David Deraedt

Update: Check out Lupo Flex Localization Studio page for more information

I'd like to introduce you to my latest AIR application, currently under development, code-named Lupo.

Lupo is a Flex application Localization Studio. It's a set of tools designed to help localizing Flex / AIR (and to some extends, Java) applications, with productivity in mind.

Why localization? Because it's a great way to increase revenues simply by opening new markets. And it is my understanding that this is the "reach" part of RIAs. After all, what's the point of having a 98%+ player penetration rate, an über ubiquitous desktop/browser/mobile & devices presence, if half of the users can't use the application simply because they don't understand it ?

However, as a consultant, I realized that internationalization (i18n) and localization (L10n) are often considered as scary, complicated topics. Sure, Flex provides a very decent API to deal with resource bundles, but it still requires a lot of work for the developer to implement this feature in his app. First, it implies a good organization and architecture, and second, it takes a long list of, repetitive, un-agile, tedious tasks to finally get the job done.

So that's why, some months ago, I decided to create a tool which would help me manage properties files for my client projects. The first idea was to parse my source code to extract the localizable strings and create the corresponding Key/Value pairs in the properties files. Over time, I improved the application to create a sophisticated set of tools and practices which have tremendously improved my productivity.

As of today, Lupo is comprised of two AIR applications : Lupo Manager, a developer tool which helps creating and managing Resource Bundles and generates code to easily implement those bundles ; and Lupo Translator, a Computer Aided Translation tool, aimed at translators, because sometimes your translators don't have a dedicated CAT tool. Note that there may be more tools in the future.

Lupo enters private beta this week. If you wish to join the beta, drop me an email via my contact page. Sorry, the registrations are closed. I didn't expect so many people. Stay tuned for more news very soon.