Creating Indian language Web Site Application - a help guide

Information useful in creating / developing an Indian Language enable website / web application. Ideal Application or web site, should cater to maximum number of client-users. An Indian language web application / website should also cater to legacy Win95/98 and IE 5/5.5. These platforms are highly used in India especially over dial-up lines..

An Indian language web site can be static html content or an interactive web application such as E-Mail, Chat, Search Engine, Database Application, Feedback-forms, web-portals, etc.

Static HTML with Indian Languages

• You need an application, which creates static html content for your site. This tool should be able to function with any existing English content creation tools such as MS-Word, OpenOffice (Writer), Dreamweaver, Amaya, Front Page, etc. It should also have facilities and tools such as various keyboard layouts, dictionaries, etc. ISM from C-DAC GIST is ideal for creating static Indian Language Content for the web.
  ISM comes with several fonts designed specifically for viewing on the browser. The list of fonts can also be customised. It not only Enables content creation tools, but also other applications such as MSN Messenger, Outlook, Powerpoint, etc. It can also be used with StarOffice and OpenOffice on windows.
  For creating content using Linux you can use LISM or OT fonts from C-DAC.
  
• A Cliparts collection is useful for adding Indian cliparts to your pages. Shaili has a variety of decorative Borders, Motifs, Tiles, Arches and Corners. Reusable ornamental components and borders are exclusively tuned for web page designing.
  

2.Viewing the Static Content on the Browser

• To view the contents created on a browser, the client machine needs to have Indian language fonts downloaded and installed. Alternatively, you can use Dynamic fonts (EOT and PFR). EOT are downloaded and installed automatically on user machines. For Non-IE browsers, user requires to download and install components for the same.

  
  

Interactive Web Application with Indian Languages

For making Interactive Applications such as E-Mailing Systems, Search Engine, Chat Applications, database query systems, etc. :

1. User should be able to type in Indian languages on the browser.

• The look and feel of the application should not be disturbed (Web page design and layout should be similar across languages, including an existing English page).
  
• The user will want to be able to type in the layout of his/her choice
  
  • INSCRIPT layout - Part of the ISCII standard
    
  • Easy Phonetic English layout for novice users (Requires knowledge of English)
    
  • Typewriter layout for users who have migrated from using the mechanical typewriters.
    
• The components should get downloaded automatically and should not require user intervention for installation.
  
• An Onscreen Virtual Floating Keyboard helps user to view the layout and hence to type in Indian language.
• ToolBar for Indian Language data along with in-page search/find facility
  
• It should be possible to type in Input box, Text area, editable DIV tags, iFrame, etc. which are used extensively in emailing applications to support text formatting like Bold, Italic, bullets, etc.
  
• It should be possible to show Indian Language Alert message box using Javascript/ VBscript at the client end.
• The tool should work on various platforms such as HTML, ASP, JSP-Servlets, PHP (both with ActiveX and JAVA), .Net, AJAX etc. and talk with various back end databases.
  

These facilities can be made available to web-developer community using the iPlugin Famework. It consists of :

• Server side data conversion utilities on various platforms (ASP, JSP, PHP, .Net) for Data formats such as ISCII, UNICODE, ISFOC, UTF-8, etc.
• Invisible client side typing and data viewing browser components with no change in UI.
• iPlugin Floating Keyboard for virtual reference as well as click-typing
• iPlugin Toolbar (iToolbar) with all settings and in-page search/find facility.
• iPlugin GMsgbox (for Alert messages in Indian Languages)
• Support for dynamic fonts (.eot and .pfr).

2. Open Type Font Support : If you are targeting only the growing number of new UNICODE enabled systems, Open Type (OT)-Font support is possible using tools such as iPlugin, Gist-WebOT, Gist-TXI and GistTTX.


3. Components should be Light weight
Due to low bandwidth availability in India, it is essential to have components, which are light weight and easy to download. With a one time download of only 35KB, GLite is ideal for feedback e-mail forms, search engine and interactive chat applications in Indian languages. It functions with any of the iPlugin server side components mentioned above and supports HTML, JSP-Servlets, ASP, PHP, .Net, etc.


4. Light weight Platform independent typing mechanism
With growing number of web-users on platforms such as Firefox-Mozilla on Windows 9x, Win2K, Win-XP, Vista, various flavours of Linux and even MAC OS, it is essential to have web-application, which enable atleast basic user input on these platforms. With no need for JRE on IE browser on OS below Win-XP and Java enabled browsers for XP, MAC and LINUX G-JLet with one-time download of 70KB is ideal for feedback e-mail forms, search engine and interactive chat applications in Indian languages. It functions with any of the iPlugin server side components mentioned above and supports HTML, ASP, JSP/Servlets,, PHP, .Net, etc. for web-clients with IE or Firefox on Windows 9x onwards, Linux and MAC OS.
To see G-Jlet in action visit http://hindisearch.cdac.in


5. Java components with Indian language support, which offer platform independence may be basic light weight components or JRE based advanced applets with Onscreen Floating keyboard support.

6. Gist-WebOT (Web Open-Type Typing) is a Hindi web based OT typing mechanism for clients not having UNICODE support - like Windows 98 or Windows 2000 or even Windows XP without language pack installed. Gist-WebOT enables a client for INSCIPT typing over the web. This is a zero download mechanism for Windows and IE. For other OS and browsers manual font download is required. Currently this is available for Hindi and INSCRIPT only. Gist-WebOT has also been implemented in http://trainenquiry.com/hindi


7. Gist-TXI (TeXt to Image) is a web based Text to Image generator for interactive web-applications such as emailing and chat applications. It supports phonetic transliteration typing and generates the Indian language Text as a JPEG (.JPG image) of the converted English text. It is of utmost use in the case when the font required to display the Indian language content is not present on the receipent's system. Sender can send the data irrespective of whether the font is present with receiver or not. The receiver will get the email as image attachement which is not dependent on font. It is also useful for inputting and representing Indian Language Data on Mobile platforms. Reference URL :http://gistdict.cdac.in/Text2Image.htm

8.GistTTX : GistTTX(Typing Through ajaX) is a web based typing mechanism which enables typing in Indian languages using AJAX. User types any data from the keyboard over the web and it'll be displayed on the web page in specified Indian language using fast ajax. There is no download required for Windows and IE. For other OS and browsers manual font download will be required.
Note :

• The web application under development for Indian languages should cater to the wide and diverse user base. Majority of client platforms do not support UNICODE like windows 98 and IE 5, but GIST has developed web tools which will enable interactive applications on windows 9x and systems without language pack by enabling UNICODE over the web.
• Ideally the tools should be functional in multiple languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Maethili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Santhali, Tamil, Telugu, etc.
• The components should be light enough to download and initialize quickly
• The tools should be easy to use, easy to develop using and easy to create web-applications such as feedback e-mail in Indian Languages, Chat applications, Input box on web page for Indian languages..
• The tools should support Internet as well as Intranet based applications
• Tools should have sample applications, for different development environments, bundled along with the development kit.
• UNICODE is not a complete solution - several issues related to input and display of Indian languages exist even today. Refer url - http://cssgist.cdac.in for more information on Hindi, Konkani, Sindhi, Kashmiri, etc.

ISM (Indian language Web Content creation tool)

Shaili (Indian cliparts) Home page

Dynamic fonts Home page

iPlugin - Home page
iPlugin Java suite
iPlugin Floating Keyboard
iPlugin Toolbar (iToolbar)
iPlugin Toolbar (in-page Search Find facility)
iPlugin GMsgbox (client side Alert / msgbox in Indian languages )

iPlugin - Demo site

iPlugin HTML Site

iPlugin ASP.Net (dot net) Site

GLite - Demo site

G-JLet - Demo site
(JAVA APPLET FOR TYPING IN INDIAN LANGUAGES ON THE WEB)

JFA (Java enabled Indian language tools) Home page

Indian language Applet development kit

View C-DAC Connect Article on Indic Web Tools (October-December 2003)

Visit Success story of e-mailing solution for Sify.com

Success Story of Train enquiry in Hindi