Alchemy CATALYST is a software Internationalization and localization

Internationalization and localization

In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...

 suite which is developed by Alchemy Software Development Limited.

History

Alchemy Software Development Limited was founded by Enda McDonnell and Tony O’Dowd, who were the original developers of Corel Catalyst. It acquired the Corel Catalyst software which was initially owned by Corel Corporation, in a deal which saw Corel gain a stake of 24.9% equity interest in the newly formed company. On March 6, 2008 Alchemy Software development merged with Translations.com, a provider of software localisation and Globalization Management system technology. The headquarters of Alchemy Software Development Limited are located in Dublin. The company also has offices located in Japan, Germany and the United States. Catalyst 9.0 was released late in 2010.

Alchemy CATALYST 8.0

Alchemy CATALYST is a software localisation tool and was one of the first tools that contained integrated translation memory

Translation memory

A translation memory, or TM, is a database that stores so-called "segments", which can be sentences or sentence-like units that have previously been translated. A translation memory system stores the words, phrases and paragraphs that have already been translated, in order to aid human translators...

 technology. The latest version of Alchemy CATALYST version 8.0 was released on the February 14, 2009. Alchemy CATALYST 8.0 is an Object Oriented localization environment.

Alchemy Experts

Alchemy Experts are automation processes designed to omit repetitive tasks within the localisation process. The following are experts found in Alchemy Catalyst:

1. Validate Expert: This expert detects,locates and fixes common errors that can occur in the localisation procedure such as incorrect spellings and truncated text.The Runtime Validate Expert which accompanies the Validate Expert in the Localizer Edition and Developer/Pro Editions allows the user to carry out this process while the software is running.
2. Pseudo-Translate Text: This expert allows the user to pseudo-translate the translation
   Translation
   Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
   
    which is the process of creating text that mimics a foreign language without the benefit of actual translation into another language.
3. Visual Comparison Expert: This is used to compare the changes in two application files and detect missing resources.
4. Leverage Expert: This allows the user to reuse TM files using Alchemy CATALYST'S ezMatch translation memory technology. These files are stored in .ttk, .tmx and .tmx format.
5. Layout Manager: The Layout Manager allows the user to automatically create localised layouts by resizing controls,dialogs and buttons ensuring that any text that has expanded during the translation process will fit appropriately on the user interface.
6. QuickShip Expert: The Quickship Expert is used to distribute files to translators. It does this by placing all project TTK files, glossary files and user instructions into a compressed executable file known as a Quickship bundle. The QuickShip bundle which is sent to the translator extracts all constituent files and attaches any glossary files to the translators version of Alchemy CATALYST'S Translator/Lite which is then launched.
7. Analysis Expert: This expert allows the user to perform an analysis of the project to determine the actual parts that need to be translated ensuring reduced costs. It does this by determining the amount of fuzzy-matches which can be re-used,counting the number of words which are repeated throughout and counting the number of matching segments which occur between the TTK project files and the translation memory. All numerical data and keyword matches which are found through carrying out the analysis are omitted meaning the user only has to pay for content that needs to be translated.
8. Update Expert: This updates files by replacing application files with their revised editions. Translation leverage is also carried out during this procss.

Version 8.0 Supported software and content formats

• All Microsoft Desktop Development Platforms: 9x, NT, 2000, XP, Win32, Winx64, VISTA, RC, RESX, .NET Binaries(1.x and 2.0), Visual Basic.NET
• Online Help Systems: Doc-2-Help, RoboHelp, MadCap Flare
• Mobile Computing Platforms: Windows CE, Symbian, EPOC
• Java Platforms: Java EE, Java SE, Java ME
• Content Files: HTML (and all derivatives PHP, ASP, JSP), XHTML, XML (including derivative ASP.NET, ASP, JSP and XSL), MS Excel, DITA 1.0
• Databases: All Microsoft DB technologies, Oracle 8/9/10 and IBM DB2

Editions

• Alchemy CATALYST 8.0 Developer/ Pro Edition

This edition is used by large companies handling projects which are being translated into different languages simultaneously. Companies which are employing large teams of translators to carry out projects are provided with Alchemy Translator /Lite licenses for free so that they can expand freely when their business load increases. This edition contains 8 experts.

• Alchemy CATALYST 8.0 Localizer Edition:

This edition is used by software development companies who require a tool that allows the user to visually localise content. This edition contains 6 experts.

• Alchemy CATALYST 8.0 Translator/Pro Edition:

This edition is used by professional translators. This tool includes translation memory technology which means that the translator does not have to translate sentences repeatedly. This edition comes with the validate expert which is used to detect any errors that normally occur during the translation process.