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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: Small branch survey
From:       Andreas Pour <pour () mieterra ! com>
Date:       2000-10-27 7:44:08
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Chris Schlaeger wrote:
> 
> > > 1) translations aren't there (at least not correctly)
> >
> > For almost all the existing code they are. For new code, this adds
> > features that aren't even in 2.0. So what would you have, new features
> > that may not have all translations or not have the feature at all? I
> > know my answer ;-)
> >
> > Plus, Mandrakesoft has translators as well ;-)
> >
> > This is one of the places KDE is f*cked up. Almost all projects add
> > features first, go through a couple releases, and then update
> > translations when they are ready. Only KDE freezes things and stops up
> > the whole development process waiting for translations.
> 
> KDE is a global project. Supporting only English excludes 90% of the
> world's population. So translations are as important as features!

I don't think anyone disagrees here.  But one doesn't have to study A
Wealth of Nations or Das Kapital to know that great efficiencies are
gained by splitting work into subparts and working on each subpart
independently.  When Mercedes builds a car does the guy making the
engine wait until the tires are put on before working on the next
engine?  Of course not.  So why should developers wait for translations
before continuing to develop?  They are two completely separably
processes (there is no feedback loop, at least not a significant one) --
the code gets written in English, then when it's "done" it gets
translated.

Of course this does mean the "90%" have to wait a few weeks/months
longer to get their code than the "10%" do.  I hope that doesn't trouble
you.  The result is everyone gets better code b/c the developers can
develop rather than worry about translation freezes.

Ciao,

Andreas Pour

http://www.kde.com/ :  Everything KDE
http://apps.kde.com/:  The Latest in KDE Applications

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