide better or high rated translations for the user interface elements and thus the user interfaces. By combining the user feedback/interaction with the cloud translation services, the quality of the translation can be improved. Also, costs are decreased by eliminating the need to translate user interfaces of web applications into a plurality of different languages at a software code level. In some embodiments, every user can create a customized version of a UI, such as a skin, in any supported language.
At 240, a request is generated to translate a user interface 140 of the web application 120 from a source language to a target language. The CT application 160 gathers all UI elements to be translated in the UI and sends to translation component 180 for translation thereof. For example, the request may be generated by software associated with web browser 130 executing on a user device 110. The request may be generated in response to loading the user interface 140 associated with the web application 120. In one example, the request is a hypertext markup language (HTML) request that includes information, for example, metadata, indicative of the natural language (e.g., the source language) associated with the request.
In some embodiments, at step 240, multiple user interface elements 150 (such as text segments) associated with the user interface 140 of the web application 120 are determined. In an embodiment, user interface elements 150 may be defined at least by a developer while developing the web application 120 or by a user of the web application. For example, during development of the web application 120, developer or designer may select the user interface elements or regions or controls of the web application where translations can be or cannot be performed (e.g., using HTML tags, scripts, and the like). Further, the developer may provide translation identifiers (e.g., via HTML attributes) for the user interface elements that should be translated. Also, a user may select the user interface elements of web application 120 for which translations can or cannot be performed directly on the running web application 120 in the browser 130. The user interface elements 150 can be, but are not limited to, text segments or SVG images with text parts User interfaces 140 may include different types of user interface elements 150, referred as text types. For example, the text type can be, but not limited to a message, a button, a column header, a table, and a pull-down menu.
In some embodiments, the CT application 160 contains personalization configurations. Upon the first use or initialization of the cloud translator application 160, a user must provide credentials for access to the system. Additionally, a source language and a target language are selected by the user. In some embodiments, the source language may be the same as the target language if a translation was already available or only gaps needed to be filled or master data updated. A default target language and default source language may be set by a user, such as in a user profile.
At step 240, the CT application 160 gathers all the UI elements in the user interface 140 (UI) to be translated for the particular web application 120 and sends them to translation component 180. In some embodiments, sending UI elements 150 for translation includes a first step 242 and a second step 244. Step 242 uses a database of previously translated UI elements 150, which may include professionally translated UI elements for the UI. Step 244 uses a machine translation service to cause generation of a new translation of any remaining UI elements 150 not found in step 242. In some embodiments, step 240 may be eliminated, and the process may skip to step 252.
At step 250, the machine translation acquired from steps 242 and 244 is combined with UI elements that were previously updated by the user and are displayed for the user to choose from. Specifically at step 252, the CT server 190 loads the user scenarios configurations and preferences. In some embodiments, this includes a list of available previously created scenarios shared with this user. At step 254, the CT server 190 loads previously stored translated UI elements 150. A user can choose to create a new scenario, use an existing scenario, or update an existing scenario. If a user makes changes to the translations of UI element 150, the changes are automatically saved locally in the user's local browser 130. In some embodiments, a sharing option enables the user to make the set of texts (a new scenario) available to other users. In some embodiments, a user may directly share their scenario with another user. In some embodiments, a user can share their scenario via download of the configurations into a file, which can be provided (via email, pendrive, etc.). In some embodiments, a user can share their scenario via upload of the configurations to the CT server 190, from where the configurations can be fetched as described above at step 252. The combination of both options provides maximum flexibility and personalization.
At step 260, the translations and scenarios are received and presented to the user. The translated user interface elements 150 are then rendered in the user interface 140 of the web application 120, as seen in exemplary
At step 310, the browser 130 sends a request to the CT server to load a list of available scenarios for the particular UI 140. A scenario may include a value for each of a plurality of UI elements 150 that has been previously customized by this user 115 or another user. At step 312, the list of available scenarios is returned to browser 130 and browser 130 provides user 115 with a list of scenarios from which to choose from. At step 314 once a scenario is selected, some or all the values for UI elements 150 can be replaced by the chosen scenario. User 115 can then view the updated UI elements 150 in the browser 130. At step 316, user 115 is given the opportunity to update the values for the UI elements 150 and modify the translations, as will be described further with respect to
In an embodiment, a developer may use the CT application 160 to check how the web application 120 would be appear in multiple languages during development of the application 120. This allows the developer to modify the properties, such as the size, shape, font, etc. of the UI element 150 or provide more space when necessary for a target language UI element that may be longer or larger than the source language UI element.
An embodiment creates a translation “on the fly” or in near real-time. This allows a user to demonstrate a web application 120 that is originally in one language, for example English, in a translated form, such as in German, in a short amount of time. In an embodiment, the initial translation is done using translation component 180. The process then allows a user to edit the translations provided. For example, a user may edit entries on a table, such as shown in translation table 430 of
An exemplary translation 500 of the user interface 140 in German is shown in
In some embodiments, by default, the UI elements 150 may initially be replaced by the translation from translation component 180. However, the initial translation may potentially have errors or may not have the desired equivalents for all the UI elements 150 as the user wants to view them. The CT application 160 further allows the user to edit selected UI elements 150. When the user clicks on the edit button 414 in window 410, translation table 430 appears. In some embodiments, translation table 430 may be provided at the bottom of the screen, as shown in
As shown in
The scenario column 433 lists the corresponding term for each UI element 150 as retrieved from the CT server 190. In some embodiments, the values provided in scenario column 433 can include values received from any of translation repository 192, scenario repository 194, and CT database 196. In some embodiments, multiple scenario columns may be provided. In some embodiments, a user must choose all or none of the values for a particular scenario. In some embodiments, different columns can be provided for allowing the user to choose values from each of the translation repository 192, the scenario repository 194, or the CT database 196. Multiple combinations and configurations are contemplated, allowing for the user to choose from a number of values that have been provided by the current user or by a different user. In some embodiments, scenario column 433 may not be included. In some embodiments, additional buttons can be provided to allow a user to select a scenario, save a new scenario, or update a scenario.
In some embodiments, buttons may be provided on translation table 430 to allow selection of a scenario, as shown in
For example, a separate setting may allow for the user to select Scenario 1 for replacing all UI elements 150. After selecting Scenario 1, a user may then open the translation table 430 and edit particular UI elements with respect to the Scenario 1. In some embodiments, when a user selects Scenario 1, the default values shown in the edited value column 434 may be the values of Scenario 1. In some embodiments, the user can save a newly edited version of the UI as Scenario 2, locally and/or centrally.
In some embodiments, users can consolidate the set of texts they see in the UI into a scenario saved in CT server 190 (such as by clicking the Save New Scenario button 440), thereby generating a new version of the scenario. In some embodiments, after selecting a scenario, the user may change the scenario as desired and update the scenario in CT server 190, without generating a new version (such as by clicking the Update Scenario button 441).
Edited value column 434 provides an editable field, such as a form-fillable field into which a user can provide an alternative replacement for the UI element 150. Table 430 also includes buttons 435 to allow the user to choose which value to display in the UI for each UI element 150. Buttons 435 may include: original, translation, scenario #, or edited. In some embodiments, additional buttons 436 at the top of the columns allow a user to select all, such as to apply original, apply translation, apply scenario #, or apply edited to all of the UI elements 150. A trash icon 437 allows user to delete the edited values locally and reset but does not change anything in the scenarios stored in the CT server 190 or CT database 196. A close icon 438 allows a user to close the window showing table 430. In some embodiments, additional settings may be provided to allow the user to view multiple scenarios and choose one or more scenarios to view in the translation table 430.
In some embodiments, the editable field in edited value column 434 is initially filled in with the value from the translation column 432. However, a user can type anything, including symbols and icons in some embodiments, into the edited value column 434 for a UI element 150, thus allowing for personal customization of the UI. For example, the user could change the UI element 150 for “Analytics Cloud” to an abbreviation “AC” by typing in the edited value box in that row and clicking on the apply “edited” button. As another example, the user could change the UI for “Expand Navigation Bar” to “Expandieren” to shorten the initially provided translation. Additionally, a user could change the translation of “Complete” to take into account the context of the UI element 150. Although one possible translation of “Complete” may be “Komplett,” a better replacement in this context may be “Erledigt,” which means “Done.” In a previous scenario, this user or another user determined that “Erledigt” was a better translation for this particular usage of “Complete” and this was saved in Scenario 1. Thus, the translation by the CT application 160 here takes into account the context of the UI element by using prior scenarios from CT server 190.
When an entry for a particular UI element 150 is changed in edited value column 434, and the edited button 435 is selected, that particular term will be changed everywhere that same exact phrase appears on the UI. For example, “Expand Navigation Bar” will be changed to “Expandieren” Thus, when a user sees an improper translation or wants to customize a term, they can do so immediately. However, a similar term, which may include some but not all the words of the UI element, will not be changed. Thus, if the word “Expand” appeared elsewhere in the UI, this would not be changed.
An exemplary translation 600 of the user interface 140 in Japanese is shown in
In some embodiments, a user can create one or more scenarios for each user interface 140. A web application 120 may have multiple user interfaces 140, which can each be translated and edited by using CT application 160. A user may create a personal profile in the CT application 160. A user's profile may include security settings, which may include a user role such as standard, expert, power user, administrator, or professional translator. Depending on an assigned role, the user may be granted particular access to retrieve, modify, and save the scenarios, both locally and centrally. In some embodiments, one scenario may be official external translation as maintained by a provider of the web application 120. In some embodiments, a scenario may be a personal customized translation. In some embodiments, a scenario may be specific to a user group or a department.
In some embodiments, the UI itself may be customized locally to include UI elements 150 that are different from the original version of the web application 120. CT application 160 allows for the customized UI elements 150 to be edited in the same way that original UI elements 150 may be edited.
In some embodiments, a conflict management system may be included, such as a versioning system. In some embodiments, when web application 120 is updated, the translation and customization will be reset. In some embodiments, a user may choose not to install an update of the application 120 to preserve the custom translations. In some embodiments, a partial update may be installed as selected by a user.
In some embodiments, CT server 190 includes an analytics component that can analyze the scenarios and translations that have been changed. In some embodiments, the analytics component may include a machine learning element, such that the analytics component may be improved based on additional data. In some embodiments, if analytics component determines that the same UI element 150 has been changed by a majority of users to the same replacement value, this replacement value may be used to supersede any other values for that particular UI element. In such a way, crowdsourcing can be used to improve the translations in CT database 196.
In some embodiments, the analytics component can extract the UI elements and the replacement values from multiple saved scenarios and compile them in a database. By comparing the replacement values from multiple scenarios and multiple users, the analytics component may use machine learning to determine the best replacement values for each UI element. In some embodiments, the analytics component may create a master scenario using the best replacement values. The best replacement values may be determined based on a number of parameters, such as the number of users who selected this replacement value, the rating of the users who selected this replacement value, and the role of the users who selected this replacement value. A rating may be based on how many edits a user has performed or how many scenarios a user has saved and/or shared. A role may be set by the user or by an administrator and may be defined by the expertise of the user, such as a certified translator, a power user, or a standard user.
In some embodiments, a user can select different saving options, including locally, centrally, or both. In some embodiments, a user can save in such as way so to restrict the access of who can view and/or edit the user's saved scenarios and/or particular elements of the saved scenarios. Such restricted access can be based on a user's role and/or the role of a user who is requesting access. A user may save multiple scenarios for the same UI, such as scenarios personalized to a particular company, an industry, or a particular individual. In some embodiments, there may be multiple scenarios for the same UI created by different users. In some embodiments, not all scenarios available for one UI are displayed or available to all users.
In some embodiments, by saving a scenario in a central location, such as the CT server 190, one user, such as an expert, can correct/improve a translation and all other users can access this. Thus, each user will not need to translate and make the same changes to the UI. In some embodiments, some users may only be allowed to retrieve translations, while other users may be allowed to save, edit and/or retrieve the translations. In some embodiments, there may be multiple repositories where different scenarios may be saved, such as classified by a particular group of users (company) or a particular industry. In some embodiments, there may be a separate repository for the official translation provided by the web application developer.
Computer-readable media include both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and nonremovable media, and contemplate media readable by a database. For example, computer-readable media include (but are not limited to) RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile discs (DVD), holographic media or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, and other magnetic storage devices. These technologies can store data temporarily or permanently. However, unless explicitly specified otherwise, the term “computer-readable media” should not be construed to include physical, but transitory, forms of signal transmission such as radio broadcasts, electrical signals through a wire, or light pulses through a fiber-optic cable. Examples of stored information include computer-useable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data representations.
Finally, network interface 706 is also attached to system bus 702 and allows computer 700 to communicate over a network such as network 716. Network interface 706 can be any form of network interface known in the art, such as Ethernet, ATM, fiber, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi (i.e., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards). Network interface 706 connects computer 700 to network 716, which may also include one or more other computers, such as computer 718, and network storage, such as cloud network storage. Network 716 is in turn connected to public Internet 726, which connects many networks globally. In some embodiments, computer 700 can itself be directly connected to public Internet 726. Network 716 may be connected to one or more servers 720, 724, either directly or via Internet 726, such as CT server 190. Network 716 may also be connected to a cloud storage device 722, such as a database.
One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These various aspects or features can include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which can be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. The programmable system or computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.
These computer programs, which can also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural language, an object-oriented programming language, a functional programming language, a logical programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device, such as for example magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a computer-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a computer-readable signal. The term “computer-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor. The computer-readable medium can store such machine instructions non-transitorily, such as for example as would a non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. The computer-readable medium can alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions in a transient manner, for example as would a processor cache or other random-access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the scope of the claims below. Embodiments have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after and because of reading it. Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of the claims below. Certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Although described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed, and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as recited in the claims. The subject matter of the present disclosure is described in detail below to meet statutory requirements; however, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of claims. Rather, the claimed subject matter might be embodied in other ways to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Minor variations from the description below will be understood by one skilled in the art and are intended to be captured within the scope of the present claims. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular ordering of various steps described unless the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
The following detailed description of embodiments references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the present teachings can be practiced. The described embodiments are intended to illustrate aspects of the disclosure in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present teachings. Other embodiments can be utilized, and changes can be made without departing from the claimed scope of the present teachings. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
