Hi everyone,
*tl:dr; You can now localize Firefox on iOS, below are the resources and
l10n plan for v1. Firefox on iOS is part of Mozilla's 2015 goal to
increase the Firefox desktop userbase globally. It will launch with the
Spring Release. Localization is opt-in (file a bug & CC me & flod), but
restricted to what iOS supports**[1]**. This l10n process is new and
needs your feedback to improve it.*
I'm excited to announce that Firefox on iOS is ready for localization!
Firefox is coming to iOS as a part of the spring release efforts. Many
Firefox desktop and Apple iOS users around the world will be able to
sync their browsing experience across Apple devices more freely than
ever before. Mozilla hopes to win back Apple iOS users to Firefox by
making synced browsing easier for them. This is a strong component to
Mozilla's strategy to increase the Firefox desktop userbase worldwide.
Here are the details behind the Firefox on iOS localization effort:
1) Firefox for iOS's v1 release plan coordinates with the Spring Release
plan described in earlier emails. Release plans for adding Firefox for
iOS to the 6 week train release schedule have not been finalized.
2) Because this is the first release of the product, feature development
has been ongoing and likely will be ongoing until the very last moment.
In this way, the l10n experience for iOS is similar to the experience
localizing mozilla-central: string changes allowed until the final
moment. Development will still be active and you can be sure to see some
string changes every Friday throughout March and April.
3) The iOS localization ecosystem is quite strict and we're still
learning what is possible.
Because the timing is quick to make a high-quality localized product for
users, we are only able to ship localizations of Firefox on iOS in the
languages that iOS itself is localized into, which our research has
shown to be 31 languages[1]. After v1 of Firefox on iOS, we will begin
exploring the new possibilities that iOS 8 creates with its new language
and region settings.
4) We want to invite all 31 locales to participate, but this is strictly
an opt-in project. If you would like to localize Firefox for iOS, simply
file a bug for your locale component and CC me and flod. We will set up
your locale's string directory in SVN and make sure it appears on the
webdashboard[2] (listed as "Firefox for iOS" in the "External Web
Projects status"). We will also manage your "sign-off" for v1 through
that bug.
5) Firefox on iOS uses a different file format than what you are already
used to called XLIFF. No need to fear, however, because it is XML-based
and we have written a guide for translating strings in raw XLIFF files
[3]. If you are localizing Firefox on iOS in Pootle, there will be no
difference between translating strings for this product and other
products in Pootle. Axel will also follow this email with an alternative
way to localize the XLIFF file.
6) We have an alternativedashboard set up for you to follow your
localization progress[4]. As you can see from the locales that are
already listed, the amount of strings to translate is very low. I,
personally, performed a translation of the full file (in the raw XLIFF
file too) into Spanish and tracked my time. Even following the
documentation for translating the raw XLIFF file, completing the project
only took 30 minutes.
7) Finally, testing. Apple's developer testing infrastructure makes
large-scale testing difficult. There is an iOS tool called TestFlight
that some have been able to use for functional testing of the app.
Unfortunately, it requires you to be a registered member of the iOS
Developer Program, as well as have an iOS device to use it. We're
working with the dogfooding team to learn how we can get localizers with
iOS devices registered to use TestFlight for their l10n testing. In the
mean time, if you own a Mac, you are welcome to test your localization
using XCode and the iOS simulator it provide. Details on that process
can be found here[5] but the documentation is still in progress.
Finally, if neither option is available to you, we can provide you with
screenshots of your localization. It's not ideal, but it's a way of
being able to test your localization.
There you have it, the plan for localizing v1 of Firefox on iOS. I
welcome your feedback and suggestions as we navigate through this
process together. If you would like to localize Firefox for iOS, please
file a bug and CC me and flod to it.
Thank you,
Jeff
[1]
http://www.ibabbleon.com/iOS-Language-Codes-ISO-639.html
[2]
https://l10n.mozilla-community.org/
<
https://l10n.mozilla-community.org/webdashboard/>webdashboard/
<
https://l10n.mozilla-community.org/webdashboard/>
[3]
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Localization/Localizing_XLIFF_files
[4]
https://l10n.mozilla-community.org/~flod/webstatus/?product=firefox-ios
<
https://l10n.mozilla-community.org/%7Eflod/webstatus/?product=firefox-ios>
[5]
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Localization/L10n_testing_with_xcode
--
*Jeff Beatty*
Localization Engineer
@mozilla_l10n <
http://twitter.com/mozilla_l10n>
801.367.3763