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authorWerner Koch <wk@gnupg.org>1998-01-30 21:27:11 +0100
committerWerner Koch <wk@gnupg.org>1998-01-30 21:27:11 +0100
commit27c30e6ad0558cf25a590dd3d714361b1f2dfcd6 (patch)
tree6f81f9667ac0f1475a85aee4bfb1bffc74dc3270 /ABOUT-NLS
parenttenp (does not work) (diff)
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+Notes on the GNU Translation Project
+************************************
+
+ GNU is going international! The GNU Translation Project is a way to
+get maintainers, translators and users all together, so GNU will
+gradually become able to speak many native languages. A few packages
+already provide native language translation for their messages.
+
+ If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a GNU distribution, you
+may assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext'
+internally, itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you
+do not need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing
+or using this package with messages translated.
+
+ Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also
+explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
+available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and
+work at translations should contact the appropriate team.
+
+ When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be
+related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of
+`gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the
+`intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages.
+
+One advise in advance
+=====================
+
+ If you want to exploit the full power of the GNU `gettext' package
+you should configure it using
+
+ --with-gnu-gettext.
+
+ No existing implementation at this point provides so many useful
+features (such as locale alias or message inheritance). It is also not
+possible to provide this additional functionality on top of a catgets
+implementation.
+
+ Future versions of GNU `gettext' will very likely provide even more
+functionality. So it might be a good idea to change to GNU `gettext'
+as soon as possible.
+
+INSTALL Matters
+===============
+
+ Some GNU packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the
+programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language.
+Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own
+ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'.
+
+ By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
+messages. It will automatically detect whether the system provides
+usable `catgets' or `gettext' functions. If neither is available, the
+GNU `gettext' own library will be used. However, installers may use
+special options at configuration time for changing this behaviour. The
+commands:
+
+ ./configure --with-gnu-gettext
+ ./configure --disable-nls
+
+will respectively bypass system `catgets' or `gettext' to use GNU
+`gettext', or else, totally disable translation of messages.
+
+ When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run
+configure without an option for your new package, configure will
+probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and
+will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You
+should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e.
+if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this
+package is more recent, you should use
+
+ ./configure --with-gnu-gettext
+
+to prevent auto-detection.
+
+ Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where
+LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless
+translations are disabled, all those available are installed together
+with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' may be
+set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set. `LINGUAS'
+should then contain a space separated list of two-letter codes, stating
+which languages are allowed.
+
+Using This Package
+==================
+
+ As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you
+only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate
+ISO 639 `LL' two-letter code prior to using the programs in the
+package. For example, let's suppose that you speak German. At the
+shell prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de' (in `csh') or
+`export LANG; LANG=de' (in `sh'). This can be done from your `.login'
+or `.profile' file, once and for all. Packages which are not
+internationalized will merely ignore the setting of this variable.
+
+Translating Teams
+=================
+
+ The GNU `gettext' tool set contains *everything* maintainers need
+for internationalizing their packages for messages. It also contains
+quite useful tools for helping translators at localizing messages to
+their native language, once a package has already been
+internationalized.
+
+ To achieve the GNU Translation Project, we need many interested
+people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
+able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
+Each translating team has its own mailing list, courtesy of Linux
+International. You may reach your translating team at the address
+`LL@li.org', replacing LL by the two-letter ISO 639 code for your
+language. Language codes are *not* the same as country codes given in
+ISO 3166. The following translating teams exist, as of November 1995:
+
+ Chinese `zh', Czech `cs', Danish `da', Dutch `nl', English `en',
+ Esperanto `eo', Finnish `fi', French `fr', Irish `ga', German
+ `de', Greek `el', Italian `it', Japanese `ja', Indonesian `in',
+ Norwegian `no', Persian `fa', Polish `pl', Portuguese `pt',
+ Russian `ru', Spanish `es', Swedish `sv', Telugu `te' and Turkish
+ `tr'.
+
+For example, you may reach the Chinese translating team by writing to
+`zh@li.org'.
+
+ If you'd like to volunteer to *work* at translating messages, you
+should become a member of the translating team for your own language.
+The subscribing address is *not* the same as the list itself, it has
+`-request' appended. For example, Swedish people can send a message to
+`sv-request@li.org', having this message body:
+
+ subscribe
+
+ Keep in mind that team members should be interested in *working* at
+translations, or at solving translational difficulties, rather than
+merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and you want to
+start one, please write to `gnu-translation@prep.ai.mit.edu'; you will
+then reach the GNU coordinator for all translator teams.
+
+ The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
+the terminology used in GNU. Proven linguistic skill are praised more
+than programming skill, here. For the time being, please avoid
+subscribing to the English team unless explicitely invited to do so.
+
+Available Packages
+==================
+
+ Languages are not equally supported in all GNU packages. The
+following matrix shows the current state of GNU internationalization,
+as of November 1995. Listed are: internationalized packages, and
+languages for which work is in progress, or about to start.
+
+ See note cs de en fr it ja nl no pt sv
+ \ .-------------------------------.
+ chess (1) | X / X |
+ clisp | X X X |
+ diffutils (2) | / . |
+ fileutils | . / |
+ flex (3) | / . |
+ m4 | - / - - . - |
+ gettext | X / X X X |
+ ptx | - / - - |
+ recode | - / - - - |
+ sh-utils | . / . |
+ sharutils | X / X X X X X |
+ tar | X / X - X X |
+ textutils | . / . |
+ wdiff | - - / - - |
+ `-------------------------------'
+ cs de en fr it ja nl no pt sv
+
+ The interpretation legend and notes are:
+
+`/'
+ There is no PO file, this package merely defaults to this language.
+
+`.'
+ The effort of localizing this package has been undertaken by
+ someone, or by a translating team, and work is, or should be in
+ progress.
+
+`-'
+ A PO file for this package and this language is completed and is
+ currently available in a pretest release, or is all ready for
+ inclusion in the next release of this package.
+
+`X'
+ The localization of this package to this particular language is
+ fully completed, and now distributed through an official release.
+
+(1)
+ This package is translated to specific languages by methods
+ predating GNU `gettext'. Translations are all kept on disk files,
+ and sources contain numbers where one normally expects strings.
+
+(2)
+ This package is planned to switch to GNU `gettext'. For the time
+ being, it uses temporary means for internationalization.
+
+(3)
+ This package has its translatable strings marked, but does not use
+ GNU `gettext'. A convenience patch may be available separately.
+
+ If November 1995 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy
+of this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites.
+