How to code/program a language pack.

[Chepe]

Hi fellow developers,
I am a newbie to Nokia development and I would like to know how Nokia language packs are created. What do I need to have to code a Nokia language pack for my Native Language.

Thank you.

[symbianyucca]

Generally you can not do such a pack. the device languages are made sets, and included in firmware only, and they can not be modified by 3rd parties.

With some platforms, you can do add on input methods i.e. FEPs.

[Chepe]

Thank you symbianyucca for your response. So which platforms will support this?

[wizard_hu_]

Thank you symbianyucca for your response. So which platforms will support this?

3rd party language packs? Practically none from Nokia. There is a tiny chance that Maemo-Meego supports it (meaning the N9 and the N950, perhaps the N900).
3rd party input methods? Symbian, perhaps Maemo/Meego.

[petrib]

Thank you symbianyucca for your response. So which platforms will support this?

None used by Nokia, as far as I know. In other words, it is not possible on S60/Symbian, it is not possible on Series 40 and it is not possible on Windows Phone.

I don't know if it might be doable on the Linux based maemo/MeeGo, but there's only one phone model, the N9, which hasn't been manufactured in a while, and is no longer actively sold (you might find old stock, or used phones, though).

Why do you want to do it yourself? Aren't there any phones sold in your country that already support your native language? What language is that?

[Chepe]

Thank you Petrib, No there are no phones that that support my language 'Bemba' in my country.

[petrib]

No there are no phones that that support my language 'Bemba' in my country.

That's too bad. What might work, then, is to find a phone where the full source code is available and can be modified and installed by a user (well, a developer, at least). Android might do it (I think there are phones that allow for custom Android firmware), or the pre-release versions of Firefox OS (which, I think, supports some phone models already): https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/...lla/Firefox_OS

Otherwise, all I can hope is that some phone manufacturer decides some day that your language is worth support in their phones, or makes language customization easy for users.

[symbianyucca]

Yep, one option of course would be to make limited support. So for example with Symbian you could do FEP, though with newe phones its really difficult one to make.

Anyway, if you would want to just provide some apps for the language, f.ex. messagign apps, you could simply have custom input in them, and use the language strings inside the app as you wish. Though, the channels you are distributing it might also require that you would provide the app in English language mode as well.

I remember doing some Thai & Lao stuff that way, back then when there were no support for the languages.