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From: etxtomp@eos.ericsson.se (Tommy Petersson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: An AmigaVision Question
Message-ID: <1990Nov27.112202.7471@ericsson.se>
Date: 27 Nov 90 11:22:02 GMT
References: <37065@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <16059@cbmvax.commodore.com> <1990Nov27.020432.11108@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>
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In article <1990Nov27.020432.11108@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:
-karl@cbmvax.commodore.com (Karl Herrman - CATS) writes:
-> boily@phy.ulaval.ca (Edouard Boily) writes:
-
(*Trimmed down articles*)
->>	Just a short  question about AmigaVision!   Does someone  know
->>what exactly  the file  'AV_Text.English' contains?   Is  it the texts
->>used by AV fot the Helps, the menus, the requesters, etc...?   If yes,
->>do you know how to create one?  I'd like to create one in french...
-
-> The file does contain the text files for all the requestors, Error
-> messages, etc The original file was created with a text editor and
-> encrypted. We are already working on a French translation of
-  ^^^^^^^^^
-
-> Karl Herrmann C.A.T.S. Software Specialist
-
-Is there someone at Commodore particularly in charge of making this kind
-of decisions to antagonize the user base?
-
-Last I heard, there are some 3000 different human languages. Don't you
-think you might be limiting your market just the teensiest bit by making
-distribution to these other language groups wait until you folks get
-around to finding someone who knows each language to do the translation
-for you?
-
-As opposed, say, to putting the file out in well documented, easy to
-modify form, and letting the vast knowledge of the user base be brought to
-bear to get the port done in 1/10 the time and cost to Commodore, thereby
-boosting your sales and hastening the return on your software development
-investment.
-
Since Amiga doesn't have Resources and Resource Editors like Macint*sh, it's
not that simple. The programs must be able to handle the added length of
text strings in wordy languages like German "Videoapparaturkontrollengeraet"
(this is by no means correct German, but Yoy get my idea). English is a
very efficient language if You want to express something in not so many
characters, and still have it understandable. I made a very simple resource
system for a Un*x program. The program was first made in English (Scottish
accent), and then translated into German, Swedish and later (I think) French.
Most sentences were longer than the original English versions.

Perhaps AmigaDos 3.01 should include resources and resource editors? (I hope
the editors will be better than the first versions we got for MacInt*sh,
they were horrible). The only really negative aspect I see in resources is
that the executables grow (at least in the Mac way), but the benefits are
not so small.

Tommy P.