Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-14
2002-02-12
Von Buhr, Maria N. (Department: 2171)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C704S002000, C704S008000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06347316
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for enabling improved document translation for documents available for downloading via the Internet or World Wide Web (WWW). More particularly, the present invention provides a method, computer readable code and system for providing an improved machine translation process for documents on the WWW which permit superior translations to be produced.
2. Description of the Related Art
One problem that is slowing the expansion and acceptance of the World Wide Web (WWW) and it actually becoming “world wide” is the problem of language. Generally, companies, individuals, governments or organizations that make documents available via the WWW make them available in a single language.
A number of language translation service companies, such as Transparent Language Inc. and Globalink Corporation, now provide Web translation software for Web users' personal Web browsers. Transparent Language Corporation provides a tool called Easy Translator which uses dynamic data exchange (DDE) to communicate with the browser. The Globalink solution provides an add-on software component for a Web browser.
Search engines also now provide translation support for documents retrieved in a search. For example, the AltaVista search engine utilizes technology from Systran Software, Inc. to provide users with the option to provide translated versions of retrieved documents. AltaVista is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation. Additionally, AltaVista provides a website at http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate? at which a user may enter an address for a document on the WWW, indicate the original language of the document and a desired language into which the user wants to translate the document. The translation is done remotely at the server, so the user does not need to have any translation software loaded on his or her computer.
The computer-based automated translation technique utilized by the software and systems described above is known as “machine translation.” A background description of machine translation can be found at http://www.systransoft.com/FAQs.html. Machine translation software translates one natural language into another natural language. Machine translation takes into account the grammatical structure of each language and uses rules to transfer the grammatical structure of the source language into the target language.
However, given the complexities involved in languages, machine translation tends to be only about 30% to maybe 65% accurate. Many phrases and colloquial terms do not translate easily. Attempts to translate the names of towns, cities, places, etc. are made when they shouldn't be translated. Rules which are hard-coded for certain grammatical features may always be applied, even though many exceptions to the rules exist, since writing code for all the exceptions would be a prolonged task, and make the translation process quite slow. So a document translated by current machine translation techniques may or may not even be understandable to a user; worse yet, some important elements of the document may be translated incorrectly. Machine translation cannot replace a human translator, nor is it intended to. Therefore, many of the companies that provide machine translation software also provide old-fashion human translation services to provide documents that are translated with a high degree of accuracy.
The accuracy problem with machine translation can be explained by a simple example. Using presently available machine translation, if a user was to translate a sentence from English to French, a certain degree of inaccuracy would be involved. In translating the sentence back to English using machine translation, the original translation inaccuracy is amplified, and the sentence will in most instances be different than the original English sentence.
Accordingly, a need exists for a technique which provides accurately translated WWW documents which are available for downloading.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide translated WWW documents having a high degree of accuracy.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide technique for combining machine translation with incrementally-enabled human translation.
Another object of the invention is to enhance server performance and minimize network utilization by providing a caching technique for translated WWW documents.
Still another object of the invention is to permit the owner of the document to control the translation and to prevent translations of old versions of a document to be sent to a document requester at a client.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description and the drawings which follow, and, in part, will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the forgoing objects, and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as broadly described herein, the present invention provides computer readable code stored on media for use with a server linked to a network and which provides documents to requesters at clients, the code responding to client requests to provide a document in a language other than an original language of the document, the code comprising first subprocesses, responsive to a request from a client for a document in a language other than an original language of the document, for determining if at least one translated version of the document is available for transmitting to the client; second subprocesses for, if the first subprocesses determines that at least one translated version is available, determining which of the translated versions is newest and whether the newest translated version is newer than the document, and if so, transmitting the newest translated version to the client; and third subprocesses for causing a machine translation version of the document to be created if the first subprocesses determines that no translated version is available or if the second subprocesses determines that the newest translated version is not newer than the document, and transmitting the machine translation to the client. The first subprocesses further determines if a machine translation version of the document or a perfected translation version of the document is available. The third subprocesses further causes the created machine translation version to be named in accordance with a naming convention and stored.
The present invention also provides, in a client-server environment, a system for providing a translated document to a client which requests a document from a server in a language other than its original language, comprising means for determining that a document has been requested by a client from a server in a language other than its original language; means for determining if a machine translation version of the document is available; means for determining if an edited translated version of the document is available; means for determining which of the machine translation version and the edited translation version is most recent and whether the most recent version is newer than the document; means for transmitting the newest version to the client if the most recent version is newer than the document; and means for creating a new machine translation version of the document and sending it to the client if the most recent version is not newer than the document or if no machine translation version and no edited translation version is found to be available. The system may further comprise means for creating, in response to the request for the document in a language other than its original language, filenames of the document that would correspond to the machine translation version of the do
Doudnikoff Gregory M.
Von Buhr Maria N.
LandOfFree
National language proxy file save and incremental cache... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with National language proxy file save and incremental cache..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and National language proxy file save and incremental cache... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2953757