Browsing by Author "Chambua, James"

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    Development of a web-based support system for Kiswahili localization of free and open source software
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2009) Chambua, James
    One of the main challenges in harvesting the benefits of the wide spread adoption of ICT in African countries is the language which is associated with these technologies. Majority of Africans particularly those in the rural areas can only communicate in local languages, and hence can neither use the computer technology nor comprehend the Internet contents even if they get access to it. This research investigates how localization (transformation of a particular software so that it could meet language and other characteristics of a particular local community) of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) can be used to meet this rapid adoption of ICT in different section of the economy. Localization processes or methodologies adopted by different location teams face their own challenges which results to localized software with a lot of translation inconsistencies, poor communication among team members and inefficient approach towards the localization of the software. These led to the development of Web-based Support System for Kiswahili Localization FOSS. The system was developed based on web technologies. The analysis and design were based on Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) and the design of the system i.e. data or information flow, database, user interface, physical, and software configuration designs were also produced. The design and implementation the database schema, the HTML and PHP scripting language and nanoblogger3.3 (a weblog engine) for creation of user interface and link to the database.