Forum OpenACS Q&A: Translation server status update

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1: Translation server status update
Posted by Joel Aufrecht on 02/06/04 10:44 AM
Here's an update on the translation servers: We know all the translators are eager to see their work incorporated into the next OpenACS release, and to get the newest strings added to the server for translation. In the past Peter Marklund has done this synchronization manually:
  1. Go to the translation server and export the work in progress from the database to new catalog files
  2. Merge the new catalog files with those in CVS. There are a lot of potential conflicts here, such as contradictory translations checked in from other sources, and added and removed strings, and the process has been time-consuming and error-prone.
  3. Commit the new files to CVS
  4. Upgrade the translation server (potentially to unsupported HEAD code)
We have taken some steps to improve the quality of this process, make it easier, and make it possible for someone other than Peter to do it. Here's the sequence of steps that will lead to this goal in OpenACS 5.0.2:
  1. Add new functionality to acs-lang to handle merge conflicts in acs-lang instead of in CVS. (finished Dec 2003)
  2. Fix an intermittently failing test case in acs-lang (this week, 6 Feb 2004)
    1. Release acs-lang 5.0.1 (necessitating OpenACS 5.0.1)
  3. Set up a new translation server on angora (6 Feb 2004). Copy the user accounts from the old translation server.
  4. Do a trial upgrade of a copy of the translation server (1 day)
  5. Take the live translation server down.
  6. Make a fresh backup of the translation server
  7. Upgrade the backup to 5.0.1
  8. CVS Update the catalog files on the upgraded translation server. 5 minutes
  9. Use new acs-lang tools to extract translation work from translation server to catalog files. 2-4 hours
  10. Commit catalog files to CVS oacs-5-0 branch
  11. Update the catalog files on the angora translation server
  12. Open the angora translation server up to the public
  13. Redirect translate.openacs.org traffic to the angora server.

    Notice that there is an outage on the live translation server of possibly 1 -2 days. If anything goes seriously wrong, we have lots of backups and plenty of fallback options, so there is little risk of lost day or of extended downtime. This downtime is likely to be some time next week, and we will provide as much notice as possible. I apologize for the general short notice - if there's a specific bad window for the downtime, please let me know; if lots of people want a longer period before the downtime, we can do that as well. We can also provide access to the new angora translation server right away, but if we do that before we've finished all the upgrades then some work may be duplicated - if you can work around that and want access to the new angora 5.0 translation server right away, let me know.

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2: Re: Translation server status update (response to 1)
Posted by Peter Marklund on 02/06/04 11:04 AM
I've fixed the failing test case (2) and I'm going to try to upgrade a clone of the translation server today (4).
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3: Re: Translation server status update (response to 1)
Posted by xx xx on 02/06/04 02:26 PM
Great to see this work on the translation server.

I understand that, once it is done, we are less dependant on Peter. This is probably a good thing.

But, does this make new translations readily available to the community? Does it influence the procedure of importing catalog files (being more "user oriented"  and less "hacker oriented") ?

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4: Re: Translation server status update (response to 3)
Posted by Joel Aufrecht on 02/06/04 04:04 PM
It means that the importing of catalog files will be a much simpler proceedure which a broader range of people can volunteer for.  Translations will still be tightly bound to the release process, however, because the translation server itself must be upgraded regularly.  This should be much less onerus now that it's on 5.0 and can use the automated installer.  However, we will either need to accept that translations always lag new code by a minimum of one dot release, or else put extra effort into upgrading the translation server to alpha or beta code fairly regularly.
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5: Login Trouble (response to 1)
Posted by xx xx on 02/13/04 01:11 PM
The work on the translation server seems done but I have trouble logging in. I keep being thrown back to http://translate.openacs.org/register/? The UI shows Logout while I'm not logged in (deleted all cookies and tried different computers).

When http://translate.dotlrn.collaboraid.net was still online I was able to login but toggling of translator mode did NOT work (it was off; there were no O marks).

While I'm at it, I wonder if we could get more privileges on the translation server. I could not post to the forum for example.. I found untranslated keys on one pages, but I cannot check pages that I'm not allowed to see (or that are not installed).