1. Introducing the technology
DITA to XLIFF and Back
Introducing the technology
You probably already know
what’s so good about DITA.
Here’s what’s so good
XLIFF, and using XLIFF for
translating DITA

2. XLIFF
XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is an XML-based standard
An open standard for translation
Developed by representatives of all aspects of the translation industry
It is easy for LSPs to process
XLIFF is supported by mainstream translation tools
Has standardized methods for automating workflow, translation word counts, translation memory and segmentation

3. XLIFF translation model
XLIFF supports the extract & merge paradigm, an established model for efficient translation
Extract localizable strings and format information
Import XLIFF strings into translation tool
Source
document
XLIFF file
Translate
strings
Convert XLIFF file into original format
Import translated strings into XLIFF
Translated
document
Bilingual
XLIFF file

4. XLIFF translation model
Isolate the translatable text in translation units
<trans-unit>
<source>Hello</source>
<target>Hello</target>
Retain the source document’s structure
External to the XLIFF file, via a skeleton file
- or -
Internally with <group> elements

5. How DITA, SVG and XLIFF Solve the Problem
Handing several DITA and SVG files to your LSP is inefficient – they much prefer XLIFF
Their tools support XLIFF
All topics and image files are consolidated into one XLIFF file
Since DITA and SVG files are XML, the strings that need to be translated are accessible via XSLT
It is easy to automate the tranformation from SVG and DITA to XLIFF
Since XLIFF files are XML, the strings can be easily assembled into translated SVG and DITA, via XSLT

6. As part of documentation process

7. Advantages of DITA/SVG/XLIFF method
Open standards vs. proprietary solution
Automated
Many topics and graphics can be managed in a single XLIFF file
LSPs know XLIFF and are proficient
Translation Memory is easily leveraged