Automated translation is growing in popularity and Language Weaver has proven that there is great potential for automated translation solutions. As companies consider whether or not to integrate automated translation in their applications and workflow, the more important question becomes “how do we do this?”
Software applications have so many intricate details that integrating them can cause headaches for even the most talented programmers. Because of this, Language Weaver kept its Application Programming Interface (API) simple and well-documented so that technical integration issues don’t keep companies from considering the inclusion of automated translation.
When adding translation to your daily processes, there is always the option to keep the translation process completely separate from other applications; however, integrating translation into another established user application or workflow allows more efficient and seamless translation within a user’s normal tasks. Some core applications that could be multilingual enabled with integration include: data mining, document management, image OCR to text, voice ASR to text, knowledge management, and multilingual search.
When integrating an application with Language Weaver’s translation software, the basic process starts with the user application sending text in the source/foreign language to the Language Weaver translation system as phrases, sentences or documents via the API. The translation system, which is installed as a separate application on a dedicated local computer or server, converts the text to the target language and sends it back to the user application.
Language Weaver offers a Web Services (SOAP) API for simple integration.
The Web Services standard is a widely recognized method for distributing application functionality over a network. In this case, the Language Weaver Web Services API enables a client to communicate with a translation server; communication between the client and the server is accomplished using the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
The Web Services API enables great flexibility for the application programmer. The only file required to create an application is the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file. This API also enables the application programmer to generate applications for any platform (e.g., Windows, UNIX, Linux, OS X) using any programming language (e.g., C++, .Net, Java, Perl, Python).
When customers purchase a license from Language Weaver, they have the option of enabling the Web Services API for the license(s) they purchased. With the API enabled, customers can integrate Language Weaver’s translation engine into their own application.
If you have additional questions about our API, or are interested in discussing an integration option, please contact us.