Making localization simple for Flex applications

Posted April 8, 2009 3:42 pm
Filed under: Elsewhere on the web

David Deraedt is at it again with another amazing application for Flex developers.

(No, he’s not paying me for all these things I say about him. He’s just nice enough to let me hang around in his source code sometimes =)

I just watched the demo video of his Lupo Flex Localization Studio. If you think you might ever want to build a Flex app in more than one language, you should watch it too. If you don’t think you’ll ever need to…think again. One thing I’ve definitely had drilled into my head as I’ve been working on documentation at Adobe is the importance and impact that localization can have on a project. As a French- and English-speaking Flex developer and participant in many localization projects, David has a lot of expertise in this area, which shows in the tools he’s made.

Lupo includes two tools:

“Lupo Manager” is a tool for developers. It scans your source code, identifying strings that might need to be localized. You use a simple form to create key values (often the default is sufficient) and it rewrites the source code for you. You can then edit the resource bundle values and preview the properties file which you can hand off to localizers. Once your strings are localized, Lupo Manager also generates the compiler arguments and sample source code to help you get started with actually integrating the language switching into your app.
“Lupo Translator” Just in case a developer tool isn’t enough, Lupo also includes a computer-aided translation tool that localizers can use to easily translate the strings in the resource bundle.

Something else that I think is definitely worth noting is that Lupo is intended as a commercial AIR application. Adobe AIR isn’t meant to just be about free apps, and it’s exciting to see another entry into the commercial AIR app space.

Once again, amazing work by David. I can’t wait to see the released version — I’ve got some projects that I think are going to need a little Lupo love =)

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