2.0 Validations Module Proposal

In anticipation of closing down on 2.0, we have two new proposals for modules. In this mail, we are proposing the first of the two, a Validation module.

                     

Validating localized target data is a very important part of the business of outsourcing localization, especially when the extracted source content comes from software. Typically, there is a plethora of tools that content providers and
 localization suppliers use to perform a multitude of validations. There is a strong desire in the industry to bring some consistency to this space, but there are currently no accepted standards or interchange formats that facilitate this activity. We would
 like to propose a Validation module that would help with standardizing this crucial activity.

 

The basic idea would be to define a small set of standard validation rules and standard descriptions for them that tool developers could consistently build business logic around. How a rule is applied to a string or sub-string would be
 done using regular expressions. These would all be contained in a Validations module.

 

Here’s a draft of the Module for comment:

 

 

Validations Module

The target text of a document can be verified against various validation rules. The Validations Module should be able to store a list of pre-defined validation rules, along with a description about how to process the target text using those rules, to perform
 specific verifications.

 

Module Specification

Module Namespace

The namespace for the Verification module is: urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:validations:2.0

Module Elements

The elements defined in the Validations module are: <validations>, <validation>, and <matchExpression>.

Tree Structure

Legend:

1 = one + = one or more ? = zero or one

 

<validations> +                                

|

+---<validation> +

       |

       +---<matchExpression> 1

validations

Collection of validations to be applied by a validation engine

 

Contains:

- One or more <validation> elements

 

Parents:

<file>, <group>, <unit> and <segment>

 

Attributes:

- name

validation

Specifies a validation rule, and a description and regular _expression_, which define how to apply that validation rule to the target text.

 

Contains:

- One <matchExpression> element

 

Parents:

<validations>

 

Attributes:

- id, rule, desc

matchExpression

A regular _expression_ used to match the target text or substring to which the validation rule is applied.

 

Contains:

A regular _expression_

 

Parents:

<validation>

 

Attributes:

- none

 

Module Attributes

The attributes defined in the Validations module are: name, id, rule, and desc.

name

Name – The user-defined name of a named validations element.

 

Value description: NMTOKEN.

 

Default value: undefined

 

Used in: <validations>.

id

Identifier - A character string used to identify a <validation> element.

 

Value description: NMTOKEN.

 

Default value: undefined

The value must be unique within the <validations> element.

 

Used in: <validation>.

rule

Validation Rule - Indicates the rule that a validation engine should apply to the target text.

 

Value description: A paired value with desc. See table below.

 

Default value: undefined

 

Used in: <validation>

 

desc

Validation description – indicates how a specific rule should be applied to the target text.

 

Value description: A paired value with rule. See table below.

 

Default value: undefined

 

Used in: <validation>.

Possible values for rule and desc attributes (format and number of rules TBD):

Rule

Description

maxLength:100

Match string can’t be longer than # of chars specified.

minLength:10

Match string can’t be shorter than # of chars specified.

noLoc

Match string shouldn’t be localized

Etc.

Etc.

Any custom rule

Any custom description

 

Examples in XLIFF:

Using the following segment as an example

<segment>

  <source> Contact me at someCompany: </source>

  <target> Kontaktieren Sie mich unter someFirma: </target>

</target>

maxLength:100

. Matches “Kontaktieren Sie mich unter someFirma: “.

Match succeeds, so validation business logic checks to see if the string is less than 100 chars, that also succeeds, and the business logic then takes the appropriate action.

 

<val:validations>

  <validation rule=”maxLength:100” desc=”Match string can’t be longer than # of chars specified.”>

    <matchExpression>.</matchExpression>

  </validation>

</val:validations>

 

noLoc

\bsomeCompany\b doesn’t match “someCompany” in the target text.

Validation business logic takes the appropriate action for the match failure.

 

<val:validations>

  <validation rule=”noLoc” desc=”Match string shouldn’t be localized.”>

    <matchExpression>\bsomeCompany\b</matchExpression>

  </validation>

</val:validations>

 

Rules not defined in the Module can still be defined using the same mechanisms, though user agents that support the Validation Module may or may not have built-in implementation for them. An example might be to check if the target text
 contains a valid email address.

validEmail

\b[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}\b matches “”.

Validation business logic takes appropriate action for the match success.

 

<val:validations>

  <validation rule=”validEmail” desc=”Match string is a valid email address.”>

    <matchExpression>\b[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}\b</matchExpression>

  </validation>

</val:validations>

 

 

Please let us know your opinion on this proposal.

 

Thanks,

Microsoft Corporation

(Ryan King, Kevin O'Donnell, Uwe Stahlschmidt, Alan Michael)