Translation Memory eXchange
Encyclopedia
TMX is an open XML
standard for the exchange of translation memory
data created by computer-aided translation and localization tools.
TMX was originally developed and maintained by OSCAR (Open Standards for Container/Content Allowing Re-use), a special interest group of LISA
(Localization Industry Standards Association).
In March 2011 LISA was declared insolvent, as a result its standards were moved under the Creative Commons license and the standards specification relocated.
Being in existence since 1998, the format allows easier exchange of translation memory between tools and/or translators with little or no loss of critical data. The current version is 1.4b - it allows for the recreation of the original source and target documents from the TMX data. A working draft of TMX 2.0 was released for public comment in March, 2007. No follow up has been done since.
TMX forms part of the Open Architecture for XML Authoring and Localization (OAXAL
) reference architecture.
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
standard for the exchange of 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...
data created by computer-aided translation and localization tools.
TMX was originally developed and maintained by OSCAR (Open Standards for Container/Content Allowing Re-use), a special interest group of LISA
Localization Industry Standards Association
From 1990 to February 2011 the Localization Industry Standards Association or LISA was a Swiss-based trade body of concerning the translation of computer software into multiple natural languages...
(Localization Industry Standards Association).
In March 2011 LISA was declared insolvent, as a result its standards were moved under the Creative Commons license and the standards specification relocated.
Being in existence since 1998, the format allows easier exchange of translation memory between tools and/or translators with little or no loss of critical data. The current version is 1.4b - it allows for the recreation of the original source and target documents from the TMX data. A working draft of TMX 2.0 was released for public comment in March, 2007. No follow up has been done since.
TMX forms part of the Open Architecture for XML Authoring and Localization (OAXAL
OAXAL
OAXAL: Open Architecture for XML Authoring and Localization is an Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards standards-based initiative to encourage the development of an open Standards approach to XML Authoring and Localization...
) reference architecture.
Example
Example of TMX document with one entry:
datatype="PlainText" segtype="sentence"
adminlang="en-us" srclang="en"
o-tmf="ABCTransMem">
Text in <B> bold</B> .
Texte en <B> gras</B> .
Third-party tools
A number of tools can create, edit or use TMX documents:- Anchovy, published by Maxprograms, creates a TMX document from a CSV file.
- The ApertiumApertiumApertium is a rule-based machine translation platform. It is free software and released under the terms of the GNU General Public License.-History:...
machine translation platform may override the rule-based translation if there is a match in a TMX - bitext2tmx, is a free open source Java applicaiton that creates a TMX file from bitext.
- The Fortis Revolution translation suite can import and export TMX files.
- Google TranslateGoogle TranslateGoogle Translate is a free statistical machine translation service provided by Google Inc. to translate a section of text, document or webpage, into another language.The service was introduced in April 28, 2006 for the Arabic language...
can import and export TMX files. - Kilgray's MemoQ software is capable of import and export in TMX format.
- Western Standard's Fluency software can import, export, and create TMX files.
- The Okapi FrameworkOkapi FrameworkThe Okapi Framework is a cross-platform and open-source set of components and applications that offer extensive support for localizing and translating documentation and software.- Architecture :The Okapi Framework is organized around the following parts:...
includes various components that take or generate TMX documents. - Olifant is an open-source .NET application to create and maintain TMX documents.
- OmegaTOmegaTOmegaT is a computer-assisted translation tool written in the Java programming language. It is free software originally developed by Keith Godfrey in 2000, and is currently developed by a team led by Didier Briel. The name OmegaT is a registered trademark in Germany.OmegaT is intended for...
and OmegaT+ are free open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Java application for CAT, that uses and creates TMX in its operation. - SDL TradosSDL TradosSDL Trados is the market leading computer assisted translation software suites, originally developed by the German company Trados GmbH and currently available from SDL International, a provider of translation management software, content management and language services...
can import and export in TMX format. - STAR Transit XV – and its most recent version, STAR Transit NXT, – are able to import and export files in TMX format.
- Stingray Document Aligner is a cross-platform commercial aligner written in Java that generates TMX files from document pairs in a variety of formats.
- TMXValidator is an open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
application that checks the validity of your TMX documents on any platform. - The Translate ToolkitTranslate ToolkitThe Translate Toolkit is a localization and translation toolkit. It provides a set of tools for working with localization file formats and files that might need localization. The toolkit also provides an API on which to develop other localization tools....
's po2tmx converter can be used to create TMX memories from PO. - Validator is an open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Java application that checks the validity of TMX documents on any supported platform. Can be used from commandline in scripting. - Wordbee TM Servers can export in TMX format.
- Xoterm is a shareware TMX viewer for MacOSX.