W3C I18N Techniques: Authoring XHTML & HTML

Use a topic-comment approach whenever possible.

Avoid sentence-like arrangements when they contain substrings that are predefined translatable text or numeric text.

Use sentence-like arrangements with care if you have non-numeric and non-translatable text substrings (ie. text created at runtime).

Where the parts of a composite message appear in separate locations, provide the translator with contextual information to show how the various parts of a composite message relate to each other.

Provide information to the translator, where needed, to clarify what a substring represents.

When requested by the localization group, be prepared to provide information about the size of each substring.

Strings should be reused where text is always used in exactly the same context, or where the string is a self-contained, independent sentence or phrase.

Reused strings must not refer to more than one text, graphic or conceptual context.

If in doubt as to whether a string is a good candidate for re-use, don't.

If re-used strings will be displayed in fixed-sized displayers of varying sizes, ensure that the translation will all fit in the smallest sized display box.

Working with Composite Messages

W3C article.

Re-using Strings in Scripted Content

W3C article.

Text Fragmentation and Reuse in User Interfaces

Composite messages and text-reuse in software user interfaces. The basis for articles in this section. (Multilingual Computing article)

Globalization Step-by-Step, String Handling

Microsoft-specific article on handling composite messages in Win32 and .NET (Microsoft article)

Ruby markup

Overview of the Ruby Annotation specification (in W3C tutorial, Ruby Markup and Styling)

Ruby style

Introduction to styling ruby with CSS3 Ruby Module (in W3C tutorial, Ruby Markup and Styling).

Ruby

What is 'ruby'? (W3C article)

CJKV Information Processing

Useful information about ruby in general (Ken Lunde's book, CJKV Information Processing, ISBN 1-56592-224-7, especially chapters 6 and 7)

Ruby Annotation Recommendation

W3C Recommendation

CSS3 Ruby Module

W3C Working Draft

The XHTML 1.1 Document Type

Ruby Annotation in XHTML 1.1 spec (section 3, bottom of the page)

Implementing the Ruby Module

Sample module implementations of the Ruby Annotation Specification in several schemas (W3C Personal Note)

Ruby markup

W3C test pages

Implementing ruby

Description of support for ruby markup and styling in browsers (in W3C tutorial, Ruby Markup and Styling)