ABOUT-NLS

   1 Notes on the Free Translation Project
   2 *************************************
   3
   4    Free software is going international!  The Free Translation Project
   5 is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all
   6 together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages.
   7 A few packages already provide translations for their messages.
   8
   9    If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may
  10 assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally,
  11 itself available at your nearest GNU archive site.  But you do _not_
  12 need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using
  13 this package with messages translated.
  14
  15    Installers will find here some useful hints.  These notes also
  16 explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
  17 available translations.  They tell how people wanting to contribute and
  18 work at translations should contact the appropriate team.
  19
  20    When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be
  21 related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of
  22 `gettext' which is used.  The information can be found in the
  23 `intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages.
  24
  25 Quick configuration advice
  26 ==========================
  27
  28    If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you
  29 should configure it using
  30
  31      ./configure --with-included-gettext
  32
  33 to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this
  34 package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the
  35 operating system where this package is being installed.  So far, only
  36 the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as
  37 many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic
  38 charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here.
  39 It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top
  40 of a `catgets' implementation.  Future versions of GNU `gettext' will
  41 very likely convey even more functionality.  So it might be a good idea
  42 to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible.
  43
  44    So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or
  45 you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the
  46 included `libintl'.
  47
  48 INSTALL Matters
  49 ===============
  50
  51    Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the
  52 programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language.
  53 Most such packages use GNU `gettext'.  Other packages have their own
  54 ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'.
  55
  56    By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
  57 messages.  It will automatically detect whether the system already
  58 provides the GNU `gettext' functions.  If not, the GNU `gettext' own
  59 library will be used.  This library is wholly contained within this
  60 package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of
  61 the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required.  Installers may use
  62 special options at configuration time for changing the default
  63 behaviour.  The commands:
  64
  65      ./configure --with-included-gettext
  66      ./configure --disable-nls
  67
  68 will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the
  69 internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else,
  70 _totally_ disable translation of messages.
  71
  72    When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run
  73 configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will
  74 probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and
  75 will decide to use this.  This might be not what is desirable.  You
  76 should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library.  I.e.
  77 if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this
  78 package is more recent, you should use
  79
  80      ./configure --with-included-gettext
  81
  82 to prevent auto-detection.
  83
  84    The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function
  85 and therefore it will not be used.  The reason is that even an
  86 emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the
  87 extensions of the GNU `gettext' library.
  88
  89    Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where
  90 LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language.  Unless
  91 translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the
  92 `--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed
  93 together with the package.  However, the environment variable `LINGUAS'
  94 may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set.
  95 `LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter
  96 codes, stating which languages are allowed.
  97
  98 Using This Package
  99 ==================
 100
 101    As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you
 102 only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate
 103 `LL_CC' combination.  Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code,
 104 and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code.  For example, let's
 105 suppose that you speak German and live in Germany.  At the shell
 106 prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'),
 107 `export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash').
 108 This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for
 109 all.
 110
 111    You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
 112 But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries.  For
 113 example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil.  The
 114 country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
 115
 116    The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the
 117 language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based
 118 on GNU libc.  On other systems, some variations of this scheme are
 119 used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'.  You can get the list of
 120 locales supported by your system for your country by running the command
 121 `locale -a | grep '^LL''.
 122
 123    Not all programs have translations for all languages.  By default, an
 124 English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation.  If you
 125 understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
 126 This is done through a different environment variable, called
 127 `LANGUAGE'.  GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG'
 128 for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG'
 129 set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the
 130 system libraries.  For example, some Swedish users who would rather
 131 read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not
 132 available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'.
 133
 134    In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG'
 135 environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL'
 136 to denote the language's main dialect.  For example, `de' is equivalent
 137 to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT'
 138 (Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
 139
 140 Translating Teams
 141 =================
 142
 143    For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested
 144 people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
 145 able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
 146 Each translation team has its own mailing list.  The up-to-date list of
 147 teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage,
 148 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams"
 149 area.
 150
 151    If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you
 152 should become a member of the translating team for your own language.
 153 The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has
 154 `-request' appended.  For example, speakers of Swedish can send a
 155 message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body:
 156
 157      subscribe
 158
 159    Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate
 160 _actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties,
 161 rather than merely lurking around.  If your team does not exist yet and
 162 you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to
 163 get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the
 164 coordinator for all translator teams.
 165
 166    The English team is special.  It works at improving and uniformizing
 167 the terminology in use.  Proven linguistic skill are praised more than
 168 programming skill, here.
 169
 170 Available Packages
 171 ==================
 172
 173    Languages are not equally supported in all packages.  The following
 174 matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of August
 175 2002.  The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages
 176 PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
 177 translation percentage of at least 50%.
 178
 179      Ready PO files    be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
 180                      +----------------------------------------+
 181      a2ps            |             [] []             []    [] |
 182      ap-utils        |                                        |
 183      bash            |                []       [] []       [] |
 184      bfd             |                            []       [] |
 185      binutils        |                            []       [] |
 186      bison           |                []          [] []    [] |
 187      clisp           |                                        |
 188      clisp           |                []    []    []       [] |
 189      clisplow        |                                        |
 190      cpio            |             [] []          []       [] |
 191      darkstat        |             ()                         |
 192      diffutils       |          [] [] []       [] []       [] |
 193      enscript        |                []                   [] |
 194      error           |                []          []       [] |
 195      fetchmail       |       [] () [] []          []       () |
 196      fileutils       |             [] []          [] []    [] |
 197      findutils       |             [] []       [] [] []    [] |
 198      flex            |       []    [] []          []       [] |
 199      gas             |                            []       [] |
 200      gawk            |                []          []       [] |
 201      gcal            |       []                            [] |
 202      gcc             |                            []       [] |
 203      gettext         |       []    [] []          []       [] |
 204      gnupg           |       []       [] []    [] [] []    [] |
 205      gprof           |                            []       [] |
 206      gpsdrive        |             () ()    ()    ()       () |
 207      grep            |    [] []       [] []       [] [] [] [] |
 208      gretl           |                            []          |
 209      gthumb          |                ()          ()       () |
 210      hello           |       []    [] [] []    [] [] [] [] [] |
 211      id-utils        |             [] []                   [] |
 212      indent          |       []       []       []    []    [] |
 213      jpilot          |          () [] []                   [] |
 214      jwhois          |                            []       [] |
 215      kbd             |                []          []       [] |
 216      ld              |                            []       [] |
 217      libc            |       [] [] [] [] []       []    [] [] |
 218      libiconv        |       []       []       [] []          |
 219      lifelines       |                ()                   () |
 220      lilypond        |             []                      [] |
 221      lingoteach      |                         []          [] |
 222      lingoteach_lessons|                ()          ()          |
 223      lynx            |       [] [] [] []             []       |
 224      m4              |          [] [] [] []                [] |
 225      make            |             [] []          []       [] |
 226      man-db          |       [] () () []          ()       () |
 227      mysecretdiary   |                []          []       [] |
 228      nano            |       [] () [] []          []       [] |
 229      nano_1_0        |       [] () [] []          []       [] |
 230      opcodes         |             []             []       [] |
 231      parted          |       []    [] []          []       [] |
 232      ptx             |             [] []       [] [] [] [] [] |
 233      python          |                                        |
 234      recode          |             [] [] []    [] []       [] |
 235      sed             |       [] [] [] [] []    [] [] [] [] [] |
 236      sh-utils        |                []          [] []    [] |
 237      sharutils       |          [] [] [] []       [] []    [] |
 238      sketch          |                ()          []       () |
 239      soundtracker    |                []          []       [] |
 240      sp              |                []                      |
 241      tar             |          [] [] []          [] []    [] |
 242      texinfo         |          [] [] []       []          [] |
 243      textutils       |       []    [] []          []       [] |
 244      util-linux      |          [] [] []          [] []    [] |
 245      vorbis-tools    |                                     [] |
 246      wastesedge      |                                        |
 247      wdiff           |       []    [] []          [] []    [] |
 248      wget            |    [] [] [] [] [] []       [] [] [] [] |
 249                      +----------------------------------------+
 250                        be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
 251                         0  2 19 10 30 44  9  1 12 44 17  6 53
 252
 253                        gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
 254                      +-------------------------------------+
 255      a2ps            |                ()    ()       []    |
 256      ap-utils        |                                     |
 257      bash            |          []                         |
 258      bfd             |                   []                |
 259      binutils        |                   []                |
 260      bison           |       []       [] []          []    |
 261      clisp           |                                     |
 262      clisp           |                               []    |
 263      clisplow        |                                     |
 264      cpio            | []       []          []       []    |
 265      darkstat        |                                     |
 266      diffutils       | [] []    [] []    []                |
 267      enscript        |       []                      []    |
 268      error           |          []                         |
 269      fetchmail       |                   []                |
 270      fileutils       |          []    [] []                |
 271      findutils       | []    [] [] [] [] [] []       []    |
 272      flex            |                      []             |
 273      gas             |                                     |
 274      gawk            |    []                               |
 275      gcal            |                                     |
 276      gcc             |                   []                |
 277      gettext         |                   [] []             |
 278      gnupg           | []          [] [] []                |
 279      gprof           |             []                      |
 280      gpsdrive        |          []    ()             ()    |
 281      grep            | [] [] [] [] [] [] []                |
 282      gretl           |                                     |
 283      gthumb          |                () ()                |
 284      hello           | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
 285      id-utils        |          []                   []    |
 286      indent          | []       []       []          []    |
 287      jpilot          |                   ()          ()    |
 288      jwhois          |          [] []                      |
 289      kbd             |                                     |
 290      ld              |                                     |
 291      libc            | []                [] []    []       |
 292      libiconv        | []    [] []                         |
 293      lifelines       |                                     |
 294      lilypond        |                               []    |
 295      lingoteach      |          []                         |
 296      lingoteach_lessons|                                     |
 297      lynx            |          []    [] []          []    |
 298      m4              | []          []    []          []    |
 299      make            | [] [] []          [] []       []    |
 300      man-db          |                () ()                |
 301      mysecretdiary   |             []                      |
 302      nano            | []          [] []             []    |
 303      nano_1_0        | []          [] []          []    [] |
 304      opcodes         |             []                []    |
 305      parted          | []                []             [] |
 306      ptx             | []       [] []             [] []    |
 307      python          |                                     |
 308      recode          | [] []          []                   |
 309      sed             | [] [] []    [] [] [] []       []    |
 310      sh-utils        |                [] []       []       |
 311      sharutils       | []                []          []    |
 312      sketch          |                ()                   |
 313      soundtracker    | []    []                            |
 314      sp              |                                     |
 315      tar             | []    []    [] [] []       []       |
 316      texinfo         |    [] []          []                |
 317      textutils       | []                [] []    []       |
 318      util-linux      |                () []                |
 319      vorbis-tools    |          []                         |
 320      wastesedge      |                                     |
 321      wdiff           | []       [] []                      |
 322      wget            | [] [] [] []       []          []    |
 323                      +-------------------------------------+
 324                        gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
 325                        23  9 12 19 16 13 26  9  1  7 19  3
 326
 327                        no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
 328                      +----------------------------------------------+
 329      a2ps            | () () ()  []   []    [] [] []                | 10
 330      ap-utils        |                               ()             |  0
 331      bash            |           []                                 |  6
 332      bfd             |                         [] []                |  5
 333      binutils        |                         [] []                |  5
 334      bison           |           []   []       [] []                | 12
 335      clisp           |                                              |  0
 336      clisp           |                                              |  5
 337      clisplow        |                                              |  0
 338      cpio            |    []     []   []       []                   | 12
 339      darkstat        |           []            []        ()    ()   |  2
 340      diffutils       |    []     []   []       [] []           []   | 17
 341      enscript        |           []   []       [] []                |  8
 342      error           |                   []       []           []   |  7
 343      fetchmail       |    ()     ()               []                |  6
 344      fileutils       |                []    [] [] []     []    []   | 14
 345      findutils       |    []     []   [] [] [] [] []                | 21
 346      flex            |                []       [] []                |  9
 347      gas             |                            []                |  3
 348      gawk            |                         [] []                |  6
 349      gcal            |                         [] []                |  4
 350      gcc             |                            []                |  4
 351      gettext         |                [] [] [] [] []           []   | 13
 352      gnupg           |    []                   [] []                | 14
 353      gprof           |                         [] []                |  5
 354      gpsdrive        |                   []    []                   |  3
 355      grep            |    []     []   []    []    []                | 20
 356      gretl           |                                              |  1
 357      gthumb          |           ()   ()       []                   |  1
 358      hello           | [] []          [] []    [] [] []             | 28
 359      id-utils        |           []   []       [] []                |  9
 360      indent          |           []   [] []    [] []                | 14
 361      jpilot          | ()                      () []           []   |  5
 362      jwhois          |           []   ()       () []           []   |  7
 363      kbd             |                         [] []                |  5
 364      ld              |                         [] []                |  4
 365      libc            | [] []     []      []    [] []                | 18
 366      libiconv        |           []   [] []    [] []                | 12
 367      lifelines       |                         []                   |  1
 368      lilypond        |                         []                   |  4
 369      lingoteach      |           []            []                   |  5
 370      lingoteach_lessons|                                   ()         |  0
 371      lynx            |           []   []       [] []                | 13
 372      m4              |    []     []   []       []                   | 13
 373      make            |    []     []   []       [] []                | 15
 374      man-db          |                                              |  3
 375      mysecretdiary   |           []            [] []                |  7
 376      nano            |    []          []       []    []             | 13
 377      nano_1_0        |    []          []       []    []             | 14
 378      opcodes         |           []            [] []                |  8
 379      parted          |       []  []            [] []                | 12
 380      ptx             | [] [] []  []   []       [] []                | 19
 381      python          |                                              |  0
 382      recode          |    []     []   []    [] [] []                | 15
 383      sed             |           []   [] [] [] [] []                | 24
 384      sh-utils        |                []          []                |  9
 385      sharutils       |                []       [] []           []   | 14
 386      sketch          |           []   ()       []                   |  4
 387      soundtracker    |                         []                   |  6
 388      sp              |                                              |  1
 389      tar             | [] []     []      [] [] [] []                | 19
 390      texinfo         |                []       []                   | 10
 391      textutils       |                []    [] [] []           []   | 14
 392      util-linux      |           []            [] []                | 10
 393      vorbis-tools    |                         []                   |  3
 394      wastesedge      |                                              |  0
 395      wdiff           |           []   [] []    [] []                | 14
 396      wget            |    []          [] [] [] [] [] []        []   | 24
 397                      +----------------------------------------------+
 398        37 teams        no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
 399        68 domains       4 15  2  28   28 12 10 49 43  4   1     9    609
 400
 401    Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
 402 visible blocks let us expect.  This is because a few extra PO files are
 403 used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
 404 dialects.
 405
 406    For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
 407 which it applies should also have been internationalized and
 408 distributed as such by its maintainer.  There might be an observable
 409 lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a
 410 distribution.
 411
 412    If August 2002 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of
 413 this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites.  The most up-to-date
 414 matrix with full percentage details can be found at
 415 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'.
 416
 417 Using `gettext' in new packages
 418 ===============================
 419
 420    If you are writing a freely available program and want to
 421 internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your
 422 package.  Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public
 423 License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library.  This means
 424 in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared
 425 library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static
 426 library or use modified versions of `libintl'.
 427
 428    Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
 429 to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations.  The
 430 Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not
 431 developed inside the GNU project.  Therefore the information given above
 432 applies also for every other Free Software Project.  Contact
 433 `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to
 434 the translation teams.
 435