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Notes on the Free Translation Project |
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************************************* |
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|
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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 |
|
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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. |
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|
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Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also |
| 16 |
explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the |
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available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and |
| 18 |
work at translations should contact the appropriate team. |
| 19 |
|
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When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be |
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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. |
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|
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Quick configuration advice |
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========================== |
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|
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If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you |
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should configure it using |
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|
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./configure --with-included-gettext |
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|
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to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this |
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package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the |
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operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only |
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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. |
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|
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So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or |
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you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the |
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included `libintl'. |
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|
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INSTALL Matters |
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=============== |
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|
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Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the |
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programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language. |
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Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own |
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ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'. |
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|
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By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of |
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messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already |
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provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own |
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library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this |
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package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of |
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the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use |
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special options at configuration time for changing the default |
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behaviour. The commands: |
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|
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./configure --with-included-gettext |
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./configure --disable-nls |
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|
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will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the |
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internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else, |
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_totally_ disable translation of messages. |
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|
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When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run |
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configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will |
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probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and |
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will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You |
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should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e. |
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if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this |
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package is more recent, you should use |
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|
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./configure --with-included-gettext |
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|
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to prevent auto-detection. |
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|
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The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function |
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and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an |
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emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the |
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extensions of the GNU `gettext' library. |
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|
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Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where |
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LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless |
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translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the |
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`--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed |
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together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' |
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may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set. |
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`LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter |
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codes, stating which languages are allowed. |
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|
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Using This Package |
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================== |
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|
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As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you |
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only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate |
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`LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, |
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and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's |
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suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell |
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prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'), |
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`export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash'). |
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This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for |
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all. |
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|
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You might think that the country code specification is redundant. |
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But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For |
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example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The |
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country code serves to distinguish the dialects. |
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|
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The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the |
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language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based |
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on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are |
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used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of |
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locales supported by your system for your country by running the command |
| 121 |
`locale -a | grep '^LL''. |
| 122 |
|
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Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an |
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English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you |
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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' |
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set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the |
| 130 |
system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather |
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read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not |
| 132 |
available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'. |
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|
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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. |
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|
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Translating Teams |
| 141 |
================= |
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|
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For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested |
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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. |
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|
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If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you |
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should become a member of the translating team for your own language. |
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The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has |
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`-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a |
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message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body: |
| 156 |
|
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subscribe |
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|
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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. |
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|
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The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing |
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the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than |
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programming skill, here. |
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|
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Available Packages |
| 171 |
================== |
| 172 |
|
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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 |
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PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a |
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translation percentage of at least 50%. |
| 178 |
|
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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 |
|
