XLIFF
| Filename extension | .xlf |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | before 2.0: application/x-xliff+xml, 2.0 and after: application/xliff+xml |
| Latest release |
2.0
(5 August 2014) |
| Extended from | XML |
XLIFF (XML Localisation Interchange File Format) is an XML-based format created to standardize the way localizable data are passed between tools during a localization process and a common format for CAT tool files. XLIFF was standardized by OASIS in 2002. Its current specification is v2.0 released on 2014-08-05.
The specification is aimed at the localization industry. It specifies elements and attributes to store content extracted from various original file formats and its corresponding translation. The goal was to abstract the localization skills from the engineering skills related to specific formats such as HTML.
XLIFF forms part of the Open Architecture for XML Authoring and Localization (OAXAL) reference architecture.
An XLIFF 1.2 document is composed of one or more <file> elements. Each <file> element corresponds to an original file or source (e.g. database table). A <file> contains the source of the localizable data and, once translated, the corresponding localized data for one, and only one, locale.
Localizable data are stored in <trans-unit> elements. The <trans-unit> element holds a <source> element to store the source text, and a <target> element to store the latest translated text. The <target> elements are not mandatory.
The example below shows an XLIFF document storing text extracted from a Photoshop file (PSD file) and its translation in Japanese:
The XLIFF Technical Committee is currently at work on XLIFF 2.0. Much feedback has been gathered from XLIFF's user community which will be synthesized and implemented into the next version of the standard. Two of the primary methods include compiling a list of extensions used by XLIFF toolmakers, and compiling a list of XLIFF features supported in each XLIFF tool.
On May 6, 2014, the XLIFF 2.0 specification was moved to Candidate OASIS Standard.
On August 6, 2014 the XLIFF 2.0 specification became an OASIS Standard
Example of XLIFF 2.0 document:
...
Wikipedia