Master A Comparative Study of Two FOSS Localisation Tools : Pootle and Virtaal SIANO, Valeria Abstract This thesis is focused on the analysis and comparison of two popular FOSS localisation tools: Pootle, a web-based system, and Virtaal, a stand-alone tool. As FOSS programs are not always localised by professionals, the main purpose of our study was to determine which tool would be better for a novice translator who wants to start collaborating on a project. By following the EAGLES final report, we evaluated three main characteristics (functionality, efficiency, usability) together with their sub-characteristics (suitability, accuracy, time behaviour, understandability, learnability, operability, attractiveness) by the means of a feature inspection, a scenario test and a task-specific questionnaire. Since we would also like to have the point of view of active users of the two tools, we subsequently performed an online survey. Results showed that Virtaal and Pootle scores were similar in both our study and online survey. Consequently, we can argue that both tools are appropriate for beginners. Reference SIANO, Valeria. A Comparative Study of Two FOSS Localisation Tools : Pootle and Virtaal. Master : Univ. Genève, 2015 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:75916 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 Valeria Siano MA Thesis A Comparative Study of Two FOSS Localisation Tools: Pootle and Virtaal Supervisor: Dr. Lucía Morado Vázquez Examiner: Marianne Starlander Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, University of Geneva Department of Translation Technology August 2015 1 J’affirme avoir pris connaissance des documents d’information et de prévention du plagiat émis par l’Université de Genève et la Faculté de traduction et d’interprétation (notamment la Directive en matière de plagiat des étudiant-e-s, le Règlement d’études de la Faculté de traduction et d’interprétation ainsi que l’Aide-mémoire à l’intention des étudiants préparant un mémoire de Ma en traduction). J’atteste que ce travail est le fruit d’un travail personnel et a été rédigé de manière autonome. Je déclare que toutes les sources d’information utilisées sont citées de manière complète et précise, y compris les sources sur Internet. Je suis consciente que le fait de ne pas citer une source ou de ne pas la citer correctement est constitutif de plagiat et que le plagiat est considéré comme une faute grave au sein de l’Université, passible de sanctions. Au vu de ce qui précède, je déclare sur l’honneur que le présent travail est original. Nom et prénom : SIANO Valeria Lieu / date / signature : Genève, le 15 Juillet 2015 2 L’importante non è il voto, ma rispettare il proprio dovere e portarlo avanti fino in fondo. P. Borsellino 3 Acknowledgements Me gustaría agradecer a la Dra. Lucía Morado Vázquez por todos los consejos que me ha dado, por lo servicial y, sobre todo, paciente, que ha sido conmigo y por haberme transmitido su pasión por la localización. I would like to thank Marianne Starlander, who was pleased to accept being on my jury. J’aimerais remercier les administrateurs de Sympa pour avoir héberger mes projets sur leur serveur Pootle. En particulier, je souhaiterais remercier David Verdin, car sans son aide et sa disponibilité mon étude n’aurait pas pu être conduite. I would also like to thank participants to this evaluation, who decided to spend some of their time helping me. I would like to thank the staff at Translated for authorising me to use an image taken from their website. Vorrei ringraziare soprattutto la mia famiglia, che mi è stata vicina durante questi lunghi anni di studio, nonostante la lontananza, che mi ha sostenuto nei momenti di sconforto e che mi ha insegnato che nella vita bisogna lottare per ciò che si vuole, senza mai perdere di vista i propri valori. Vorrei ringraziare i miei amici (sperando lo siano ancora dopo i miei mesi di “ritiro ascetico” per via della tesi), che non hanno mai smesso di incoraggiarmi. Ed infine vorrei ringraziare te, che sai già tutto e che hai creduto in me fino alla fine. 4 Table of Contents General Introduction .................................................................. 9 1. Internationalisation and Localisation ............................. 12 1.1. Introduction............................................................................... 12 1.2. Defining the Terms .................................................................. 12 1.3. The Origins of Localisation .................................................... 16 1.4. Software Localisation ............................................................... 17 1.5. Conclusion ................................................................................. 23 2. Free and Open Source Software .................................... 24 2.1. Introduction............................................................................... 24 2.2. A Problematic Definition of Free Software ......................... 24 2.3. Free Software vs. Proprietary Software ................................ 27 2.4. Free Software vs. Open Source .............................................. 30 2.5. Conclusion ................................................................................. 31 3. FOSS Localisation ............................................................ 32 3.1. Introduction............................................................................... 32 3.2. Localisation Workflow ............................................................. 32 3.3. Tools ........................................................................................... 35 3.4. Aspects and Motivations ......................................................... 37 3.5. Success Stories........................................................................... 41 3.6. Conclusion ................................................................................. 42 4. Evaluating and Comparing .............................................. 43 4.1. Introduction............................................................................... 43 4.2. Past Evaluation Methods ........................................................ 43 5 4.3. Methodology ............................................................................. 45 4.4. Criteria ........................................................................................ 46 4.5. Tests ............................................................................................ 49 4.6. Conclusion ................................................................................. 50 5. Evaluation Design and Requirements ........................... 51 5.1. Introduction............................................................................... 51 5.2. Purpose ....................................................................................... 51 5.3. Participants ................................................................................ 52 5.4. Materials ..................................................................................... 52 5.4.1. NoteFly ............................................................................................ 55 5.4.2. BB FlashBack Express ................................................................... 57 5.5. Localisation Tools .................................................................... 57 5.5.1. Virtaal ............................................................................................... 57 5.5.2. Pootle ............................................................................................... 62 5.5.3. Summary and Comparison ............................................................ 64 5.6. Conclusion ................................................................................. 68 6. Evaluation process ........................................................... 69 6.1. Introduction............................................................................... 69 6.2. Tests with Virtaal ...................................................................... 69 6.2.1. Pilot Study ....................................................................................... 70 6.2.2. Evaluation Implementation ........................................................... 71 6.3. Tests with Pootle ...................................................................... 73 6.3.1. Pilot Study ....................................................................................... 74 6.3.2. Evaluation Implementation ........................................................... 76 6.4. Conclusion ................................................................................. 78 7. Results ................................................................................ 79 7.1. Introduction............................................................................... 79 7.2. Objective Approach ................................................................. 79 6 7.2.1. Time Behaviour .............................................................................. 79 7.2.2. Operability ....................................................................................... 81 7.3. Subjective Approach ................................................................ 86 7.3.1. Suitability.......................................................................................... 86 7.3.2. Accuracy........................................................................................... 89 7.3.3. Efficiency ........................................................................................