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This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters
This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.
This is gettext.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.8 from
gettext.texi.
Copyright (C) 1995-1998, 2001-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This manual is free documentation. It is dually licensed under the
GNU FDL and the GNU GPL. This means that you can redistribute this
manual under either of these two licenses, at your choice.
This manual is covered by the GNU FDL. Permission is granted to copy,
distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License (FDL), either version 1.2 of the License, or (at
your option) any later version published by the Free Software Foundation
(FSF); with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Text, and with no
Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in *note GNU FDL::.
This manual is covered by the GNU GPL. You can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL),
either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version
published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). A copy of the license
is included in *note GNU GPL::.
INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU Gettext Utilities
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* gettext: (gettext). GNU gettext utilities.
* autopoint: (gettext)autopoint Invocation. Copy gettext infrastructure.
* envsubst: (gettext)envsubst Invocation. Expand environment variables.
* gettextize: (gettext)gettextize Invocation. Prepare a package for gettext.
* msgattrib: (gettext)msgattrib Invocation. Select part of a PO file.
* msgcat: (gettext)msgcat Invocation. Combine several PO files.
* msgcmp: (gettext)msgcmp Invocation. Compare a PO file and template.
* msgcomm: (gettext)msgcomm Invocation. Match two PO files.
* msgconv: (gettext)msgconv Invocation. Convert PO file to encoding.
* msgen: (gettext)msgen Invocation. Create an English PO file.
* msgexec: (gettext)msgexec Invocation. Process a PO file.
* msgfilter: (gettext)msgfilter Invocation. Pipe a PO file through a filter.
* msgfmt: (gettext)msgfmt Invocation. Make MO files out of PO files.
* msggrep: (gettext)msggrep Invocation. Select part of a PO file.
* msginit: (gettext)msginit Invocation. Create a fresh PO file.
* msgmerge: (gettext)msgmerge Invocation. Update a PO file from template.
* msgunfmt: (gettext)msgunfmt Invocation. Uncompile MO file into PO file.
* msguniq: (gettext)msguniq Invocation. Unify duplicates for PO file.
* ngettext: (gettext)ngettext Invocation. Translate a message with plural.
* xgettext: (gettext)xgettext Invocation. Extract strings into a PO file.
* ISO639: (gettext)Language Codes. ISO 639 language codes.
* ISO3166: (gettext)Country Codes. ISO 3166 country codes.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
This file provides documentation for GNU gettext utilities. It
also serves as a reference for the free Translation Project.

File: gettext.info, Node: Top, Next: Introduction, Up: (dir)
GNU gettext utilities
***********************
This manual documents the GNU gettext tools and the GNU libintl
library, version 0.22.5.
* Menu:
* Introduction:: Introduction
* Users:: The Users View
* PO Files:: The Format of PO Files
* Sources:: Preparing Program Sources
* Template:: Making the PO Template File
* Creating:: Creating a New PO File
* Updating:: Updating Existing PO Files
* Editing:: Editing PO Files
* Manipulating:: Manipulating PO Files
* Binaries:: Producing Binary MO Files
* Programmers:: The Programmers View
* Translators:: The Translators View
* Maintainers:: The Maintainers View
* Installers:: The Installers and Distributors View
* Programming Languages:: Other Programming Languages
* Data Formats:: Other Data Formats
* Conclusion:: Concluding Remarks
* Language Codes:: ISO 639 language codes
* Country Codes:: ISO 3166 country codes
* Licenses:: Licenses
* Program Index:: Index of Programs
* Option Index:: Index of Command-Line Options
* Variable Index:: Index of Environment Variables
* PO Mode Index:: Index of Emacs PO Mode Commands
* Autoconf Macro Index:: Index of Autoconf Macros
* Index:: General Index
— The Detailed Node Listing —
Introduction
* Why:: The Purpose of GNU gettext
* Concepts:: I18n, L10n, and Such
* Aspects:: Aspects in Native Language Support
* Files:: Files Conveying Translations
* Overview:: Overview of GNU gettext
The Users View
* System Installation:: Questions During Operating System Installation
* Setting the GUI Locale:: How to Specify the Locale Used by GUI Programs
* Setting the POSIX Locale:: How to Specify the Locale According to POSIX
* Working in a Windows console:: Obtaining good output in a Windows console
* Installing Localizations:: How to Install Additional Translations
Setting the Locale through Environment Variables
* Locale Names:: How a Locale Specification Looks Like
* Locale Environment Variables:: Which Environment Variable Specfies What
* The LANGUAGE variable:: How to Specify a Priority List of Languages
Preparing Program Sources
* Importing:: Importing the gettext declaration
* Triggering:: Triggering gettext Operations
* Preparing Strings:: Preparing Translatable Strings
* Mark Keywords:: How Marks Appear in Sources
* Marking:: Marking Translatable Strings
* c-format Flag:: Telling something about the following string
* Special cases:: Special Cases of Translatable Strings
* Bug Report Address:: Letting Users Report Translation Bugs
* Names:: Marking Proper Names for Translation
* Libraries:: Preparing Library Sources
Making the PO Template File
* xgettext Invocation:: Invoking the xgettext Program
Creating a New PO File
* msginit Invocation:: Invoking the msginit Program
* Header Entry:: Filling in the Header Entry
Updating Existing PO Files
* msgmerge Invocation:: Invoking the msgmerge Program
Editing PO Files
* KBabel:: KDEs PO File Editor
* Gtranslator:: GNOMEs PO File Editor
* PO Mode:: Emacss PO File Editor
* Compendium:: Using Translation Compendia
Emacss PO File Editor
* Installation:: Completing GNU gettext Installation
* Main PO Commands:: Main Commands
* Entry Positioning:: Entry Positioning
* Normalizing:: Normalizing Strings in Entries
* Translated Entries:: Translated Entries
* Fuzzy Entries:: Fuzzy Entries
* Untranslated Entries:: Untranslated Entries
* Obsolete Entries:: Obsolete Entries
* Modifying Translations:: Modifying Translations
* Modifying Comments:: Modifying Comments
* Subedit:: Mode for Editing Translations
* C Sources Context:: C Sources Context
* Auxiliary:: Consulting Auxiliary PO Files
Using Translation Compendia
* Creating Compendia:: Merging translations for later use
* Using Compendia:: Using older translations if they fit
Manipulating PO Files
* msgcat Invocation:: Invoking the msgcat Program
* msgconv Invocation:: Invoking the msgconv Program
* msggrep Invocation:: Invoking the msggrep Program
* msgfilter Invocation:: Invoking the msgfilter Program
* msguniq Invocation:: Invoking the msguniq Program
* msgcomm Invocation:: Invoking the msgcomm Program
* msgcmp Invocation:: Invoking the msgcmp Program
* msgattrib Invocation:: Invoking the msgattrib Program
* msgen Invocation:: Invoking the msgen Program
* msgexec Invocation:: Invoking the msgexec Program
* Colorizing:: Highlighting parts of PO files
* Other tools:: Other tools for manipulating PO files
* libgettextpo:: Writing your own programs that process PO files
Highlighting parts of PO files
* The --color option:: Triggering colorized output
* The TERM variable:: The environment variable TERM
* The --style option:: The --style option
* Style rules:: Style rules for PO files
* Customizing less:: Customizing less for viewing PO files
Producing Binary MO Files
* msgfmt Invocation:: Invoking the msgfmt Program
* msgunfmt Invocation:: Invoking the msgunfmt Program
* MO Files:: The Format of GNU MO Files
The Programmers View
* catgets:: About catgets
* gettext:: About gettext
* Comparison:: Comparing the two interfaces
* Using libintl.a:: Using libintl.a in own programs
* gettext grok:: Being a gettext grok
* Temp Programmers:: Temporary Notes for the Programmers Chapter
About catgets
* Interface to catgets:: The interface
* Problems with catgets:: Problems with the catgets interface?!
About gettext
* Interface to gettext:: The interface
* Ambiguities:: Solving ambiguities
* Locating Catalogs:: Locating message catalog files
* Charset conversion:: How to request conversion to Unicode
* Contexts:: Solving ambiguities in GUI programs
* Plural forms:: Additional functions for handling plurals
* Optimized gettext:: Optimization of the *gettext functions
Temporary Notes for the Programmers Chapter
* Temp Implementations:: Temporary - Two Possible Implementations
* Temp catgets:: Temporary - About catgets
* Temp WSI:: Temporary - Why a single implementation
* Temp Notes:: Temporary - Notes
The Translators View
* Trans Intro 0:: Introduction 0
* Trans Intro 1:: Introduction 1
* Discussions:: Discussions
* Organization:: Organization
* Information Flow:: Information Flow
* Translating plural forms:: How to fill in msgstr[0], msgstr[1]
* Prioritizing messages:: How to find which messages to translate first
Organization
* Central Coordination:: Central Coordination
* National Teams:: National Teams
* Mailing Lists:: Mailing Lists
National Teams
* Sub-Cultures:: Sub-Cultures
* Organizational Ideas:: Organizational Ideas
The Maintainers View
* Flat and Non-Flat:: Flat or Non-Flat Directory Structures
* Prerequisites:: Prerequisite Works
* gettextize Invocation:: Invoking the gettextize Program
* Adjusting Files:: Files You Must Create or Alter
* autoconf macros:: Autoconf macros for use in configure.ac
* Version Control Issues::
* Release Management:: Creating a Distribution Tarball
Files You Must Create or Alter
* po/POTFILES.in:: POTFILES.in in po/
* po/LINGUAS:: LINGUAS in po/
* po/Makevars:: Makevars in po/
* po/Rules-*:: Extending Makefile in po/
* configure.ac:: configure.ac at top level
* config.guess:: config.guess, config.sub at top level
* mkinstalldirs:: mkinstalldirs at top level
* aclocal:: aclocal.m4 at top level
* config.h.in:: config.h.in at top level
* Makefile:: Makefile.in at top level
* src/Makefile:: Makefile.in in src/
* lib/gettext.h:: gettext.h in lib/
Autoconf macros for use in configure.ac
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT in gettext.m4
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION in gettext.m4
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED in gettext.m4
* AM_PO_SUBDIRS:: AM_PO_SUBDIRS in po.m4
* AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION:: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION in po.m4
* AM_ICONV:: AM_ICONV in iconv.m4
Integrating with Version Control Systems
* Distributed Development:: Avoiding version mismatch in distributed development
* Files under Version Control:: Files to put under version control
* Translations under Version Control:: Put PO Files under Version Control
* autopoint Invocation:: Invoking the autopoint Program
Other Programming Languages
* Language Implementors:: The Language Implementors View
* Programmers for other Languages:: The Programmers View
* Translators for other Languages:: The Translators View
* Maintainers for other Languages:: The Maintainers View
* List of Programming Languages:: Individual Programming Languages
The Translators View
* c-format:: C Format Strings
* objc-format:: Objective C Format Strings
* c++-format:: C++ Format Strings
* python-format:: Python Format Strings
* java-format:: Java Format Strings
* csharp-format:: C# Format Strings
* javascript-format:: JavaScript Format Strings
* scheme-format:: Scheme Format Strings
* lisp-format:: Lisp Format Strings
* elisp-format:: Emacs Lisp Format Strings
* librep-format:: librep Format Strings
* ruby-format:: Ruby Format Strings
* sh-format:: Shell Format Strings
* awk-format:: awk Format Strings
* lua-format:: Lua Format Strings
* object-pascal-format:: Object Pascal Format Strings
* smalltalk-format:: Smalltalk Format Strings
* qt-format:: Qt Format Strings
* qt-plural-format:: Qt Plural Format Strings
* kde-format:: KDE Format Strings
* kde-kuit-format:: KUIT Format Strings
* boost-format:: Boost Format Strings
* tcl-format:: Tcl Format Strings
* perl-format:: Perl Format Strings
* php-format:: PHP Format Strings
* gcc-internal-format:: GCC internal Format Strings
* gfc-internal-format:: GFC internal Format Strings
* ycp-format:: YCP Format Strings
Individual Programming Languages
* C:: C, C++, Objective C
* Python:: Python
* Java:: Java
* C#:: C#
* JavaScript:: JavaScript
* Scheme:: GNU guile - Scheme
* Common Lisp:: GNU clisp - Common Lisp
* clisp C:: GNU clisp C sources
* Emacs Lisp:: Emacs Lisp
* librep:: librep
* Ruby:: Ruby
* sh:: sh - Shell Script
* bash:: bash - Bourne-Again Shell Script
* gawk:: GNU awk
* Lua:: Lua
* Pascal:: Pascal - Free Pascal Compiler
* Smalltalk:: GNU Smalltalk
* Vala:: Vala
* wxWidgets:: wxWidgets library
* Tcl:: Tcl - Tks scripting language
* Perl:: Perl
* PHP:: PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
* Pike:: Pike
* GCC-source:: GNU Compiler Collection sources
* YCP:: YCP - YaST2 scripting language
sh - Shell Script
* Preparing Shell Scripts:: Preparing Shell Scripts for Internationalization
* gettext.sh:: Contents of gettext.sh
* gettext Invocation:: Invoking the gettext program
* ngettext Invocation:: Invoking the ngettext program
* envsubst Invocation:: Invoking the envsubst program
* eval_gettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_gettext function
* eval_ngettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_ngettext function
* eval_pgettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_pgettext function
* eval_npgettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_npgettext function
Perl
* General Problems:: General Problems Parsing Perl Code
* Default Keywords:: Which Keywords Will xgettext Look For?
* Special Keywords:: How to Extract Hash Keys
* Quote-like Expressions:: What are Strings And Quote-like Expressions?
* Interpolation I:: Invalid String Interpolation
* Interpolation II:: Valid String Interpolation
* Parentheses:: When To Use Parentheses
* Long Lines:: How To Grok with Long Lines
* Perl Pitfalls:: Bugs, Pitfalls, and Things That Do Not Work
Other Data Formats
* Internationalizable Data:: Internationalizable Data Formats
* Localized Data:: Localized Data Formats
Internationalizable Data Formats
* POT:: POT - Portable Object Template
* RST:: Resource String Table
* Glade:: Glade - GNOME user interface description
* GSettings:: GSettings - GNOME user configuration schema
* AppData:: AppData - freedesktop.org application description
* Preparing ITS Rules:: Preparing Rules for XML Internationalization
Localized Data Formats
* Editable Message Catalogs:: Editable Message Catalogs
* Compiled Message Catalogs:: Compiled Message Catalogs
* Desktop Entry:: Desktop Entry files
* XML:: XML files
Editable Message Catalogs
* PO:: PO - Portable Object
* Java .properties:: Java .properties
* GNUstep .strings:: NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings
Compiled Message Catalogs
* MO:: MO - Machine Object
* Java ResourceBundle:: Java ResourceBundle
* C# Satellite Assembly:: C# Satellite Assembly
* C# Resource:: C# Resource
* Tcl message catalog:: Tcl message catalog
* Qt message catalog:: Qt message catalog
Concluding Remarks
* History:: History of GNU gettext
* The original ABOUT-NLS:: Historical introduction
* References:: Related Readings
Language Codes
* Usual Language Codes:: Two-letter ISO 639 language codes
* Rare Language Codes:: Three-letter ISO 639 language codes
Licenses
* GNU GPL:: GNU General Public License
* GNU LGPL:: GNU Lesser General Public License
* GNU FDL:: GNU Free Documentation License

File: gettext.info, Node: Introduction, Next: Users, Prev: Top, Up: Top
1 Introduction
**************
This chapter explains the goals sought in the creation of GNU
gettext and the free Translation Project. Then, it explains a few
broad concepts around Native Language Support, and positions message
translation with regard to other aspects of national and cultural
variance, as they apply to programs. It also surveys those files used
to convey the translations. It explains how the various tools interact
in the initial generation of these files, and later, how the maintenance
cycle should usually operate.
In this manual, we use _he_ when speaking of the programmer or
maintainer, _she_ when speaking of the translator, and _they_ when
speaking of the installers or end users of the translated program. This
is only a convenience for clarifying the documentation. It is
_absolutely_ not meant to imply that some roles are more appropriate to
males or females. Besides, as you might guess, GNU gettext is meant
to be useful for people using computers, whatever their sex, race,
religion or nationality!
Please submit suggestions and corrections
• either in the bug tracker at
<https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gettext>
• or by email to bug-gettext@gnu.org.
Please include the manuals edition number and update date in your
messages.
* Menu:
* Why:: The Purpose of GNU gettext
* Concepts:: I18n, L10n, and Such
* Aspects:: Aspects in Native Language Support
* Files:: Files Conveying Translations
* Overview:: Overview of GNU gettext

File: gettext.info, Node: Why, Next: Concepts, Up: Introduction
1.1 The Purpose of GNU gettext
================================
Usually, programs are written and documented in English, and use
English at execution time to interact with users. This is true not only
of GNU software, but also of a great deal of proprietary and free
software. Using a common language is quite handy for communication
between developers, maintainers and users from all countries. On the
other hand, most people are less comfortable with English than with
their own native language, and would prefer to use their mother tongue
for day to days work, as far as possible. Many would simply _love_ to
see their computer screen showing a lot less of English, and far more of
their own language.
However, to many people, this dream might appear so far fetched that
they may believe it is not even worth spending time thinking about it.
They have no confidence at all that the dream might ever become true.
Yet some have not lost hope, and have organized themselves. The
Translation Project is a formalization of this hope into a workable
structure, which has a good chance to get all of us nearer the
achievement of a truly multi-lingual set of programs.
GNU gettext is an important step for the Translation Project, as it
is an asset on which we may build many other steps. This package offers
to programmers, translators and even users, a well integrated set of
tools and documentation. Specifically, the GNU gettext utilities are
a set of tools that provides a framework within which other free
packages may produce multi-lingual messages. These tools include
• A set of conventions about how programs should be written to
support message catalogs.
• A directory and file naming organization for the message catalogs
themselves.
• A runtime library supporting the retrieval of translated messages.
• A few stand-alone programs to massage in various ways the sets of
translatable strings, or already translated strings.
• A library supporting the parsing and creation of files containing
translated messages.
• A special mode for Emacs(1) which helps preparing these sets and
bringing them up to date.
GNU gettext is designed to minimize the impact of
internationalization on program sources, keeping this impact as small
and hardly noticeable as possible. Internationalization has better
chances of succeeding if it is very light weighted, or at least, appear
to be so, when looking at program sources.
The Translation Project also uses the GNU gettext distribution as a
vehicle for documenting its structure and methods. This goes beyond the
strict technicalities of documenting the GNU gettext proper. By so
doing, translators will find in a single place, as far as possible, all
they need to know for properly doing their translating work. Also, this
supplemental documentation might also help programmers, and even curious
users, in understanding how GNU gettext is related to the remainder of
the Translation Project, and consequently, have a glimpse at the _big
picture_.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) In this manual, all mentions of Emacs refers to either GNU Emacs
or to XEmacs, which people sometimes call FSF Emacs and Lucid Emacs,
respectively.

File: gettext.info, Node: Concepts, Next: Aspects, Prev: Why, Up: Introduction
1.2 I18n, L10n, and Such
========================
Two long words appear all the time when we discuss support of native
language in programs, and these words have a precise meaning, worth
being explained here, once and for all in this document. The words are
_internationalization_ and _localization_. Many people, tired of
writing these long words over and over again, took the habit of writing
“i18n” and “l10n” instead, quoting the first and last letter of each
word, and replacing the run of intermediate letters by a number merely
telling how many such letters there are. But in this manual, in the
sake of clarity, we will patiently write the names in full, each time...
By “internationalization”, one refers to the operation by which a
program, or a set of programs turned into a package, is made aware of
and able to support multiple languages. This is a generalization
process, by which the programs are untied from calling only English
strings or other English specific habits, and connected to generic ways
of doing the same, instead. Program developers may use various
techniques to internationalize their programs. Some of these have been
standardized. GNU gettext offers one of these standards. *Note
Programmers::.
By “localization”, one means the operation by which, in a set of
programs already internationalized, one gives the program all needed
information so that it can adapt itself to handle its input and output
in a fashion which is correct for some native language and cultural
habits. This is a particularisation process, by which generic methods
already implemented in an internationalized program are used in specific
ways. The programming environment puts several functions to the
programmers disposal which allow this runtime configuration. The formal
description of specific set of cultural habits for some country,
together with all associated translations targeted to the same native
language, is called the “locale” for this language or country. Users
achieve localization of programs by setting proper values to special
environment variables, prior to executing those programs, identifying
which locale should be used.
In fact, locale message support is only one component of the cultural
data that makes up a particular locale. There are a whole host of
routines and functions provided to aid programmers in developing
internationalized software and which allow them to access the data
stored in a particular locale. When someone presently refers to a
particular locale, they are obviously referring to the data stored
within that particular locale. Similarly, if a programmer is referring
to “accessing the locale routines”, they are referring to the complete
suite of routines that access all of the locales information.
One uses the expression “Native Language Support”, or merely NLS, for
speaking of the overall activity or feature encompassing both
internationalization and localization, allowing for multi-lingual
interactions in a program. In a nutshell, one could say that
internationalization is the operation by which further localizations are
made possible.
Also, very roughly said, when it comes to multi-lingual messages,
internationalization is usually taken care of by programmers, and
localization is usually taken care of by translators.

File: gettext.info, Node: Aspects, Next: Files, Prev: Concepts, Up: Introduction
1.3 Aspects in Native Language Support
======================================
For a totally multi-lingual distribution, there are many things to
translate beyond output messages.
• As of today, GNU gettext offers a complete toolset for
translating messages output by C programs. Perl scripts and shell
scripts will also need to be translated. Even if there are today
some hooks by which this can be done, these hooks are not
integrated as well as they should be.
• Some programs, like autoconf or bison, are able to produce
other programs (or scripts). Even if the generating programs
themselves are internationalized, the generated programs they
produce may need internationalization on their own, and this
indirect internationalization could be automated right from the
generating program. In fact, quite usually, generating and
generated programs could be internationalized independently, as the
effort needed is fairly orthogonal.
• A few programs include textual tables which might need translation
themselves, independently of the strings contained in the program
itself. For example, RFC 1345 gives an English description for
each character which the recode program is able to reconstruct at
execution. Since these descriptions are extracted from the RFC by
mechanical means, translating them properly would require a prior
translation of the RFC itself.
• Almost all programs accept options, which are often worded out so
to be descriptive for the English readers; one might want to
consider offering translated versions for program options as well.
• Many programs read, interpret, compile, or are somewhat driven by
input files which are texts containing keywords, identifiers, or
replies which are inherently translatable. For example, one may
want gcc to allow diacriticized characters in identifiers or use
translated keywords; rm -i might accept something else than y
or n for replies, etc. Even if the program will eventually make
most of its output in the foreign languages, one has to decide
whether the input syntax, option values, etc., are to be localized
or not.
• The manual accompanying a package, as well as all documentation
files in the distribution, could surely be translated, too.
Translating a manual, with the intent of later keeping up with
updates, is a major undertaking in itself, generally.
As we already stressed, translation is only one aspect of locales.
Other internationalization aspects are system services and are handled
in GNU libc. There are many attributes that are needed to define a
countrys cultural conventions. These attributes include beside the
countrys native language, the formatting of the date and time, the
representation of numbers, the symbols for currency, etc. These local
“rules” are termed the countrys locale. The locale represents the
knowledge needed to support the countrys native attributes.
There are a few major areas which may vary between countries and
hence, define what a locale must describe. The following list helps
putting multi-lingual messages into the proper context of other tasks
related to locales. See the GNU libc manual for details.
_Characters and Codesets_
The codeset most commonly used through out the USA and most English
speaking parts of the world is the ASCII codeset. However, there
are many characters needed by various locales that are not found
within this codeset. The 8-bit ISO 8859-1 code set has most of the
special characters needed to handle the major European languages.
However, in many cases, choosing ISO 8859-1 is nevertheless not
adequate: it doesnt even handle the major European currency.
Hence each locale will need to specify which codeset they need to
use and will need to have the appropriate character handling
routines to cope with the codeset.
_Currency_
The symbols used vary from country to country as does the position
used by the symbol. Software needs to be able to transparently
display currency figures in the native mode for each locale.
_Dates_
The format of date varies between locales. For example, Christmas
day in 1994 is written as 12/25/94 in the USA and as 25/12/94 in
Australia. Other countries might use ISO 8601 dates, etc.
Time of the day may be noted as HH:MM, HH.MM, or otherwise. Some
locales require time to be specified in 24-hour mode rather than as
AM or PM. Further, the nature and yearly extent of the Daylight
Saving correction vary widely between countries.
_Numbers_
Numbers can be represented differently in different locales. For
example, the following numbers are all written correctly for their
respective locales:
12,345.67 English
12.345,67 German
12345,67 French
1,2345.67 Asia
Some programs could go further and use different unit systems, like
English units or Metric units, or even take into account variants
about how numbers are spelled in full.
_Messages_
The most obvious area is the language support within a locale.
This is where GNU gettext provides the means for developers and
users to easily change the language that the software uses to
communicate to the user.
These areas of cultural conventions are called _locale categories_.
It is an unfortunate term; _locale aspects_ or _locale feature
categories_ would be a better term, because each “locale category”
describes an area or task that requires localization. The concrete data
that describes the cultural conventions for such an area and for a
particular culture is also called a _locale category_. In this sense, a
locale is composed of several locale categories: the locale category
describing the codeset, the locale category describing the formatting of
numbers, the locale category containing the translated messages, and so
on.
Components of locale outside of message handling are standardized in
the ISO C standard and the POSIX:2001 standard (also known as the SUSV3
specification). GNU libc fully implements this, and most other modern
systems provide a more or less reasonable support for at least some of
the missing components.

File: gettext.info, Node: Files, Next: Overview, Prev: Aspects, Up: Introduction
1.4 Files Conveying Translations
================================
The letters PO in .po files means Portable Object, to distinguish
it from .mo files, where MO stands for Machine Object. This paradigm,
as well as the PO file format, is inspired by the NLS standard developed
by Uniforum, and first implemented by Sun in their Solaris system.
PO files are meant to be read and edited by humans, and associate
each original, translatable string of a given package with its
translation in a particular target language. A single PO file is
dedicated to a single target language. If a package supports many
languages, there is one such PO file per language supported, and each
package has its own set of PO files. These PO files are best created by
the xgettext program, and later updated or refreshed through the
msgmerge program. Program xgettext extracts all marked messages
from a set of C files and initializes a PO file with empty translations.
Program msgmerge takes care of adjusting PO files between releases of
the corresponding sources, commenting obsolete entries, initializing new
ones, and updating all source line references. Files ending with .pot
are kind of base translation files found in distributions, in PO file
format.
MO files are meant to be read by programs, and are binary in nature.
A few systems already offer tools for creating and handling MO files as
part of the Native Language Support coming with the system, but the
format of these MO files is often different from system to system, and
non-portable. The tools already provided with these systems dont
support all the features of GNU gettext. Therefore GNU gettext uses
its own format for MO files. Files ending with .gmo are really MO
files, when it is known that these files use the GNU format.

File: gettext.info, Node: Overview, Prev: Files, Up: Introduction
1.5 Overview of GNU gettext
=============================
The following diagram summarizes the relation between the files
handled by GNU gettext and the tools acting on these files. It is
followed by somewhat detailed explanations, which you should read while
keeping an eye on the diagram. Having a clear understanding of these
interrelations will surely help programmers, translators and
maintainers.
Original C Sources ---> Preparation ---> Marked C Sources ---.
|
.---------<--- GNU gettext Library |
.--- make <---+ |
| `---------<--------------------+---------------'
| |
| .-----<--- PACKAGE.pot <--- xgettext <---' .---<--- PO Compendium
| | | ^
| | `---. |
| `---. +---> PO editor ---.
| +----> msgmerge ------> LANG.po ---->--------' |
| .---' |
| | |
| `-------------<---------------. |
| +--- New LANG.po <--------------------'
| .--- LANG.gmo <--- msgfmt <---'
| |
| `---> install ---> /.../LANG/PACKAGE.mo ---.
| +---> "Hello world!"
`-------> install ---> /.../bin/PROGRAM -------'
As a programmer, the first step to bringing GNU gettext into your
package is identifying, right in the C sources, those strings which are
meant to be translatable, and those which are untranslatable. This
tedious job can be done a little more comfortably using emacs PO mode,
but you can use any means familiar to you for modifying your C sources.
Beside this some other simple, standard changes are needed to properly
initialize the translation library. *Note Sources::, for more
information about all this.
For newly written software the strings of course can and should be
marked while writing it. The gettext approach makes this very easy.
Simply put the following lines at the beginning of each file or in a
central header file:
#define _(String) (String)
#define N_(String) String
#define textdomain(Domain)
#define bindtextdomain(Package, Directory)
Doing this allows you to prepare the sources for internationalization.
Later when you feel ready for the step to use the gettext library
simply replace these definitions by the following:
#include <libintl.h>
#define _(String) gettext (String)
#define gettext_noop(String) String
#define N_(String) gettext_noop (String)
and link against libintl.a or libintl.so. Note that on GNU systems,
you dont need to link with libintl because the gettext library
functions are already contained in GNU libc. That is all you have to
change.
Once the C sources have been modified, the xgettext program is used
to find and extract all translatable strings, and create a PO template
file out of all these. This PACKAGE.pot file contains all original
program strings. It has sets of pointers to exactly where in C sources
each string is used. All translations are set to empty. The letter t
in .pot marks this as a Template PO file, not yet oriented towards any
particular language. *Note xgettext Invocation::, for more details
about how one calls the xgettext program. If you are _really_ lazy,
you might be interested at working a lot more right away, and preparing
the whole distribution setup (*note Maintainers::). By doing so, you
spare yourself typing the xgettext command, as make should now
generate the proper things automatically for you!
The first time through, there is no LANG.po yet, so the msgmerge
step may be skipped and replaced by a mere copy of PACKAGE.pot to
LANG.po, where LANG represents the target language. See *note
Creating:: for details.
Then comes the initial translation of messages. Translation in
itself is a whole matter, still exclusively meant for humans, and whose
complexity far overwhelms the level of this manual. Nevertheless, a few
hints are given in some other chapter of this manual (*note
Translators::). You will also find there indications about how to
contact translating teams, or becoming part of them, for sharing your
translating concerns with others who target the same native language.
While adding the translated messages into the LANG.po PO file, if
you are not using one of the dedicated PO file editors (*note
Editing::), you are on your own for ensuring that your efforts fully
respect the PO file format, and quoting conventions (*note PO Files::).
This is surely not an impossible task, as this is the way many people
have handled PO files around 1995. On the other hand, by using a PO
file editor, most details of PO file format are taken care of for you,
but you have to acquire some familiarity with PO file editor itself.
If some common translations have already been saved into a compendium
PO file, translators may use PO mode for initializing untranslated
entries from the compendium, and also save selected translations into
the compendium, updating it (*note Compendium::). Compendium files are
meant to be exchanged between members of a given translation team.
Programs, or packages of programs, are dynamic in nature: users write
bug reports and suggestion for improvements, maintainers react by
modifying programs in various ways. The fact that a package has already
been internationalized should not make maintainers shy of adding new
strings, or modifying strings already translated. They just do their
job the best they can. For the Translation Project to work smoothly, it
is important that maintainers do not carry translation concerns on their
already loaded shoulders, and that translators be kept as free as
possible of programming concerns.
The only concern maintainers should have is carefully marking new
strings as translatable, when they should be, and do not otherwise worry
about them being translated, as this will come in proper time.
Consequently, when programs and their strings are adjusted in various
ways by maintainers, and for matters usually unrelated to translation,
xgettext would construct PACKAGE.pot files which are evolving over
time, so the translations carried by LANG.po are slowly fading out of
date.
It is important for translators (and even maintainers) to understand
that package translation is a continuous process in the lifetime of a
package, and not something which is done once and for all at the start.
After an initial burst of translation activity for a given package,
interventions are needed once in a while, because here and there,
translated entries become obsolete, and new untranslated entries appear,
needing translation.
The msgmerge program has the purpose of refreshing an already
existing LANG.po file, by comparing it with a newer PACKAGE.pot
template file, extracted by xgettext out of recent C sources. The
refreshing operation adjusts all references to C source locations for
strings, since these strings move as programs are modified. Also,
msgmerge comments out as obsolete, in LANG.po, those already
translated entries which are no longer used in the program sources
(*note Obsolete Entries::). It finally discovers new strings and
inserts them in the resulting PO file as untranslated entries (*note
Untranslated Entries::). *Note msgmerge Invocation::, for more
information about what msgmerge really does.
Whatever route or means taken, the goal is to obtain an updated
LANG.po file offering translations for all strings.
The temporal mobility, or fluidity of PO files, is an integral part
of the translation game, and should be well understood, and accepted.
People resisting it will have a hard time participating in the
Translation Project, or will give a hard time to other participants! In
particular, maintainers should relax and include all available official
PO files in their distributions, even if these have not recently been
updated, without exerting pressure on the translator teams to get the
job done. The pressure should rather come from the community of users
speaking a particular language, and maintainers should consider
themselves fairly relieved of any concern about the adequacy of
translation files. On the other hand, translators should reasonably try
updating the PO files they are responsible for, while the package is
undergoing pretest, prior to an official distribution.
Once the PO file is complete and dependable, the msgfmt program is
used for turning the PO file into a machine-oriented format, which may
yield efficient retrieval of translations by the programs of the
package, whenever needed at runtime (*note MO Files::). *Note msgfmt
Invocation::, for more information about all modes of execution for the
msgfmt program.
Finally, the modified and marked C sources are compiled and linked
with the GNU gettext library, usually through the operation of make,
given a suitable Makefile exists for the project, and the resulting
executable is installed somewhere users will find it. The MO files
themselves should also be properly installed. Given the appropriate
environment variables are set (*note Setting the POSIX Locale::), the
program should localize itself automatically, whenever it executes.
The remainder of this manual has the purpose of explaining in depth
the various steps outlined above.

File: gettext.info, Node: Users, Next: PO Files, Prev: Introduction, Up: Top
2 The Users View
*****************
Nowadays, when users log into a computer, they usually find that all
their programs show messages in their native language at least for
users of languages with an active free software community, like French
or German; to a lesser extent for languages with a smaller participation
in free software and the GNU project, like Hindi and Filipino.
How does this work? How can the user influence the language that is
used by the programs? This chapter will answer it.
* Menu:
* System Installation:: Questions During Operating System Installation
* Setting the GUI Locale:: How to Specify the Locale Used by GUI Programs
* Setting the POSIX Locale:: How to Specify the Locale According to POSIX
* Working in a Windows console:: Obtaining good output in a Windows console
* Installing Localizations:: How to Install Additional Translations

File: gettext.info, Node: System Installation, Next: Setting the GUI Locale, Up: Users
2.1 Operating System Installation
=================================
The default language is often already specified during operating
system installation. When the operating system is installed, the
installer typically asks for the language used for the installation
process and, separately, for the language to use in the installed
system. Some OS installers only ask for the language once.
This determines the system-wide default language for all users. But
the installers often give the possibility to install extra localizations
for additional languages. For example, the localizations of KDE (the K
Desktop Environment) and LibreOffice are often bundled separately, as
one installable package per language.
At this point it is good to consider the intended use of the machine:
If it is a machine designated for personal use, additional localizations
are probably not necessary. If, however, the machine is in use in an
organization or company that has international relationships, one can
consider the needs of guest users. If you have a guest from abroad, for
a week, what could be his preferred locales? It may be worth installing
these additional localizations ahead of time, since they cost only a bit
of disk space at this point.
The system-wide default language is the locale configuration that is
used when a new user account is created. But the user can have his own
locale configuration that is different from the one of the other users
of the same machine. He can specify it, typically after the first
login, as described in the next section.

File: gettext.info, Node: Setting the GUI Locale, Next: Setting the POSIX Locale, Prev: System Installation, Up: Users
2.2 Setting the Locale Used by GUI Programs
===========================================
The immediately available programs in a users desktop come from a
group of programs called a “desktop environment”; it usually includes
the window manager, a web browser, a text editor, and more. The most
common free desktop environments are KDE, GNOME, and Xfce.
The locale used by GUI programs of the desktop environment can be
specified in a configuration screen called “control center”, “language
settings” or “country settings”.
Individual GUI programs that are not part of the desktop environment
can have their locale specified either in a settings panel, or through
environment variables.
For some programs, it is possible to specify the locale through
environment variables, possibly even to a different locale than the
desktops locale. This means, instead of starting a program through a
menu or from the file system, you can start it from the command-line,
after having set some environment variables. The environment variables
can be those specified in the next section (*note Setting the POSIX
Locale::); for some versions of KDE, however, the locale is specified
through a variable KDE_LANG, rather than LANG or LC_ALL.

File: gettext.info, Node: Setting the POSIX Locale, Next: Working in a Windows console, Prev: Setting the GUI Locale, Up: Users
2.3 Setting the Locale through Environment Variables
====================================================
As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, in
the simplest case, you only have to set the LANG environment variable
to the appropriate LL_CC combination. For example, lets suppose that
you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell prompt, merely
execute setenv LANG de_DE (in csh), export LANG; LANG=de_DE (in
sh) or export LANG=de_DE (in bash). This can be done from your
.login or .profile file, once and for all.
* Menu:
* Locale Names:: How a Locale Specification Looks Like
* Locale Environment Variables:: Which Environment Variable Specfies What
* The LANGUAGE variable:: How to Specify a Priority List of Languages

File: gettext.info, Node: Locale Names, Next: Locale Environment Variables, Up: Setting the POSIX Locale
2.3.1 Locale Names
------------------
A locale name usually has the form LL_CC. Here LL is an ISO 639
two-letter language code, and CC is an ISO 3166 two-letter country
code. For example, for German in Germany, LL is de, and CC is DE.
You find a list of the language codes in appendix *note Language Codes::
and a list of the country codes in appendix *note Country Codes::.
You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For
example, de_AT is used for Austria, and pt_BR for Brazil. The
country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
Many locale names have an extended syntax LL_CC.ENCODING that also
specifies the character encoding. These are in use because between 2000
and 2005, most users have switched to locales in UTF-8 encoding. For
example, the German locale on glibc systems is nowadays de_DE.UTF-8.
The older name de_DE still refers to the German locale as of 2000 that
stores characters in ISO-8859-1 encoding a text encoding that cannot
even accommodate the Euro currency sign.
Some locale names use LL_CC@VARIANT instead of LL_CC. The
@VARIANT can denote any kind of characteristics that is not already
implied by the language LL and the country CC. It can denote a
particular monetary unit. For example, on glibc systems, de_DE@euro
denotes the locale that uses the Euro currency, in contrast to the older
locale de_DE which implies the use of the currency before 2002. It
can also denote a dialect of the language, or the script used to write
text (for example, sr_RS@latin uses the Latin script, whereas sr_RS
uses the Cyrillic script to write Serbian), or the orthography rules, or
similar.
On other systems, some variations of this scheme are used, such as
LL. You can get the list of locales supported by your system for your
language by running the command locale -a | grep '^LL'.
There is also a special locale, called C. When it is used, it
disables all localization: in this locale, all programs standardized by
POSIX use English messages and an unspecified character encoding (often
US-ASCII, but sometimes also ISO-8859-1 or UTF-8, depending on the
operating system).

File: gettext.info, Node: Locale Environment Variables, Next: The LANGUAGE variable, Prev: Locale Names, Up: Setting the POSIX Locale
2.3.2 Locale Environment Variables
----------------------------------
A locale is composed of several _locale categories_, see *note
Aspects::. When a program looks up locale dependent values, it does
this according to the following environment variables, in priority
order:
1. LANGUAGE
2. LC_ALL
3. LC_xxx, according to selected locale category: LC_CTYPE,
LC_NUMERIC, LC_TIME, LC_COLLATE, LC_MONETARY,
LC_MESSAGES, ...
4. LANG
Variables whose value is set but is empty are ignored in this lookup.
LANG is the normal environment variable for specifying a locale.
As a user, you normally set this variable (unless some of the other
variables have already been set by the system, in /etc/profile or
similar initialization files).
LC_CTYPE, LC_NUMERIC, LC_TIME, LC_COLLATE, LC_MONETARY,
LC_MESSAGES, and so on, are the environment variables meant to
override LANG and affecting a single locale category only. For
example, assume you are a Swedish user in Spain, and you want your
programs to handle numbers and dates according to Spanish conventions,
and only the messages should be in Swedish. Then you could create a
locale named sv_ES or sv_ES.UTF-8 by use of the localedef program.
But it is simpler, and achieves the same effect, to set the LANG
variable to es_ES.UTF-8 and the LC_MESSAGES variable to
sv_SE.UTF-8; these two locales come already preinstalled with the
operating system.
LC_ALL is an environment variable that overrides all of these. It
is typically used in scripts that run particular programs. For example,
configure scripts generated by GNU autoconf use LC_ALL to make sure
that the configuration tests dont operate in locale dependent ways.
Some systems, unfortunately, set LC_ALL in /etc/profile or in
similar initialization files. As a user, you therefore have to unset
this variable if you want to set LANG and optionally some of the other
LC_xxx variables.
The LANGUAGE variable is described in the next subsection.

File: gettext.info, Node: The LANGUAGE variable, Prev: Locale Environment Variables, Up: Setting the POSIX Locale
2.3.3 Specifying a Priority List of Languages
---------------------------------------------
Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
This is done through a different environment variable, called
LANGUAGE. GNU gettext gives preference to LANGUAGE over LC_ALL
and LANG for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to
have LANG (or LC_ALL) set to the primary language; this is required
by other parts of the system libraries. For example, some Swedish users
who would rather read translations in German than English for when
Swedish is not available, set LANGUAGE to sv:de while leaving LANG
to sv_SE.
Special advice for Norwegian users: The language code for Norwegian
bokmål changed from no to nb recently (in 2003). During the
transition period, while some message catalogs for this language are
installed under nb and some older ones under no, it is recommended
for Norwegian users to set LANGUAGE to nb:no so that both newer and
older translations are used.
In the LANGUAGE environment variable, but not in the other
environment variables, LL_CC combinations can be abbreviated as LL
to denote the languages main dialect. For example, de is equivalent
to de_DE (German as spoken in Germany), and pt to pt_PT
(Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
Note: The variable LANGUAGE is ignored if the locale is set to C.
In other words, you have to first enable localization, by setting LANG
(or LC_ALL) to a value other than C, before you can use a language
priority list through the LANGUAGE variable.

File: gettext.info, Node: Working in a Windows console, Next: Installing Localizations, Prev: Setting the POSIX Locale, Up: Users
2.4 Obtaining good output in a Windows console
==============================================
On Windows, consoles such as the one started by the cmd.exe program
do input and output in an encoding, called “OEM code page”, that is
different from the encoding that text-mode programs usually use, called
“ANSI code page”. (Note: This problem does not exist for Cygwin
consoles; these consoles do input and output in the UTF-8 encoding.) As
a workaround, you may request that the programs produce output in this
“OEM” encoding. To do so, set the environment variable OUTPUT_CHARSET
to the “OEM” encoding, through a command such as
set OUTPUT_CHARSET=CP850
Note: This has an effect only on strings looked up in message
catalogs; other categories of text are usually not affected by this
setting. Note also that this environment variable also affects output
sent to a file or to a pipe; output to a file is most often expected to
be in the “ANSI” or in the UTF-8 encoding.
Here are examples of the “ANSI” and “OEM” code pages:
Territories ANSI encoding OEM encoding
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Europe CP1252 CP850
Slavic countries (Latin 2) CP1250 CP852
Baltic countries CP1257 CP775
Russia CP1251 CP866

File: gettext.info, Node: Installing Localizations, Prev: Working in a Windows console, Up: Users
2.5 Installing Translations for Particular Programs
===================================================
Languages are not equally well supported in all packages using GNU
gettext, and more translations are added over time. Usually, you use
the translations that are shipped with the operating system or with
particular packages that you install afterwards. But you can also
install newer localizations directly. For doing this, you will need an
understanding where each localization file is stored on the file system.
For programs that participate in the Translation Project, you can
start looking for translations here:
<https://translationproject.org/team/index.html>.
For programs that are part of the KDE project, the starting point is:
<https://l10n.kde.org/>.
For programs that are part of the GNOME project, the starting point
is: <https://wiki.gnome.org/TranslationProject>.
For other programs, you may check whether the programs source code
package contains some LL.po files; often they are kept together in a
directory called po/. Each LL.po file contains the message
translations for the language whose abbreviation of LL.

File: gettext.info, Node: PO Files, Next: Sources, Prev: Users, Up: Top
3 The Format of PO Files
************************
The GNU gettext toolset helps programmers and translators at
producing, updating and using translation files, mainly those PO files
which are textual, editable files. This chapter explains the format of
PO files.
A PO file is made up of many entries, each entry holding the relation
between an original untranslated string and its corresponding
translation. All entries in a given PO file usually pertain to a single
project, and all translations are expressed in a single target language.
One PO file “entry” has the following schematic structure:
WHITE-SPACE
# TRANSLATOR-COMMENTS
#. EXTRACTED-COMMENTS
#: REFERENCE...
#, FLAG...
#| msgid PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgid UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgstr TRANSLATED-STRING
The general structure of a PO file should be well understood by the
translator. When using PO mode, very little has to be known about the
format details, as PO mode takes care of them for her.
A simple entry can look like this:
#: lib/error.c:116
msgid "Unknown system error"
msgstr "Error desconegut del sistema"
Entries begin with some optional white space. Usually, when
generated through GNU gettext tools, there is exactly one blank line
between entries. Then comments follow, on lines all starting with the
character #. There are two kinds of comments: those which have some
white space immediately following the # - the TRANSLATOR COMMENTS -,
which comments are created and maintained exclusively by the translator,
and those which have some non-white character just after the # - the
AUTOMATIC COMMENTS -, which comments are created and maintained
automatically by GNU gettext tools. Comment lines starting with #.
contain comments given by the programmer, directed at the translator;
these comments are called EXTRACTED COMMENTS because the xgettext
program extracts them from the programs source code. Comment lines
starting with #: contain references to the programs source code.
Comment lines starting with #, contain flags; more about these below.
Comment lines starting with #| contain the previous untranslated
string for which the translator gave a translation.
All comments, of either kind, are optional.
References to the programs source code, in lines that start with
#:, are of the form FILE_NAME:LINE_NUMBER or just FILE_NAME. If the
FILE_NAME contains spaces. it is enclosed within Unicode characters
U+2068 and U+2069.
After white space and comments, entries show two strings, namely
first the untranslated string as it appears in the original program
sources, and then, the translation of this string. The original string
is introduced by the keyword msgid, and the translation, by msgstr.
The two strings, untranslated and translated, are quoted in various ways
in the PO file, using " delimiters and \ escapes, but the translator
does not really have to pay attention to the precise quoting format, as
PO mode fully takes care of quoting for her.
The msgid strings, as well as automatic comments, are produced and
managed by other GNU gettext tools, and PO mode does not provide means
for the translator to alter these. The most she can do is merely
deleting them, and only by deleting the whole entry. On the other hand,
the msgstr string, as well as translator comments, are really meant
for the translator, and PO mode gives her the full control she needs.
The comment lines beginning with #, are special because they are
not completely ignored by the programs as comments generally are. The
comma separated list of FLAGs is used by the msgfmt program to give
the user some better diagnostic messages. Currently there are two forms
of flags defined:
fuzzy
This flag can be generated by the msgmerge program or it can be
inserted by the translator herself. It shows that the msgstr
string might not be a correct translation (anymore). Only the
translator can judge if the translation requires further
modification, or is acceptable as is. Once satisfied with the
translation, she then removes this fuzzy attribute. The
msgmerge program inserts this when it combined the msgid and
msgstr entries after fuzzy search only. *Note Fuzzy Entries::.
c-format
no-c-format
These flags should not be added by a human. Instead only the
xgettext program adds them. In an automated PO file processing
system as proposed here, the users changes would be thrown away
again as soon as the xgettext program generates a new template
file.
The c-format flag indicates that the untranslated string and the
translation are supposed to be C format strings. The no-c-format
flag indicates that they are not C format strings, even though the
untranslated string happens to look like a C format string (with
% directives).
When the c-format flag is given for a string the msgfmt program
does some more tests to check the validity of the translation.
*Note msgfmt Invocation::, *note c-format Flag:: and *note
c-format::.
objc-format
no-objc-format
Likewise for Objective C, see *note objc-format::.
c++-format
no-c++-format
Likewise for C++, see *note c++-format::.
python-format
no-python-format
Likewise for Python, see *note python-format::.
python-brace-format
no-python-brace-format
Likewise for Python brace, see *note python-format::.
java-format
no-java-format
Likewise for Java MessageFormat format strings, see *note
java-format::.
java-printf-format
no-java-printf-format
Likewise for Java printf format strings, see *note java-format::.
csharp-format
no-csharp-format
Likewise for C#, see *note csharp-format::.
javascript-format
no-javascript-format
Likewise for JavaScript, see *note javascript-format::.
scheme-format
no-scheme-format
Likewise for Scheme, see *note scheme-format::.
lisp-format
no-lisp-format
Likewise for Lisp, see *note lisp-format::.
elisp-format
no-elisp-format
Likewise for Emacs Lisp, see *note elisp-format::.
librep-format
no-librep-format
Likewise for librep, see *note librep-format::.
ruby-format
no-ruby-format
Likewise for Ruby, see *note ruby-format::.
sh-format
no-sh-format
Likewise for Shell, see *note sh-format::.
awk-format
no-awk-format
Likewise for awk, see *note awk-format::.
lua-format
no-lua-format
Likewise for Lua, see *note lua-format::.
object-pascal-format
no-object-pascal-format
Likewise for Object Pascal, see *note object-pascal-format::.
smalltalk-format
no-smalltalk-format
Likewise for Smalltalk, see *note smalltalk-format::.
qt-format
no-qt-format
Likewise for Qt, see *note qt-format::.
qt-plural-format
no-qt-plural-format
Likewise for Qt plural forms, see *note qt-plural-format::.
kde-format
no-kde-format
Likewise for KDE, see *note kde-format::.
boost-format
no-boost-format
Likewise for Boost, see *note boost-format::.
tcl-format
no-tcl-format
Likewise for Tcl, see *note tcl-format::.
perl-format
no-perl-format
Likewise for Perl, see *note perl-format::.
perl-brace-format
no-perl-brace-format
Likewise for Perl brace, see *note perl-format::.
php-format
no-php-format
Likewise for PHP, see *note php-format::.
gcc-internal-format
no-gcc-internal-format
Likewise for the GCC sources, see *note gcc-internal-format::.
gfc-internal-format
no-gfc-internal-format
Likewise for the GNU Fortran Compiler sources, see *note
gfc-internal-format::.
ycp-format
no-ycp-format
Likewise for YCP, see *note ycp-format::.
It is also possible to have entries with a context specifier. They
look like this:
WHITE-SPACE
# TRANSLATOR-COMMENTS
#. EXTRACTED-COMMENTS
#: REFERENCE...
#, FLAG...
#| msgctxt PREVIOUS-CONTEXT
#| msgid PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgctxt CONTEXT
msgid UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgstr TRANSLATED-STRING
The context serves to disambiguate messages with the same
UNTRANSLATED-STRING. It is possible to have several entries with the
same UNTRANSLATED-STRING in a PO file, provided that they each have a
different CONTEXT. Note that an empty CONTEXT string and an absent
msgctxt line do not mean the same thing.
A different kind of entries is used for translations which involve
plural forms.
WHITE-SPACE
# TRANSLATOR-COMMENTS
#. EXTRACTED-COMMENTS
#: REFERENCE...
#, FLAG...
#| msgid PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING-SINGULAR
#| msgid_plural PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING-PLURAL
msgid UNTRANSLATED-STRING-SINGULAR
msgid_plural UNTRANSLATED-STRING-PLURAL
msgstr[0] TRANSLATED-STRING-CASE-0
...
msgstr[N] TRANSLATED-STRING-CASE-N
Such an entry can look like this:
#: src/msgcmp.c:338 src/po-lex.c:699
#, c-format
msgid "found %d fatal error"
msgid_plural "found %d fatal errors"
msgstr[0] "s'ha trobat %d error fatal"
msgstr[1] "s'han trobat %d errors fatals"
Here also, a msgctxt context can be specified before msgid, like
above.
Here, additional kinds of flags can be used:
range:
This flag is followed by a range of non-negative numbers, using the
syntax range: MINIMUM-VALUE..MAXIMUM-VALUE. It designates the
possible values that the numeric parameter of the message can take.
In some languages, translators may produce slightly better
translations if they know that the value can only take on values
between 0 and 10, for example.
The PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING is optionally inserted by the
msgmerge program, at the same time when it marks a message fuzzy. It
helps the translator to see which changes were done by the developers on
the UNTRANSLATED-STRING.
It happens that some lines, usually whitespace or comments, follow
the very last entry of a PO file. Such lines are not part of any entry,
and will be dropped when the PO file is processed by the tools, or may
disturb some PO file editors.
The remainder of this section may be safely skipped by those using a
PO file editor, yet it may be interesting for everybody to have a better
idea of the precise format of a PO file. On the other hand, those
wishing to modify PO files by hand should carefully continue reading on.
An empty UNTRANSLATED-STRING is reserved to contain the header entry
with the meta information (*note Header Entry::). This header entry
should be the first entry of the file. The empty UNTRANSLATED-STRING is
reserved for this purpose and must not be used anywhere else.
Each of UNTRANSLATED-STRING and TRANSLATED-STRING respects the C
syntax for a character string, including the surrounding quotes and
embedded backslashed escape sequences, except that universal character
escape sequences (\u and \U) are not allowed. When the time comes
to write multi-line strings, one should not use escaped newlines.
Instead, a closing quote should follow the last character on the line to
be continued, and an opening quote should resume the string at the
beginning of the following PO file line. For example:
msgid ""
"Here is an example of how one might continue a very long string\n"
"for the common case the string represents multi-line output.\n"
In this example, the empty string is used on the first line, to allow
better alignment of the H from the word Here over the f from the
word for. In this example, the msgid keyword is followed by three
strings, which are meant to be concatenated. Concatenating the empty
string does not change the resulting overall string, but it is a way for
us to comply with the necessity of msgid to be followed by a string on
the same line, while keeping the multi-line presentation left-justified,
as we find this to be a cleaner disposition. The empty string could
have been omitted, but only if the string starting with Here was
promoted on the first line, right after msgid.(1) It was not really
necessary either to switch between the two last quoted strings
immediately after the newline \n, the switch could have occurred after
_any_ other character, we just did it this way because it is neater.
One should carefully distinguish between end of lines marked as \n
_inside_ quotes, which are part of the represented string, and end of
lines in the PO file itself, outside string quotes, which have no
incidence on the represented string.
Outside strings, white lines and comments may be used freely.
Comments start at the beginning of a line with # and extend until the
end of the PO file line. Comments written by translators should have
the initial # immediately followed by some white space. If the # is
not immediately followed by white space, this comment is most likely
generated and managed by specialized GNU tools, and might disappear or
be replaced unexpectedly when the PO file is given to msgmerge.
For a PO file to be valid, no two entries without msgctxt may have
the same UNTRANSLATED-STRING or UNTRANSLATED-STRING-SINGULAR.
Similarly, no two entries may have the same msgctxt and the same
UNTRANSLATED-STRING or UNTRANSLATED-STRING-SINGULAR.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) This limitation is not imposed by GNU gettext, but is for
compatibility with the msgfmt implementation on Solaris.

File: gettext.info, Node: Sources, Next: Template, Prev: PO Files, Up: Top
4 Preparing Program Sources
***************************
For the programmer, changes to the C source code fall into three
categories. First, you have to make the localization functions known to
all modules needing message translation. Second, you should properly
trigger the operation of GNU gettext when the program initializes,
usually from the main function. Last, you should identify, adjust and
mark all constant strings in your program needing translation.
* Menu:
* Importing:: Importing the gettext declaration
* Triggering:: Triggering gettext Operations
* Preparing Strings:: Preparing Translatable Strings
* Mark Keywords:: How Marks Appear in Sources
* Marking:: Marking Translatable Strings
* c-format Flag:: Telling something about the following string
* Special cases:: Special Cases of Translatable Strings
* Bug Report Address:: Letting Users Report Translation Bugs
* Names:: Marking Proper Names for Translation
* Libraries:: Preparing Library Sources

File: gettext.info, Node: Importing, Next: Triggering, Up: Sources
4.1 Importing the gettext declaration
=======================================
Presuming that your set of programs, or package, has been adjusted so
all needed GNU gettext files are available, and your Makefile files
are adjusted (*note Maintainers::), each C module having translated C
strings should contain the line:
#include <libintl.h>
Similarly, each C module containing printf()/fprintf()/... calls
with a format string that could be a translated C string (even if the C
string comes from a different C module) should contain the line:
#include <libintl.h>

File: gettext.info, Node: Triggering, Next: Preparing Strings, Prev: Importing, Up: Sources
4.2 Triggering gettext Operations
===================================
The initialization of locale data should be done with more or less
the same code in every program, as demonstrated below:
int
main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
...
setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
textdomain (PACKAGE);
...
}
PACKAGE and LOCALEDIR should be provided either by config.h or by
the Makefile. For now consult the gettext or hello sources for more
information.
The use of LC_ALL might not be appropriate for you. LC_ALL
includes all locale categories and especially LC_CTYPE. This latter
category is responsible for determining character classes with the
isalnum etc. functions from ctype.h which could especially for
programs, which process some kind of input language, be wrong. For
example this would mean that a source code using the ç (c-cedilla
character) is runnable in France but not in the U.S.
Some systems also have problems with parsing numbers using the
scanf functions if an other but the LC_ALL locale category is used.
The standards say that additional formats but the one known in the "C"
locale might be recognized. But some systems seem to reject numbers in
the "C" locale format. In some situation, it might also be a problem
with the notation itself which makes it impossible to recognize whether
the number is in the "C" locale or the local format. This can happen
if thousands separator characters are used. Some locales define this
character according to the national conventions to '.' which is the
same character used in the "C" locale to denote the decimal point.
So it is sometimes necessary to replace the LC_ALL line in the code
above by a sequence of setlocale lines
{
...
setlocale (LC_CTYPE, "");
setlocale (LC_MESSAGES, "");
...
}
On all POSIX conformant systems the locale categories LC_CTYPE,
LC_MESSAGES, LC_COLLATE, LC_MONETARY, LC_NUMERIC, and LC_TIME
are available. On some systems which are only ISO C compliant,
LC_MESSAGES is missing, but a substitute for it is defined in GNU
gettexts <libintl.h> and in GNU gnulibs <locale.h>.
Note that changing the LC_CTYPE also affects the functions declared
in the <ctype.h> standard header and some functions declared in the
<string.h> and <stdlib.h> standard headers. If this is not
desirable in your application (for example in a compilers parser), you
can use a set of substitute functions which hardwire the C locale, such
as found in the modules c-ctype, c-strcase, c-strcasestr,
c-strtod, c-strtold in the GNU gnulib source distribution.
It is also possible to switch the locale forth and back between the
environment dependent locale and the C locale, but this approach is
normally avoided because a setlocale call is expensive, because it is
tedious to determine the places where a locale switch is needed in a
large programs source, and because switching a locale is not
multithread-safe.

File: gettext.info, Node: Preparing Strings, Next: Mark Keywords, Prev: Triggering, Up: Sources
4.3 Preparing Translatable Strings
==================================
Before strings can be marked for translations, they sometimes need to
be adjusted. Usually preparing a string for translation is done right
before marking it, during the marking phase which is described in the
next sections. What you have to keep in mind while doing that is the
following.
• Decent English style.
• Entire sentences.
• Split at paragraphs.
• Use format strings instead of string concatenation.
• Use placeholders in format strings instead of embedded URLs.
• Use placeholders in format strings instead of programmer-defined
format string directives.
• Avoid unusual markup and unusual control characters.
Lets look at some examples of these guidelines.
Decent English style
--------------------
Translatable strings should be in good English style. If slang
language with abbreviations and shortcuts is used, often translators
will not understand the message and will produce very inappropriate
translations.
"%s: is parameter\n"
This is nearly untranslatable: Is the displayed item _a_ parameter or
_the_ parameter?
"No match"
The ambiguity in this message makes it unintelligible: Is the program
attempting to set something on fire? Does it mean "The given object
does not match the template"? Does it mean "The template does not fit
for any of the objects"?
In both cases, adding more words to the message will help both the
translator and the English speaking user.
Entire sentences
----------------
Translatable strings should be entire sentences. It is often not
possible to translate single verbs or adjectives in a substitutable way.
printf ("File %s is %s protected", filename, rw ? "write" : "read");
Most translators will not look at the source and will thus only see the
string "File %s is %s protected", which is unintelligible. Change
this to
printf (rw ? "File %s is write protected" : "File %s is read protected",
filename);
This way the translator will not only understand the message, she will
also be able to find the appropriate grammatical construction. A French
translator for example translates "write protected" like "protected
against writing".
Entire sentences are also important because in many languages, the
declination of some word in a sentence depends on the gender or the
number (singular/plural) of another part of the sentence. There are
usually more interdependencies between words than in English. The
consequence is that asking a translator to translate two half-sentences
and then combining these two half-sentences through dumb string
concatenation will not work, for many languages, even though it would
work for English. Thats why translators need to handle entire
sentences.
Often sentences dont fit into a single line. If a sentence is
output using two subsequent printf statements, like this
printf ("Locale charset \"%s\" is different from\n", lcharset);
printf ("input file charset \"%s\".\n", fcharset);
the translator would have to translate two half sentences, but nothing
in the POT file would tell her that the two half sentences belong
together. It is necessary to merge the two printf statements so that
the translator can handle the entire sentence at once and decide at
which place to insert a line break in the translation (if at all):
printf ("Locale charset \"%s\" is different from\n\
input file charset \"%s\".\n", lcharset, fcharset);
You may now ask: how about two or more adjacent sentences? Like in
this case:
puts ("Apollo 13 scenario: Stack overflow handling failed.");
puts ("On the next stack overflow we will crash!!!");
Should these two statements merged into a single one? I would recommend
to merge them if the two sentences are related to each other, because
then it makes it easier for the translator to understand and translate
both. On the other hand, if one of the two messages is a stereotypic
one, occurring in other places as well, you will do a favour to the
translator by not merging the two. (Identical messages occurring in
several places are combined by xgettext, so the translator has to handle
them once only.)
Split at paragraphs
-------------------
Translatable strings should be limited to one paragraph; dont let a
single message be longer than ten lines. The reason is that when the
translatable string changes, the translator is faced with the task of
updating the entire translated string. Maybe only a single word will
have changed in the English string, but the translator doesnt see that
(with the current translation tools), therefore she has to proofread the
entire message.
Many GNU programs have a --help output that extends over several
screen pages. It is a courtesy towards the translators to split such a
message into several ones of five to ten lines each. While doing that,
you can also attempt to split the documented options into groups, such
as the input options, the output options, and the informative output
options. This will help every user to find the option he is looking
for.
No string concatenation
-----------------------
Hardcoded string concatenation is sometimes used to construct English
strings:
strcpy (s, "Replace ");
strcat (s, object1);
strcat (s, " with ");
strcat (s, object2);
strcat (s, "?");
In order to present to the translator only entire sentences, and also
because in some languages the translator might want to swap the order of
object1 and object2, it is necessary to change this to use a format
string:
sprintf (s, "Replace %s with %s?", object1, object2);
A similar case is compile time concatenation of strings. The ISO C
99 include file <inttypes.h> contains a macro PRId64 that can be
used as a formatting directive for outputting an int64_t integer
through printf. It expands to a constant string, usually "d" or "ld"
or "lld" or something like this, depending on the platform. Assume you
have code like
printf ("The amount is %0" PRId64 "\n", number);
The gettext tools and library have special support for these
<inttypes.h> macros. You can therefore simply write
printf (gettext ("The amount is %0" PRId64 "\n"), number);
The PO file will contain the string "The amount is %0<PRId64>\n". The
translators will provide a translation containing "%0<PRId64>" as well,
and at runtime the gettext functions result will contain the
appropriate constant string, "d" or "ld" or "lld".
This works only for the predefined <inttypes.h> macros. If you
have defined your own similar macros, lets say MYPRId64, that are not
known to xgettext, the solution for this problem is to change the code
like this:
char buf1[100];
sprintf (buf1, "%0" MYPRId64, number);
printf (gettext ("The amount is %s\n"), buf1);
This means, you put the platform dependent code in one statement, and
the internationalization code in a different statement. Note that a
buffer length of 100 is safe, because all available hardware integer
types are limited to 128 bits, and to print a 128 bit integer one needs
at most 54 characters, regardless whether in decimal, octal or
hexadecimal.
All this applies to other programming languages as well. For
example, in Java and C#, string concatenation is very frequently used,
because it is a compiler built-in operator. Like in C, in Java, you
would change
System.out.println("Replace "+object1+" with "+object2+"?");
into a statement involving a format string:
System.out.println(
MessageFormat.format("Replace {0} with {1}?",
new Object[] { object1, object2 }));
Similarly, in C#, you would change
Console.WriteLine("Replace "+object1+" with "+object2+"?");
into a statement involving a format string:
Console.WriteLine(
String.Format("Replace {0} with {1}?", object1, object2));
No embedded URLs
----------------
It is good to not embed URLs in translatable strings, for several
reasons:
• It avoids possible mistakes during copy and paste.
• Translators cannot translate the URLs or, by mistake, use the URLs
from other packages that are present in their compendium.
• When the URLs change, translators dont need to revisit the
translation of the string.
The same holds for email addresses.
So, you would change
fputs (_("GNU GPL version 3 <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>\n"),
stream);
to
fprintf (stream, _("GNU GPL version 3 <%s>\n"),
"https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html");
No programmer-defined format string directives
----------------------------------------------
The GNU C Librarys <printf.h> facility and the C++ standard
librarys <format> header file make it possible for the programmer to
define their own format string directives. However, such format
directives cannot be used in translatable strings, for two reasons:
• There is no reference documentation for format strings with such
directives, that the translators could consult. They would
therefore have to guess where the directive starts and where it
ends.
• An msgfmt -c invocation cannot check whether the translator has
produced a compatible translation of the format string. As a
consequence, when a format string contains a programmer-defined
directive, the program may crash at runtime when it uses the
translated format string.
To avoid this situation, you need to move the formatting with the
custom directive into a format string that does not get translated.
For example, assuming code that makes use of a %r directive:
fprintf (stream, _("The contents is: %r"), data);
you would rewrite it to:
char *tmp;
if (asprintf (&tmp, "%r", data) < 0)
error (...);
fprintf (stream, _("The contents is: %s"), tmp);
free (tmp);
Similarly, in C++, assuming you have defined a custom formatter for
the type of data, the code
cout << format (_("The contents is: {:#$#}"), data);
should be rewritten to:
string tmp = format ("{:#$#}", data);
cout << format (_("The contents is: {}"), tmp);
No unusual markup
-----------------
Unusual markup or control characters should not be used in
translatable strings. Translators will likely not understand the
particular meaning of the markup or control characters.
For example, if you have a convention that | delimits the left-hand
and right-hand part of some GUI elements, translators will often not
understand it without specific comments. It might be better to have the
translator translate the left-hand and right-hand part separately.
Another example is the argp convention to use a single \v
(vertical tab) control character to delimit two sections inside a
string. This is flawed. Some translators may convert it to a simple
newline, some to blank lines. With some PO file editors it may not be
easy to even enter a vertical tab control character. So, you cannot be
sure that the translation will contain a \v character, at the
corresponding position. The solution is, again, to let the translator
translate two separate strings and combine at run-time the two
translated strings with the \v required by the convention.
HTML markup, however, is common enough that its probably ok to use
in translatable strings. But please bear in mind that the GNU gettext
tools dont verify that the translations are well-formed HTML.

File: gettext.info, Node: Mark Keywords, Next: Marking, Prev: Preparing Strings, Up: Sources
4.4 How Marks Appear in Sources
===============================
All strings requiring translation should be marked in the C sources.
Marking is done in such a way that each translatable string appears to
be the sole argument of some function or preprocessor macro. There are
only a few such possible functions or macros meant for translation, and
their names are said to be marking keywords. The marking is attached to
strings themselves, rather than to what we do with them. This approach
has more uses. A blatant example is an error message produced by
formatting. The format string needs translation, as well as some
strings inserted through some %s specification in the format, while
the result from sprintf may have so many different instances that it
is impractical to list them all in some error_string_out() routine,
say.
This marking operation has two goals. The first goal of marking is
for triggering the retrieval of the translation, at run time. The
keyword is possibly resolved into a routine able to dynamically return
the proper translation, as far as possible or wanted, for the argument
string. Most localizable strings are found in executable positions,
that is, attached to variables or given as parameters to functions. But
this is not universal usage, and some translatable strings appear in
structured initializations. *Note Special cases::.
The second goal of the marking operation is to help xgettext at
properly extracting all translatable strings when it scans a set of
program sources and produces PO file templates.
The canonical keyword for marking translatable strings is gettext,
it gave its name to the whole GNU gettext package. For packages
making only light use of the gettext keyword, macro or function, it is
easily used _as is_. However, for packages using the gettext
interface more heavily, it is usually more convenient to give the main
keyword a shorter, less obtrusive name. Indeed, the keyword might
appear on a lot of strings all over the package, and programmers usually
do not want nor need their program sources to remind them forcefully,
all the time, that they are internationalized. Further, a long keyword
has the disadvantage of using more horizontal space, forcing more
indentation work on sources for those trying to keep them within 79 or
80 columns.
Many packages use _ (a simple underline) as a keyword, and write
_("Translatable string") instead of gettext ("Translatable string").
Further, the coding rule, from GNU standards, wanting that there is a
space between the keyword and the opening parenthesis is relaxed, in
practice, for this particular usage. So, the textual overhead per
translatable string is reduced to only three characters: the underline
and the two parentheses. However, even if GNU gettext uses this
convention internally, it does not offer it officially. The real,
genuine keyword is truly gettext indeed. It is fairly easy for those
wanting to use _ instead of gettext to declare:
#include <libintl.h>
#define _(String) gettext (String)
instead of merely using #include <libintl.h>.
The marking keywords gettext and _ take the translatable string
as sole argument. It is also possible to define marking functions that
take it at another argument position. It is even possible to make the
marked argument position depend on the total number of arguments of the
function call; this is useful in C++. All this is achieved using
xgettext’’s --keyword option. How to pass such an option to
xgettext, assuming that gettextize is used, is described in *note
po/Makevars:: and *note AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION::.
Note also that long strings can be split across lines, into multiple
adjacent string tokens. Automatic string concatenation is performed at
compile time according to ISO C and ISO C++; xgettext also supports
this syntax.
In C++, marking a C++ format string requires a small code change,
because the first argument to std::format must be a constant
expression. For example,
std::format ("{} {}!", "Hello", "world")
needs to be changed to
std::vformat (gettext ("{} {}!"), std::make_format_args("Hello", "world"))
Later on, the maintenance is relatively easy. If, as a programmer,
you add or modify a string, you will have to ask yourself if the new or
altered string requires translation, and include it within _() if you
think it should be translated. For example, "%s" is an example of
string _not_ requiring translation. But "%s: %d" _does_ require
translation, because in French, unlike in English, its customary to put
a space before a colon.

File: gettext.info, Node: Marking, Next: c-format Flag, Prev: Mark Keywords, Up: Sources
4.5 Marking Translatable Strings
================================
In PO mode, one set of features is meant more for the programmer than
for the translator, and allows him to interactively mark which strings,
in a set of program sources, are translatable, and which are not. Even
if it is a fairly easy job for a programmer to find and mark such
strings by other means, using any editor of his choice, PO mode makes
this work more comfortable. Further, this gives translators who feel a
little like programmers, or programmers who feel a little like
translators, a tool letting them work at marking translatable strings in
the program sources, while simultaneously producing a set of translation
in some language, for the package being internationalized.
The set of program sources, targeted by the PO mode commands describe
here, should have an Emacs tags table constructed for your project,
prior to using these PO file commands. This is easy to do. In any
shell window, change the directory to the root of your project, then
execute a command resembling:
etags src/*.[hc] lib/*.[hc]
presuming here you want to process all .h and .c files from the
src/ and lib/ directories. This command will explore all said files
and create a TAGS file in your root directory, somewhat summarizing
the contents using a special file format Emacs can understand.
For packages following the GNU coding standards, there is a make goal
tags or TAGS which constructs the tag files in all directories and
for all files containing source code.
Once your TAGS file is ready, the following commands assist the
programmer at marking translatable strings in his set of sources. But
these commands are necessarily driven from within a PO file window, and
it is likely that you do not even have such a PO file yet. This is not
a problem at all, as you may safely open a new, empty PO file, mainly
for using these commands. This empty PO file will slowly fill in while
you mark strings as translatable in your program sources.
,
Search through program sources for a string which looks like a
candidate for translation (po-tags-search).
M-,
Mark the last string found with _() (po-mark-translatable).
M-.
Mark the last string found with a keyword taken from a set of
possible keywords. This command with a prefix allows some
management of these keywords (po-select-mark-and-mark).
The , (po-tags-search) command searches for the next occurrence
of a string which looks like a possible candidate for translation, and
displays the program source in another Emacs window, positioned in such
a way that the string is near the top of this other window. If the
string is too big to fit whole in this window, it is positioned so only
its end is shown. In any case, the cursor is left in the PO file
window. If the shown string would be better presented differently in
different native languages, you may mark it using M-, or M-..
Otherwise, you might rather ignore it and skip to the next string by
merely repeating the , command.
A string is a good candidate for translation if it contains a
sequence of three or more letters. A string containing at most two
letters in a row will be considered as a candidate if it has more
letters than non-letters. The command disregards strings containing no
letters, or isolated letters only. It also disregards strings within
comments, or strings already marked with some keyword PO mode knows (see
below).
If you have never told Emacs about some TAGS file to use, the
command will request that you specify one from the minibuffer, the first
time you use the command. You may later change your TAGS file by
using the regular Emacs command M-x visit-tags-table, which will ask
you to name the precise TAGS file you want to use. *Note Tag Tables:
(emacs)Tags.
Each time you use the , command, the search resumes from where it
was left by the previous search, and goes through all program sources,
obeying the TAGS file, until all sources have been processed.
However, by giving a prefix argument to the command (C-u ,), you may
request that the search be restarted all over again from the first
program source; but in this case, strings that you recently marked as
translatable will be automatically skipped.
Using this , command does not prevent using of other regular Emacs
tags commands. For example, regular tags-search or
tags-query-replace commands may be used without disrupting the
independent , search sequence. However, as implemented, the _initial_
, command (or the , command is used with a prefix) might also
reinitialize the regular Emacs tags searching to the first tags file,
this reinitialization might be considered spurious.
The M-, (po-mark-translatable) command will mark the recently
found string with the _ keyword. The M-.
(po-select-mark-and-mark) command will request that you type one
keyword from the minibuffer and use that keyword for marking the string.
Both commands will automatically create a new PO file untranslated entry
for the string being marked, and make it the current entry (making it
easy for you to immediately proceed to its translation, if you feel like
doing it right away). It is possible that the modifications made to the
program source by M-, or M-. render some source line longer than 80
columns, forcing you to break and re-indent this line differently. You
may use the O command from PO mode, or any other window changing
command from Emacs, to break out into the program source window, and do
any needed adjustments. You will have to use some regular Emacs command
to return the cursor to the PO file window, if you want command , for
the next string, say.
The M-. command has a few built-in speedups, so you do not have to
explicitly type all keywords all the time. The first such speedup is
that you are presented with a _preferred_ keyword, which you may accept
by merely typing <RET> at the prompt. The second speedup is that you
may type any non-ambiguous prefix of the keyword you really mean, and
the command will complete it automatically for you. This also means
that PO mode has to _know_ all your possible keywords, and that it will
not accept mistyped keywords.
If you reply ? to the keyword request, the command gives a list of
all known keywords, from which you may choose. When the command is
prefixed by an argument (C-u M-.), it inhibits updating any program
source or PO file buffer, and does some simple keyword management
instead. In this case, the command asks for a keyword, written in full,
which becomes a new allowed keyword for later M-. commands. Moreover,
this new keyword automatically becomes the _preferred_ keyword for later
commands. By typing an already known keyword in response to C-u M-.,
one merely changes the _preferred_ keyword and does nothing more.
All keywords known for M-. are recognized by the , command when
scanning for strings, and strings already marked by any of those known
keywords are automatically skipped. If many PO files are opened
simultaneously, each one has its own independent set of known keywords.
There is no provision in PO mode, currently, for deleting a known
keyword, you have to quit the file (maybe using q) and reopen it
afresh. When a PO file is newly brought up in an Emacs window, only
gettext and _ are known as keywords, and gettext is preferred for
the M-. command. In fact, this is not useful to prefer _, as this
one is already built in the M-, command.

File: gettext.info, Node: c-format Flag, Next: Special cases, Prev: Marking, Up: Sources
4.6 Special Comments preceding Keywords
=======================================
In C programs strings are often used within calls of functions from
the printf family. The special thing about these format strings is
that they can contain format specifiers introduced with %. Assume we
have the code
printf (gettext ("String `%s' has %d characters\n"), s, strlen (s));
A possible German translation for the above string might be:
"%d Zeichen lang ist die Zeichenkette `%s'"
A C programmer, even if he cannot speak German, will recognize that
there is something wrong here. The order of the two format specifiers
is changed but of course the arguments in the printf dont have. This
will most probably lead to problems because now the length of the string
is regarded as the address.
To prevent errors at runtime caused by translations, the msgfmt
tool can check statically whether the arguments in the original and the
translation string match in type and number. If this is not the case
and the -c option has been passed to msgfmt, msgfmt will give an
error and refuse to produce a MO file. Thus consistent use of msgfmt
-c will catch the error, so that it cannot cause problems at runtime.
If the word order in the above German translation would be correct one
would have to write
"%2$d Zeichen lang ist die Zeichenkette `%1$s'"
The routines in msgfmt know about this special notation.
Because not all strings in a program will be format strings, it is
not useful for msgfmt to test all the strings in the .po file. This
might cause problems because the string might contain what looks like a
format specifier, but the string is not used in printf.
Therefore xgettext adds a special tag to those messages it thinks
might be a format string. There is no absolute rule for this, only a
heuristic. In the .po file the entry is marked using the c-format
flag in the #, comment line (*note PO Files::).
The careful reader now might say that this again can cause problems.
The heuristic might guess it wrong. This is true and therefore
xgettext knows about a special kind of comment which lets the
programmer take over the decision. If in the same line as or the
immediately preceding line to the gettext keyword the xgettext
program finds a comment containing the words xgettext:c-format, it
will mark the string in any case with the c-format flag. This kind of
comment should be used when xgettext does not recognize the string as
a format string but it really is one and it should be tested. Please
note that when the comment is in the same line as the gettext keyword,
it must be before the string to be translated. Also note that a comment
such as xgettext:c-format applies only to the first string in the same
or the next line, not to multiple strings.
This situation happens quite often. The printf function is often
called with strings which do not contain a format specifier. Of course
one would normally use fputs but it does happen. In this case
xgettext does not recognize this as a format string but what happens
if the translation introduces a valid format specifier? The printf
function will try to access one of the parameters but none exists
because the original code does not pass any parameters.
xgettext of course could make a wrong decision the other way round,
i.e. a string marked as a format string actually is not a format string.
In this case the msgfmt might give too many warnings and would prevent
translating the .po file. The method to prevent this wrong decision
is similar to the one used above, only the comment to use must contain
the string xgettext:no-c-format.
If a string is marked with c-format and this is not correct the
user can find out who is responsible for the decision. See *note
xgettext Invocation:: to see how the --debug option can be used for
solving this problem.

File: gettext.info, Node: Special cases, Next: Bug Report Address, Prev: c-format Flag, Up: Sources
4.7 Special Cases of Translatable Strings
=========================================
The attentive reader might now point out that it is not always
possible to mark translatable string with gettext or something like
this. Consider the following case:
{
static const char *messages[] = {
"some very meaningful message",
"and another one"
};
const char *string;
...
string
= index > 1 ? "a default message" : messages[index];
fputs (string);
...
}
While it is no problem to mark the string "a default message" it is
not possible to mark the string initializers for messages. What is to
be done? We have to fulfill two tasks. First we have to mark the
strings so that the xgettext program (*note xgettext Invocation::) can
find them, and second we have to translate the string at runtime before
printing them.
The first task can be fulfilled by creating a new keyword, which
names a no-op. For the second we have to mark all access points to a
string from the array. So one solution can look like this:
#define gettext_noop(String) String
{
static const char *messages[] = {
gettext_noop ("some very meaningful message"),
gettext_noop ("and another one")
};
const char *string;
...
string
= index > 1 ? gettext ("a default message") : gettext (messages[index]);
fputs (string);
...
}
Please convince yourself that the string which is written by fputs
is translated in any case. How to get xgettext know the additional
keyword gettext_noop is explained in *note xgettext Invocation::.
The above is of course not the only solution. You could also come
along with the following one:
#define gettext_noop(String) String
{
static const char *messages[] = {
gettext_noop ("some very meaningful message"),
gettext_noop ("and another one")
};
const char *string;
...
string
= index > 1 ? gettext_noop ("a default message") : messages[index];
fputs (gettext (string));
...
}
But this has a drawback. The programmer has to take care that he
uses gettext_noop for the string "a default message". A use of
gettext could have in rare cases unpredictable results.
One advantage is that you need not make control flow analysis to make
sure the output is really translated in any case. But this analysis is
generally not very difficult. If it should be in any situation you can
use this second method in this situation.

File: gettext.info, Node: Bug Report Address, Next: Names, Prev: Special cases, Up: Sources
4.8 Letting Users Report Translation Bugs
=========================================
Code sometimes has bugs, but translations sometimes have bugs too.
The users need to be able to report them. Reporting translation bugs to
the programmer or maintainer of a package is not very useful, since the
maintainer must never change a translation, except on behalf of the
translator. Hence the translation bugs must be reported to the
translators.
Here is a way to organize this so that the maintainer does not need
to forward translation bug reports, nor even keep a list of the
addresses of the translators or their translation teams.
Every program has a place where is shows the bug report address. For
GNU programs, it is the code which handles the “–help” option, typically
in a function called “usage”. In this place, instruct the translator to
add her own bug reporting address. For example, if that code has a
statement
printf (_("Report bugs to <%s>.\n"), PACKAGE_BUGREPORT);
you can add some translator instructions like this:
/* TRANSLATORS: The placeholder indicates the bug-reporting address
for this package. Please add _another line_ saying
"Report translation bugs to <...>\n" with the address for translation
bugs (typically your translation team's web or email address). */
printf (_("Report bugs to <%s>.\n"), PACKAGE_BUGREPORT);
These will be extracted by xgettext, leading to a .pot file that
contains this:
#. TRANSLATORS: The placeholder indicates the bug-reporting address
#. for this package. Please add _another line_ saying
#. "Report translation bugs to <...>\n" with the address for translation
#. bugs (typically your translation team's web or email address).
#: src/hello.c:178
#, c-format
msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
msgstr ""

File: gettext.info, Node: Names, Next: Libraries, Prev: Bug Report Address, Up: Sources
4.9 Marking Proper Names for Translation
========================================
Should names of persons, cities, locations etc. be marked for
translation or not? People who only know languages that can be written
with Latin letters (English, Spanish, French, German, etc.) are tempted
to say “no”, because names usually do not change when transported
between these languages. However, in general when translating from one
script to another, names are translated too, usually phonetically or by
transliteration. For example, Russian or Greek names are converted to
the Latin alphabet when being translated to English, and English or
French names are converted to the Katakana script when being translated
to Japanese. This is necessary because the speakers of the target
language in general cannot read the script the name is originally
written in.
As a programmer, you should therefore make sure that names are marked
for translation, with a special comment telling the translators that it
is a proper name and how to pronounce it. In its simple form, it looks
like this:
printf (_("Written by %s.\n"),
/* TRANSLATORS: This is a proper name. See the gettext
manual, section Names. Note this is actually a non-ASCII
name: The first name is (with Unicode escapes)
"Fran\u00e7ois" or (with HTML entities) "Fran&ccedil;ois".
Pronunciation is like "fraa-swa pee-nar". */
_("Francois Pinard"));
The GNU gnulib library offers a module propername
(<https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/MODULES.html#module=propername>)
which takes care to automatically append the original name, in
parentheses, to the translated name. For names that cannot be written
in ASCII, it also frees the translator from the task of entering the
appropriate non-ASCII characters if no script change is needed. In this
more comfortable form, it looks like this:
printf (_("Written by %s and %s.\n"),
proper_name ("Ulrich Drepper"),
/* TRANSLATORS: This is a proper name. See the gettext
manual, section Names. Note this is actually a non-ASCII
name: The first name is (with Unicode escapes)
"Fran\u00e7ois" or (with HTML entities) "Fran&ccedil;ois".
Pronunciation is like "fraa-swa pee-nar". */
proper_name_utf8 ("Francois Pinard", "Fran\303\247ois Pinard"));
You can also write the original name directly in Unicode (rather than
with Unicode escapes or HTML entities) and denote the pronunciation
using the International Phonetic Alphabet (see
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet>).
As a translator, you should use some care when translating names,
because it is frustrating if people see their names mutilated or
distorted.
If your language uses the Latin script, all you need to do is to
reproduce the name as perfectly as you can within the usual character
set of your language. In this particular case, this means to provide a
translation containing the c-cedilla character. If your language uses a
different script and the people speaking it dont usually read Latin
words, it means transliteration. If the programmer used the simple
case, you should still give, in parentheses, the original writing of the
name for the sake of the people that do read the Latin script. If the
programmer used the propername module mentioned above, you dont need
to give the original writing of the name in parentheses, because the
program will already do so. Here is an example, using Greek as the
target script:
#. This is a proper name. See the gettext
#. manual, section Names. Note this is actually a non-ASCII
#. name: The first name is (with Unicode escapes)
#. "Fran\u00e7ois" or (with HTML entities) "Fran&ccedil;ois".
#. Pronunciation is like "fraa-swa pee-nar".
msgid "Francois Pinard"
msgstr "\phi\rho\alpha\sigma\omicron\alpha \pi\iota\nu\alpha\rho"
" (Francois Pinard)"
Because translation of names is such a sensitive domain, it is a good
idea to test your translation before submitting it.

File: gettext.info, Node: Libraries, Prev: Names, Up: Sources
4.10 Preparing Library Sources
==============================
When you are preparing a library, not a program, for the use of
gettext, only a few details are different. Here we assume that the
library has a translation domain and a POT file of its own. (If it uses
the translation domain and POT file of the main program, then the
previous sections apply without changes.)
1. The library code doesnt call setlocale (LC_ALL, ""). Its the
responsibility of the main program to set the locale. The
librarys documentation should mention this fact, so that
developers of programs using the library are aware of it.
2. The library code doesnt call textdomain (PACKAGE), because it
would interfere with the text domain set by the main program.
3. The initialization code for a program was
setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
textdomain (PACKAGE);
For a library it is reduced to
bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
If your librarys API doesnt already have an initialization
function, you need to create one, containing at least the
bindtextdomain invocation. However, you usually dont need to
export and document this initialization function: It is sufficient
that all entry points of the library call the initialization
function if it hasnt been called before. The typical idiom used
to achieve this is a static boolean variable that indicates whether
the initialization function has been called. If the library is
meant to be used in multithreaded applications, this variable needs
to be marked volatile, so that its value get propagated between
threads. Like this:
static volatile bool libfoo_initialized;
static void
libfoo_initialize (void)
{
bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
libfoo_initialized = true;
}
/* This function is part of the exported API. */
struct foo *
create_foo (...)
{
/* Must ensure the initialization is performed. */
if (!libfoo_initialized)
libfoo_initialize ();
...
}
/* This function is part of the exported API. The argument must be
non-NULL and have been created through create_foo(). */
int
foo_refcount (struct foo *argument)
{
/* No need to invoke the initialization function here, because
create_foo() must already have been called before. */
...
}
The more general solution for initialization functions, POSIX
pthread_once, is not needed in this case.
4. The usual declaration of the _ macro in each source file was
#include <libintl.h>
#define _(String) gettext (String)
for a program. For a library, which has its own translation
domain, it reads like this:
#include <libintl.h>
#define _(String) dgettext (PACKAGE, String)
In other words, dgettext is used instead of gettext.
Similarly, the dngettext function should be used in place of the
ngettext function.

File: gettext.info, Node: Template, Next: Creating, Prev: Sources, Up: Top
5 Making the PO Template File
*****************************
After preparing the sources, the programmer creates a PO template
file. This section explains how to use xgettext for this purpose.
xgettext creates a file named DOMAINNAME.po. You should then
rename it to DOMAINNAME.pot. (Why doesnt xgettext create it under
the name DOMAINNAME.pot right away? The answer is: for historical
reasons. When xgettext was specified, the distinction between a PO
file and PO file template was fuzzy, and the suffix .pot wasnt in use
at that time.)
* Menu:
* xgettext Invocation:: Invoking the xgettext Program

File: gettext.info, Node: xgettext Invocation, Up: Template
5.1 Invoking the xgettext Program
===================================
xgettext [OPTION] [INPUTFILE] ...
The xgettext program extracts translatable strings from given input
files.
5.1.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE ...
Input files.
-f FILE
--files-from=FILE
Read the names of the input files from FILE instead of getting them
from the command line.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If INPUTFILE is -, standard input is read.
5.1.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-d NAME
--default-domain=NAME
Use NAME.po for output (instead of messages.po).
-o FILE
--output=FILE
Write output to specified file (instead of NAME.po or
messages.po).
-p DIR
--output-dir=DIR
Output files will be placed in directory DIR.
If the output FILE is - or /dev/stdout, the output is written to
standard output.
5.1.3 Choice of input file language
-----------------------------------
-L NAME
--language=NAME
Specifies the language of the input files. The supported languages
are C, C++, ObjectiveC, PO, Shell, Python, Lisp,
EmacsLisp, librep, Scheme, Smalltalk, Java,
JavaProperties, C#, awk, YCP, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Ruby,
GCC-source, NXStringTable, RST, RSJ, Glade, Lua,
JavaScript, Vala, GSettings, Desktop.
-C
--c++
This is a shorthand for --language=C++.
By default the language is guessed depending on the input file name
extension.
5.1.4 Input file interpretation
-------------------------------
--from-code=NAME
Specifies the encoding of the input files. This option is needed
only if some untranslated message strings or their corresponding
comments contain non-ASCII characters. Note that Tcl and Glade
input files are always assumed to be in UTF-8, regardless of this
option.
By default the input files are assumed to be in ASCII.
5.1.5 Operation mode
--------------------
-j
--join-existing
Join messages with existing file.
-x FILE
--exclude-file=FILE
Entries from FILE are not extracted. FILE should be a PO or POT
file.
-c[TAG]
--add-comments[=TAG]
Place comment blocks starting with TAG and preceding keyword lines
in the output file. Without a TAG, the option means to put _all_
comment blocks preceding keyword lines in the output file.
Note that comment blocks are only extracted if there is no program
code between the comment and the string that gets extracted. For
example, in the following C source code:
/* This is the first comment. */
gettext ("foo");
/* This is the second comment: not extracted */
gettext (
"bar");
gettext (
/* This is the third comment. */
"baz");
/* This is the fourth comment. */
gettext ("I love blank lines in my programs");
the second comment line will not be extracted, because there is a
line with some tokens between the comment line and the line that
contains the string. But the fourth comment is extracted, because
between it and the line with the string there is merely a blank
line.
--check[=CHECK]
Perform a syntax check on msgid and msgid_plural. The supported
checks are:
ellipsis-unicode
Prefer Unicode ellipsis character over ASCII ...
space-ellipsis
Prohibit whitespace before an ellipsis character
quote-unicode
Prefer Unicode quotation marks over ASCII "'`
bullet-unicode
Prefer Unicode bullet character over ASCII * or -
The option has an effect on all input files. To enable or disable
checks for a certain string, you can mark it with an xgettext:
special comment in the source file. For example, if you specify
the --check=space-ellipsis option, but want to suppress the check
on a particular string, add the following comment:
/* xgettext: no-space-ellipsis-check */
gettext ("We really want a space before ellipsis here ...");
The xgettext: comment can be followed by flags separated with a
comma. The possible flags are of the form [no-]NAME-check, where
NAME is the name of a valid syntax check. If a flag is prefixed by
no-, the meaning is negated.
Some tests apply the checks to each sentence within the msgid,
rather than the whole string. xgettext detects the end of sentence
by performing a pattern match, which usually looks for a period
followed by a certain number of spaces. The number is specified
with the --sentence-end option.
--sentence-end[=TYPE]
The supported values are:
single-space
Expect at least one whitespace after a period
double-space
Expect at least two whitespaces after a period
5.1.6 Language specific options
-------------------------------
-a
--extract-all
Extract all strings.
This option has an effect with most languages, namely C, C++,
ObjectiveC, Shell, Python, Lisp, EmacsLisp, librep, Java, C#, awk,
Tcl, Perl, PHP, GCC-source, Glade, Lua, JavaScript, Vala,
GSettings.
-k[KEYWORDSPEC]
--keyword[=KEYWORDSPEC]
Specify KEYWORDSPEC as an additional keyword to be looked for.
Without a KEYWORDSPEC, the option means to not use default
keywords.
If KEYWORDSPEC is a C identifier ID, xgettext looks for strings
in the first argument of each call to the function or macro ID. If
KEYWORDSPEC is of the form ID:ARGNUM, xgettext looks for
strings in the ARGNUMth argument of the call. If KEYWORDSPEC is of
the form ID:ARGNUM1,ARGNUM2, xgettext looks for strings in the
ARGNUM1st argument and in the ARGNUM2nd argument of the call, and
treats them as singular/plural variants for a message with plural
handling. Also, if KEYWORDSPEC is of the form
ID:CONTEXTARGNUMc,ARGNUM or ID:ARGNUM,CONTEXTARGNUMc,
xgettext treats strings in the CONTEXTARGNUMth argument as a
context specifier. And, as a special-purpose support for GNOME, if
KEYWORDSPEC is of the form ID:ARGNUMg, xgettext recognizes the
ARGNUMth argument as a string with context, using the GNOME glib
syntax "msgctxt|msgid".
Furthermore, if KEYWORDSPEC is of the form ID:...,TOTALNUMARGSt,
xgettext recognizes this argument specification only if the
number of actual arguments is equal to TOTALNUMARGS. This is
useful for disambiguating overloaded function calls in C++.
Finally, if KEYWORDSPEC is of the form ID:ARGNUM...,"XCOMMENT",
xgettext, when extracting a message from the specified argument
strings, adds an extracted comment XCOMMENT to the message. Note
that when used through a normal shell command line, the
double-quotes around the XCOMMENT need to be escaped.
This option has an effect with most languages, namely C, C++,
ObjectiveC, Shell, Python, Lisp, EmacsLisp, librep, Java, C#, awk,
Tcl, Perl, PHP, GCC-source, Glade, Lua, JavaScript, Vala,
GSettings, Desktop.
The default keyword specifications, which are always looked for if
not explicitly disabled, are language dependent. They are:
• For C, C++, and GCC-source: gettext, dgettext:2,
dcgettext:2, ngettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3,
dcngettext:2,3, gettext_noop, and pgettext:1c,2,
dpgettext:2c,3, dcpgettext:2c,3, npgettext:1c,2,3,
dnpgettext:2c,3,4, dcnpgettext:2c,3,4.
• For Objective C: Like for C, and also NSLocalizedString,
_, NSLocalizedStaticString, __.
• For Shell scripts: gettext, ngettext:1,2, eval_gettext,
eval_ngettext:1,2, eval_pgettext:1c,2,
eval_npgettext:1c,2,3.
• For Python: gettext, ugettext, dgettext:2,
ngettext:1,2, ungettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3, _.
• For Lisp: gettext, ngettext:1,2, gettext-noop.
• For EmacsLisp: _.
• For librep: _.
• For Scheme: gettext, ngettext:1,2, gettext-noop.
• For Java: GettextResource.gettext:2,
GettextResource.ngettext:2,3,
GettextResource.pgettext:2c,3,
GettextResource.npgettext:2c,3,4, gettext, ngettext:1,2,
pgettext:1c,2, npgettext:1c,2,3, getString.
• For C#: GetString, GetPluralString:1,2,
GetParticularString:1c,2,
GetParticularPluralString:1c,2,3.
• For awk: dcgettext, dcngettext:1,2.
• For Tcl: ::msgcat::mc.
• For Perl: gettext, %gettext, $gettext, dgettext:2,
dcgettext:2, ngettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3,
dcngettext:2,3, gettext_noop.
• For PHP: _, gettext, dgettext:2, dcgettext:2,
ngettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3, dcngettext:2,3.
• For Glade 1: label, title, text, format, copyright,
comments, preview_text, tooltip.
• For Lua: _, gettext.gettext, gettext.dgettext:2,
gettext.dcgettext:2, gettext.ngettext:1,2,
gettext.dngettext:2,3, gettext.dcngettext:2,3.
• For JavaScript: _, gettext, dgettext:2, dcgettext:2,
ngettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3, pgettext:1c,2,
dpgettext:2c,3.
• For Vala: _, Q_, N_, NC_, dgettext:2, dcgettext:2,
ngettext:1,2, dngettext:2,3, dpgettext:2c,3,
dpgettext2:2c,3.
• For Desktop: Name, GenericName, Comment, Keywords.
To disable the default keyword specifications, the option -k or
--keyword or --keyword=, without a KEYWORDSPEC, can be used.
--flag=WORD:ARG:FLAG
Specifies additional flags for strings occurring as part of the
ARGth argument of the function WORD. The possible flags are the
possible format string indicators, such as c-format, and their
negations, such as no-c-format, possibly prefixed with pass-.
The meaning of --flag=FUNCTION:ARG:LANG-format is that in
language LANG, the specified FUNCTION expects as ARGth argument a
format string. (For those of you familiar with GCC function
attributes, --flag=FUNCTION:ARG:c-format is roughly equivalent to
the declaration __attribute__ ((__format__ (__printf__, ARG,
...))) attached to FUNCTION in a C source file.) For example, if
you use the error function from GNU libc, you can specify its
behaviour through --flag=error:3:c-format. The effect of this
specification is that xgettext will mark as format strings all
gettext invocations that occur as ARGth argument of FUNCTION.
This is useful when such strings contain no format string
directives: together with the checks done by msgfmt -c it will
ensure that translators cannot accidentally use format string
directives that would lead to a crash at runtime.
The meaning of --flag=FUNCTION:ARG:pass-LANG-format is that in
language LANG, if the FUNCTION call occurs in a position that must
yield a format string, then its ARGth argument must yield a format
string of the same type as well. (If you know GCC function
attributes, the --flag=FUNCTION:ARG:pass-c-format option is
roughly equivalent to the declaration __attribute__
((__format_arg__ (ARG))) attached to FUNCTION in a C source file.)
For example, if you use the _ shortcut for the gettext
function, you should use --flag=_:1:pass-c-format. The effect of
this specification is that xgettext will propagate a format
string requirement for a _("string") call to its first argument,
the literal "string", and thus mark it as a format string. This
is useful when such strings contain no format string directives:
together with the checks done by msgfmt -c it will ensure that
translators cannot accidentally use format string directives that
would lead to a crash at runtime.
This option has an effect with most languages, namely C, C++,
ObjectiveC, Shell, Python, Lisp, EmacsLisp, librep, Scheme, Java,
C#, awk, YCP, Tcl, Perl, PHP, GCC-source, Lua, JavaScript, Vala.
-T
--trigraphs
Understand ANSI C trigraphs for input.
This option has an effect only with the languages C, C++,
ObjectiveC.
--qt
Recognize Qt format strings.
This option has an effect only with the language C++.
--kde
Recognize KDE 4 format strings.
This option has an effect only with the language C++.
--boost
Recognize Boost format strings.
This option has an effect only with the language C++.
--debug
Use the flags c-format and possible-c-format to show who was
responsible for marking a message as a format string. The latter
form is used if the xgettext program decided, the former form is
used if the programmer prescribed it.
By default only the c-format form is used. The translator should
not have to care about these details.
This implementation of xgettext is able to process a few awkward
cases, like strings in preprocessor macros, ANSI concatenation of
adjacent strings, and escaped end of lines for continued strings.
5.1.7 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if no message is defined.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines. Note that using this option
makes it harder for technically skilled translators to understand
each messages context.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
--its=FILE
Use ITS rules defined in FILE. Note that this is only effective
with XML files.
--itstool
Write out comments recognized by itstool (<http://itstool.org>).
Note that this is only effective with XML files.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output (deprecated). Note that using this option
makes it much harder for the translator to understand each
messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
--omit-header
Dont write header with msgid "" entry.
This is useful for testing purposes because it eliminates a source
of variance for generated .gmo files. With --omit-header, two
invocations of xgettext on the same files with the same options
at different times are guaranteed to produce the same results.
Note that using this option will lead to an error if the resulting
file would not entirely be in ASCII.
--copyright-holder=STRING
Set the copyright holder in the output. STRING should be the
copyright holder of the surrounding package. (Note that the msgstr
strings, extracted from the packages sources, belong to the
copyright holder of the package.) Translators are expected to
transfer or disclaim the copyright for their translations, so that
package maintainers can distribute them without legal risk. If
STRING is empty, the output files are marked as being in the public
domain; in this case, the translators are expected to disclaim
their copyright, again so that package maintainers can distribute
them without legal risk.
The default value for STRING is the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
simply because xgettext was first used in the GNU project.
--foreign-user
Omit FSF copyright in output. This option is equivalent to
--copyright-holder=''. It can be useful for packages outside the
GNU project that want their translations to be in the public
domain.
--package-name=PACKAGE
Set the package name in the header of the output.
--package-version=VERSION
Set the package version in the header of the output. This option
has an effect only if the --package-name option is also used.
--msgid-bugs-address=EMAIL@ADDRESS
Set the reporting address for msgid bugs. This is the email
address or URL to which the translators shall report bugs in the
untranslated strings:
- Strings which are not entire sentences; see the maintainer
guidelines in *note Preparing Strings::.
- Strings which use unclear terms or require additional context
to be understood.
- Strings which make invalid assumptions about notation of date,
time or money.
- Pluralisation problems.
- Incorrect English spelling.
- Incorrect formatting.
It can be your email address, or a mailing list address where
translators can write to without being subscribed, or the URL of a
web page through which the translators can contact you.
The default value is empty, which means that translators will be
clueless! Dont forget to specify this option.
-m[STRING]
--msgstr-prefix[=STRING]
Use STRING (or "" if not specified) as prefix for msgstr values.
-M[STRING]
--msgstr-suffix[=STRING]
Use STRING (or "" if not specified) as suffix for msgstr values.
5.1.8 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
-v
--verbose
Increase verbosity level.

File: gettext.info, Node: Creating, Next: Updating, Prev: Template, Up: Top
6 Creating a New PO File
************************
When starting a new translation, the translator creates a file called
LANG.po, as a copy of the PACKAGE.pot template file with
modifications in the initial comments (at the beginning of the file) and
in the header entry (the first entry, near the beginning of the file).
The easiest way to do so is by use of the msginit program. For
example:
$ cd PACKAGE-VERSION
$ cd po
$ msginit
The alternative way is to do the copy and modifications by hand. To
do so, the translator copies PACKAGE.pot to LANG.po. Then she
modifies the initial comments and the header entry of this file.
* Menu:
* msginit Invocation:: Invoking the msginit Program
* Header Entry:: Filling in the Header Entry

File: gettext.info, Node: msginit Invocation, Next: Header Entry, Up: Creating
6.1 Invoking the msginit Program
==================================
msginit [OPTION]
The msginit program creates a new PO file, initializing the meta
information with values from the users environment.
Here are more details. The following header fields of a PO file are
automatically filled, when possible.
Project-Id-Version
The value is guessed from the configure script or any other files
in the current directory.
PO-Revision-Date
The value is taken from the PO-Creation-Data in the input POT
file, or the current date is used.
Last-Translator
The value is taken from users password file entry and the mailer
configuration files.
Language-Team, Language
These values are set according to the current locale and the
predefined list of translation teams.
MIME-Version, Content-Type, Content-Transfer-Encoding
These values are set according to the content of the POT file and
the current locale. If the POT file contains charset=UTF-8, it
means that the POT file contains non-ASCII characters, and we keep
the UTF-8 encoding. Otherwise, when the POT file is plain ASCII,
we use the locales encoding.
Plural-Forms
The value is first looked up from the embedded table.
As an experimental feature, you can instruct msginit to use the
information from Unicode CLDR, by setting the GETTEXTCLDRDIR
environment variable. The program will look for a file named
common/supplemental/plurals.xml under that directory. You can
get the CLDR data from <http://cldr.unicode.org/>.
6.1.1 Input file location
-------------------------
-i INPUTFILE
--input=INPUTFILE
Input POT file.
If no INPUTFILE is given, the current directory is searched for the
POT file. If it is -, standard input is read.
6.1.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified PO file.
If no output file is given, it depends on the --locale option or
the users locale setting. If it is -, the results are written to
standard output.
6.1.3 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
6.1.4 Output details
--------------------
-l LL_CC[.ENCODING]
--locale=LL_CC[.ENCODING]
Set target locale. LL should be a language code, and CC should be
a country code. The optional part .ENCODING specifies the encoding
of the locale; most often this part is .UTF-8. The command
locale -a can be used to output a list of all installed locales.
The default is the users locale setting.
--no-translator
Declares that the PO file will not have a human translator and is
instead automatically generated.
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
6.1.5 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: Header Entry, Prev: msginit Invocation, Up: Creating
6.2 Filling in the Header Entry
===============================
The initial comments "SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE", "YEAR" and "FIRST
AUTHOR <EMAIL@ADDRESS>, YEAR" ought to be replaced by sensible
information. This can be done in any text editor; if Emacs is used and
it switched to PO mode automatically (because it has recognized the
files suffix), you can disable it by typing M-x fundamental-mode.
Modifying the header entry can already be done using PO mode: in
Emacs, type M-x po-mode RET and then RET again to start editing the
entry. You should fill in the following fields.
Project-Id-Version
This is the name and version of the package. Fill it in if it has
not already been filled in by xgettext.
Report-Msgid-Bugs-To
This has already been filled in by xgettext. It contains an
email address or URL where you can report bugs in the untranslated
strings:
- Strings which are not entire sentences, see the maintainer
guidelines in *note Preparing Strings::.
- Strings which use unclear terms or require additional context
to be understood.
- Strings which make invalid assumptions about notation of date,
time or money.
- Pluralisation problems.
- Incorrect English spelling.
- Incorrect formatting.
POT-Creation-Date
This has already been filled in by xgettext.
PO-Revision-Date
You dont need to fill this in. It will be filled by the PO file
editor when you save the file.
Last-Translator
Fill in your name and email address (without double quotes).
Language-Team
Fill in the English name of the language, and the email address or
homepage URL of the language team you are part of.
Before starting a translation, it is a good idea to get in touch
with your translation team, not only to make sure you dont do
duplicated work, but also to coordinate difficult linguistic
issues.
In the Free Translation Project, each translation team has its own
mailing list. The up-to-date list of teams can be found at the
Free Translation Projects homepage,
<https://translationproject.org/>, in the "Teams" area.
Language
Fill in the language code of the language. This can be in one of
three forms:
- LL, an ISO 639 two-letter language code (lowercase). See
*note Language Codes:: for the list of codes.
- LL_CC, where LL is an ISO 639 two-letter language code
(lowercase) and CC is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code
(uppercase). The country code specification is not redundant:
Some languages have dialects in different countries. For
example, de_AT is used for Austria, and pt_BR for Brazil.
The country code serves to distinguish the dialects. See
*note Language Codes:: and *note Country Codes:: for the lists
of codes.
- LL_CC@VARIANT, where LL is an ISO 639 two-letter language
code (lowercase), CC is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code
(uppercase), and VARIANT is a variant designator. The
variant designator (lowercase) can be a script designator,
such as latin or cyrillic.
The naming convention LL_CC is also the way locales are named on
systems based on GNU libc. But there are three important
differences:
• In this PO file field, but not in locale names, LL_CC
combinations denoting a languages main dialect are
abbreviated as LL. For example, de is equivalent to
de_DE (German as spoken in Germany), and pt to pt_PT
(Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
• In this PO file field, suffixes like .ENCODING are not used.
• In this PO file field, variant designators that are not
relevant to message translation, such as @euro, are not
used.
So, if your locale name is de_DE.UTF-8, the language
specification in PO files is just de.
Content-Type
Replace CHARSET with the character encoding used for your
language, in your locale, or UTF-8. This field is needed for
correct operation of the msgmerge and msgfmt programs, as well
as for users whose locales character encoding differs from yours
(see *note Charset conversion::).
You get the character encoding of your locale by running the shell
command locale charmap. If the result is C or
ANSI_X3.4-1968, which is equivalent to ASCII (= US-ASCII), it
means that your locale is not correctly configured. In this case,
ask your translation team which charset to use. ASCII is not
usable for any language except Latin.
Because the PO files must be portable to operating systems with
less advanced internationalization facilities, the character
encodings that can be used are limited to those supported by both
GNU libc and GNU libiconv. These are: ASCII, ISO-8859-1,
ISO-8859-2, ISO-8859-3, ISO-8859-4, ISO-8859-5,
ISO-8859-6, ISO-8859-7, ISO-8859-8, ISO-8859-9,
ISO-8859-13, ISO-8859-14, ISO-8859-15, KOI8-R, KOI8-U,
KOI8-T, CP850, CP866, CP874, CP932, CP949, CP950,
CP1250, CP1251, CP1252, CP1253, CP1254, CP1255,
CP1256, CP1257, GB2312, EUC-JP, EUC-KR, EUC-TW, BIG5,
BIG5-HKSCS, GBK, GB18030, SHIFT_JIS, JOHAB, TIS-620,
VISCII, GEORGIAN-PS, UTF-8.
In the GNU system, the following encodings are frequently used for
the corresponding languages.
ISO-8859-1 for Afrikaans, Albanian, Basque, Breton, Catalan,
Cornish, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish,
French, Galician, German, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Indonesian,
Irish, Italian, Malay, Manx, Norwegian, Occitan, Portuguese,
Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Uzbek, Walloon,
ISO-8859-2 for Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish,
Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian,
ISO-8859-3 for Maltese,
ISO-8859-5 for Macedonian, Serbian,
ISO-8859-6 for Arabic,
ISO-8859-7 for Greek,
ISO-8859-8 for Hebrew,
ISO-8859-9 for Turkish,
ISO-8859-13 for Latvian, Lithuanian, Maori,
ISO-8859-14 for Welsh,
ISO-8859-15 for Basque, Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish,
French, Galician, German, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish,
Swedish, Walloon,
KOI8-R for Russian,
KOI8-U for Ukrainian,
KOI8-T for Tajik,
CP1251 for Bulgarian, Belarusian,
GB2312, GBK, GB18030 for simplified writing of Chinese,
BIG5, BIG5-HKSCS for traditional writing of Chinese,
EUC-JP for Japanese,
EUC-KR for Korean,
TIS-620 for Thai,
GEORGIAN-PS for Georgian,
UTF-8 for any language, including those listed above.
When single quote characters or double quote characters are used in
translations for your language, and your locales encoding is one
of the ISO-8859-* charsets, it is best if you create your PO files
in UTF-8 encoding, instead of your locales encoding. This is
because in UTF-8 the real quote characters can be represented
(single quote characters: U+2018, U+2019, double quote characters:
U+201C, U+201D), whereas none of ISO-8859-* charsets has them all.
Users in UTF-8 locales will see the real quote characters, whereas
users in ISO-8859-* locales will see the vertical apostrophe and
the vertical double quote instead (because thats what the
character set conversion will transliterate them to).
To enter such quote characters under X11, you can change your
keyboard mapping using the xmodmap program. The X11 names of the
quote characters are "leftsinglequotemark", "rightsinglequotemark",
"leftdoublequotemark", "rightdoublequotemark",
"singlelowquotemark", "doublelowquotemark".
Note that only recent versions of GNU Emacs support the UTF-8
encoding: Emacs 20 with Mule-UCS, and Emacs 21. As of January
2001, XEmacs doesnt support the UTF-8 encoding.
The character encoding name can be written in either upper or lower
case. Usually upper case is preferred.
Content-Transfer-Encoding
Set this to 8bit.
Plural-Forms
This field is optional. It is only needed if the PO file has
plural forms. You can find them by searching for the
msgid_plural keyword. The format of the plural forms field is
described in *note Plural forms:: and *note Translating plural
forms::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Updating, Next: Editing, Prev: Creating, Up: Top
7 Updating Existing PO Files
****************************
* Menu:
* msgmerge Invocation:: Invoking the msgmerge Program

File: gettext.info, Node: msgmerge Invocation, Up: Updating
7.1 Invoking the msgmerge Program
===================================
msgmerge [OPTION] DEF.po REF.pot
The msgmerge program merges two Uniforum style .po files together.
The DEF.po file is an existing PO file with translations which will be
taken over to the newly created file as long as they still match;
comments will be preserved, but extracted comments and file positions
will be discarded. The REF.pot file is the last created PO file with
up-to-date source references but old translations, or a PO Template file
(generally created by xgettext); any translations or comments in the
file will be discarded, however dot comments and file positions will be
preserved. Where an exact match cannot be found, fuzzy matching is used
to produce better results.
7.1.1 Input file location
-------------------------
DEF.po
Translations referring to old sources.
REF.pot
References to the new sources.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
-C FILE
--compendium=FILE
Specify an additional library of message translations. *Note
Compendium::. This option may be specified more than once.
7.1.2 Operation mode
--------------------
-U
--update
Update DEF.po. Do nothing if DEF.po is already up to date.
7.1.3 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
7.1.4 Output file location in update mode
-----------------------------------------
The result is written back to DEF.po.
--backup=CONTROL
Make a backup of DEF.po
--suffix=SUFFIX
Override the usual backup suffix.
The version control method may be selected via the --backup option
or through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the
values:
none
off
Never make backups (even if --backup is given).
numbered
t
Make numbered backups.
existing
nil
Make numbered backups if numbered backups for this file already
exist, otherwise make simple backups.
simple
never
Always make simple backups.
The backup suffix is ~, unless set with --suffix or the
SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX environment variable.
7.1.5 Operation modifiers
-------------------------
-m
--multi-domain
Apply REF.pot to each of the domains in DEF.po.
--for-msgfmt
Produce a PO file meant for msgfmt only, not for a translator.
This option omits untranslated messages, fuzzy messages (except the
header entry), and obsolete messages from the output. Also, it
omits translator comments and #: FILENAME:LINE lines from the
output. In particular, this option implies --no-fuzzy-matching.
-N
--no-fuzzy-matching
Do not use fuzzy matching when an exact match is not found. This
may speed up the operation considerably.
--previous
Keep the previous msgids of translated messages, marked with #|,
when adding the fuzzy marker to such messages.
7.1.6 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource
files in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
7.1.7 Output details
--------------------
--lang=CATALOGNAME
Specify the Language field to be used in the header entry. See
*note Header Entry:: for the meaning of this field. Note: The
Language-Team and Plural-Forms fields are left unchanged. If
this option is not specified, the Language field is inferred, as
best as possible, from the Language-Team field.
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
7.1.8 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
-v
--verbose
Increase verbosity level.
-q
--quiet
--silent
Suppress progress indicators.

File: gettext.info, Node: Editing, Next: Manipulating, Prev: Updating, Up: Top
8 Editing PO Files
******************
* Menu:
* KBabel:: KDEs PO File Editor
* Gtranslator:: GNOMEs PO File Editor
* PO Mode:: Emacss PO File Editor
* Compendium:: Using Translation Compendia

File: gettext.info, Node: KBabel, Next: Gtranslator, Up: Editing
8.1 KDEs PO File Editor
========================

File: gettext.info, Node: Gtranslator, Next: PO Mode, Prev: KBabel, Up: Editing
8.2 GNOMEs PO File Editor
==========================

File: gettext.info, Node: PO Mode, Next: Compendium, Prev: Gtranslator, Up: Editing
8.3 Emacss PO File Editor
==========================
For those of you being the lucky users of Emacs, PO mode has been
specifically created for providing a cozy environment for editing or
modifying PO files. While editing a PO file, PO mode allows for the
easy browsing of auxiliary and compendium PO files, as well as for
following references into the set of C program sources from which PO
files have been derived. It has a few special features, among which are
the interactive marking of program strings as translatable, and the
validation of PO files with easy repositioning to PO file lines showing
errors.
For the beginning, besides main PO mode commands (*note Main PO
Commands::), you should know how to move between entries (*note Entry
Positioning::), and how to handle untranslated entries (*note
Untranslated Entries::).
* Menu:
* Installation:: Completing GNU gettext Installation
* Main PO Commands:: Main Commands
* Entry Positioning:: Entry Positioning
* Normalizing:: Normalizing Strings in Entries
* Translated Entries:: Translated Entries
* Fuzzy Entries:: Fuzzy Entries
* Untranslated Entries:: Untranslated Entries
* Obsolete Entries:: Obsolete Entries
* Modifying Translations:: Modifying Translations
* Modifying Comments:: Modifying Comments
* Subedit:: Mode for Editing Translations
* C Sources Context:: C Sources Context
* Auxiliary:: Consulting Auxiliary PO Files

File: gettext.info, Node: Installation, Next: Main PO Commands, Up: PO Mode
8.3.1 Completing GNU gettext Installation
-------------------------------------------
Once you have received, unpacked, configured and compiled the GNU
gettext distribution, the make install command puts in place the
programs xgettext, msgfmt, gettext, and msgmerge, as well as
their available message catalogs. To top off a comfortable
installation, you might also want to make the PO mode available to your
Emacs users.
During the installation of the PO mode, you might want to modify your
file .emacs, once and for all, so it contains a few lines looking
like:
(setq auto-mode-alist
(cons '("\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\." . po-mode) auto-mode-alist))
(autoload 'po-mode "po-mode" "Major mode for translators to edit PO files" t)
Later, whenever you edit some .po file, or any file having the
string .po. within its name, Emacs loads po-mode.elc (or
po-mode.el) as needed, and automatically activates PO mode commands
for the associated buffer. The string _PO_ appears in the mode line for
any buffer for which PO mode is active. Many PO files may be active at
once in a single Emacs session.
If you are using Emacs version 20 or newer, and have already
installed the appropriate international fonts on your system, you may
also tell Emacs how to determine automatically the coding system of
every PO file. This will often (but not always) cause the necessary
fonts to be loaded and used for displaying the translations on your
Emacs screen. For this to happen, add the lines:
(modify-coding-system-alist 'file "\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\."
'po-find-file-coding-system)
(autoload 'po-find-file-coding-system "po-mode")
to your .emacs file. If, with this, you still see boxes instead of
international characters, try a different font set (via Shift Mouse
button 1).

File: gettext.info, Node: Main PO Commands, Next: Entry Positioning, Prev: Installation, Up: PO Mode
8.3.2 Main PO mode Commands
---------------------------
After setting up Emacs with something similar to the lines in *note
Installation::, PO mode is activated for a window when Emacs finds a PO
file in that window. This puts the window read-only and establishes a
po-mode-map, which is a genuine Emacs mode, in a way that is not derived
from text mode in any way. Functions found on po-mode-hook, if any,
will be executed.
When PO mode is active in a window, the letters PO appear in the
mode line for that window. The mode line also displays how many entries
of each kind are held in the PO file. For example, the string
132t+3f+10u+2o would tell the translator that the PO mode contains 132
translated entries (*note Translated Entries::, 3 fuzzy entries (*note
Fuzzy Entries::), 10 untranslated entries (*note Untranslated Entries::)
and 2 obsolete entries (*note Obsolete Entries::). Zero-coefficients
items are not shown. So, in this example, if the fuzzy entries were
unfuzzied, the untranslated entries were translated and the obsolete
entries were deleted, the mode line would merely display 145t for the
counters.
The main PO commands are those which do not fit into the other
categories of subsequent sections. These allow for quitting PO mode or
for managing windows in special ways.
_
Undo last modification to the PO file (po-undo).
Q
Quit processing and save the PO file (po-quit).
q
Quit processing, possibly after confirmation
(po-confirm-and-quit).
0
Temporary leave the PO file window (po-other-window).
?
h
Show help about PO mode (po-help).
=
Give some PO file statistics (po-statistics).
V
Batch validate the format of the whole PO file (po-validate).
The command _ (po-undo) interfaces to the Emacs _undo_ facility.
*Note Undoing Changes: (emacs)Undo. Each time _ is typed,
modifications which the translator did to the PO file are undone a
little more. For the purpose of undoing, each PO mode command is
atomic. This is especially true for the <RET> command: the whole
edition made by using a single use of this command is undone at once,
even if the edition itself implied several actions. However, while in
the editing window, one can undo the edition work quite parsimoniously.
The commands Q (po-quit) and q (po-confirm-and-quit) are used
when the translator is done with the PO file. The former is a bit less
verbose than the latter. If the file has been modified, it is saved to
disk first. In both cases, and prior to all this, the commands check if
any untranslated messages remain in the PO file and, if so, the
translator is asked if she really wants to leave off working with this
PO file. This is the preferred way of getting rid of an Emacs PO file
buffer. Merely killing it through the usual command C-x k
(kill-buffer) is not the tidiest way to proceed.
The command 0 (po-other-window) is another, softer way, to leave
PO mode, temporarily. It just moves the cursor to some other Emacs
window, and pops one if necessary. For example, if the translator just
got PO mode to show some source context in some other, she might
discover some apparent bug in the program source that needs correction.
This command allows the translator to change sex, become a programmer,
and have the cursor right into the window containing the program she (or
rather _he_) wants to modify. By later getting the cursor back in the
PO file window, or by asking Emacs to edit this file once again, PO mode
is then recovered.
The command h (po-help) displays a summary of all available PO
mode commands. The translator should then type any character to resume
normal PO mode operations. The command ? has the same effect as h.
The command = (po-statistics) computes the total number of
entries in the PO file, the ordinal of the current entry (counted from
1), the number of untranslated entries, the number of obsolete entries,
and displays all these numbers.
The command V (po-validate) launches msgfmt in checking and
verbose mode over the current PO file. This command first offers to
save the current PO file on disk. The msgfmt tool, from GNU
gettext, has the purpose of creating a MO file out of a PO file, and
PO mode uses the features of this program for checking the overall
format of a PO file, as well as all individual entries.
The program msgfmt runs asynchronously with Emacs, so the
translator regains control immediately while her PO file is being
studied. Error output is collected in the Emacs *compilation* buffer,
displayed in another window. The regular Emacs command C-x`
(next-error), as well as other usual compile commands, allow the
translator to reposition quickly to the offending parts of the PO file.
Once the cursor is on the line in error, the translator may decide on
any PO mode action which would help correcting the error.

File: gettext.info, Node: Entry Positioning, Next: Normalizing, Prev: Main PO Commands, Up: PO Mode
8.3.3 Entry Positioning
-----------------------
The cursor in a PO file window is almost always part of an entry.
The only exceptions are the special case when the cursor is after the
last entry in the file, or when the PO file is empty. The entry where
the cursor is found to be is said to be the current entry. Many PO mode
commands operate on the current entry, so moving the cursor does more
than allowing the translator to browse the PO file, this also selects on
which entry commands operate.
Some PO mode commands alter the position of the cursor in a
specialized way. A few of those special purpose positioning are
described here, the others are described in following sections (for a
complete list try C-h m):
.
Redisplay the current entry (po-current-entry).
n
Select the entry after the current one (po-next-entry).
p
Select the entry before the current one (po-previous-entry).
<
Select the first entry in the PO file (po-first-entry).
>
Select the last entry in the PO file (po-last-entry).
m
Record the location of the current entry for later use
(po-push-location).
r
Return to a previously saved entry location (po-pop-location).
x
Exchange the current entry location with the previously saved one
(po-exchange-location).
Any Emacs command able to reposition the cursor may be used to select
the current entry in PO mode, including commands which move by
characters, lines, paragraphs, screens or pages, and search commands.
However, there is a kind of standard way to display the current entry in
PO mode, which usual Emacs commands moving the cursor do not especially
try to enforce. The command . (po-current-entry) has the sole
purpose of redisplaying the current entry properly, after the current
entry has been changed by means external to PO mode, or the Emacs screen
otherwise altered.
It is yet to be decided if PO mode helps the translator, or otherwise
irritates her, by forcing a rigid window disposition while she is doing
her work. We originally had quite precise ideas about how windows
should behave, but on the other hand, anyone used to Emacs is often
happy to keep full control. Maybe a fixed window disposition might be
offered as a PO mode option that the translator might activate or
deactivate at will, so it could be offered on an experimental basis. If
nobody feels a real need for using it, or a compulsion for writing it,
we should drop this whole idea. The incentive for doing it should come
from translators rather than programmers, as opinions from an
experienced translator are surely more worth to me than opinions from
programmers _thinking_ about how _others_ should do translation.
The commands n (po-next-entry) and p (po-previous-entry) move
the cursor the entry following, or preceding, the current one. If n
is given while the cursor is on the last entry of the PO file, or if p
is given while the cursor is on the first entry, no move is done.
The commands < (po-first-entry) and > (po-last-entry) move
the cursor to the first entry, or last entry, of the PO file. When the
cursor is located past the last entry in a PO file, most PO mode
commands will return an error saying After last entry. Moreover, the
commands < and > have the special property of being able to work
even when the cursor is not into some PO file entry, and one may use
them for nicely correcting this situation. But even these commands will
fail on a truly empty PO file. There are development plans for the PO
mode for it to interactively fill an empty PO file from sources. *Note
Marking::.
The translator may decide, before working at the translation of a
particular entry, that she needs to browse the remainder of the PO file,
maybe for finding the terminology or phraseology used in related
entries. She can of course use the standard Emacs idioms for saving the
current cursor location in some register, and use that register for
getting back, or else, use the location ring.
PO mode offers another approach, by which cursor locations may be
saved onto a special stack. The command m (po-push-location) merely
adds the location of current entry to the stack, pushing the already
saved locations under the new one. The command r (po-pop-location)
consumes the top stack element and repositions the cursor to the entry
associated with that top element. This position is then lost, for the
next r will move the cursor to the previously saved location, and so
on until no locations remain on the stack.
If the translator wants the position to be kept on the location
stack, maybe for taking a look at the entry associated with the top
element, then go elsewhere with the intent of getting back later, she
ought to use m immediately after r.
The command x (po-exchange-location) simultaneously repositions
the cursor to the entry associated with the top element of the stack of
saved locations, and replaces that top element with the location of the
current entry before the move. Consequently, repeating the x command
toggles alternatively between two entries. For achieving this, the
translator will position the cursor on the first entry, use m, then
position to the second entry, and merely use x for making the switch.

File: gettext.info, Node: Normalizing, Next: Translated Entries, Prev: Entry Positioning, Up: PO Mode
8.3.4 Normalizing Strings in Entries
------------------------------------
There are many different ways for encoding a particular string into a
PO file entry, because there are so many different ways to split and
quote multi-line strings, and even, to represent special characters by
backslashed escaped sequences. Some features of PO mode rely on the
ability for PO mode to scan an already existing PO file for a particular
string encoded into the msgid field of some entry. Even if PO mode
has internally all the built-in machinery for implementing this
recognition easily, doing it fast is technically difficult. To
facilitate a solution to this efficiency problem, we decided on a
canonical representation for strings.
A conventional representation of strings in a PO file is currently
under discussion, and PO mode experiments with a canonical
representation. Having both xgettext and PO mode converging towards a
uniform way of representing equivalent strings would be useful, as the
internal normalization needed by PO mode could be automatically
satisfied when using xgettext from GNU gettext. An explicit PO mode
normalization should then be only necessary for PO files imported from
elsewhere, or for when the convention itself evolves.
So, for achieving normalization of at least the strings of a given PO
file needing a canonical representation, the following PO mode command
is available:
M-x po-normalize
Tidy the whole PO file by making entries more uniform.
The special command M-x po-normalize, which has no associated keys,
revises all entries, ensuring that strings of both original and
translated entries use uniform internal quoting in the PO file. It also
removes any crumb after the last entry. This command may be useful for
PO files freshly imported from elsewhere, or if we ever improve on the
canonical quoting format we use. This canonical format is not only
meant for getting cleaner PO files, but also for greatly speeding up
msgid string lookup for some other PO mode commands.
M-x po-normalize presently makes three passes over the entries.
The first implements heuristics for converting PO files for GNU
gettext 0.6 and earlier, in which msgid and msgstr fields were
using K&R style C string syntax for multi-line strings. These
heuristics may fail for comments not related to obsolete entries and
ending with a backslash; they also depend on subsequent passes for
finalizing the proper commenting of continued lines for obsolete
entries. This first pass might disappear once all oldish PO files would
have been adjusted. The second and third pass normalize all msgid and
msgstr strings respectively. They also clean out those trailing
backslashes used by XViews msgfmt for continued lines.
Having such an explicit normalizing command allows for importing PO
files from other sources, but also eases the evolution of the current
convention, evolution driven mostly by aesthetic concerns, as of now.
It is easy to make suggested adjustments at a later time, as the
normalizing command and eventually, other GNU gettext tools should
greatly automate conformance. A description of the canonical string
format is given below, for the particular benefit of those not having
Emacs handy, and who would nevertheless want to handcraft their PO files
in nice ways.
Right now, in PO mode, strings are single line or multi-line. A
string goes multi-line if and only if it has _embedded_ newlines, that
is, if it matches [^\n]\n+[^\n]. So, we would have:
msgstr "\n\nHello, world!\n\n\n"
but, replacing the space by a newline, this becomes:
msgstr ""
"\n"
"\n"
"Hello,\n"
"world!\n"
"\n"
"\n"
We are deliberately using a caricatural example, here, to make the
point clearer. Usually, multi-lines are not that bad looking. It is
probable that we will implement the following suggestion. We might lump
together all initial newlines into the empty string, and also all
newlines introducing empty lines (that is, for N > 1, the N-1th last
newlines would go together on a separate string), so making the previous
example appear:
msgstr "\n\n"
"Hello,\n"
"world!\n"
"\n\n"
There are a few yet undecided little points about string
normalization, to be documented in this manual, once these questions
settle.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translated Entries, Next: Fuzzy Entries, Prev: Normalizing, Up: PO Mode
8.3.5 Translated Entries
------------------------
Each PO file entry for which the msgstr field has been filled with
a translation, and which is not marked as fuzzy (*note Fuzzy Entries::),
is said to be a “translated” entry. Only translated entries will later
be compiled by GNU msgfmt and become usable in programs. Other entry
types will be excluded; translation will not occur for them.
Some commands are more specifically related to translated entry
processing.
t
Find the next translated entry (po-next-translated-entry).
T
Find the previous translated entry
(po-previous-translated-entry).
The commands t (po-next-translated-entry) and T
(po-previous-translated-entry) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
an translated entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps
around in the PO file buffer.
Translated entries usually result from the translator having edited
in a translation for them, *note Modifying Translations::. However, if
the variable po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit is not nil, the entry having
received a new translation first becomes a fuzzy entry, which ought to
be later unfuzzied before becoming an official, genuine translated
entry. *Note Fuzzy Entries::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Fuzzy Entries, Next: Untranslated Entries, Prev: Translated Entries, Up: PO Mode
8.3.6 Fuzzy Entries
-------------------
Each PO file entry may have a set of “attributes”, which are
qualities given a name and explicitly associated with the translation,
using a special system comment. One of these attributes has the name
fuzzy, and entries having this attribute are said to have a fuzzy
translation. They are called fuzzy entries, for short.
Fuzzy entries, even if they account for translated entries for most
other purposes, usually call for revision by the translator. Those may
be produced by applying the program msgmerge to update an older
translated PO files according to a new PO template file, when this tool
hypothesises that some new msgid has been modified only slightly out
of an older one, and chooses to pair what it thinks to be the old
translation for the new modified entry. The slight alteration in the
original string (the msgid string) should often be reflected in the
translated string, and this requires the intervention of the translator.
For this reason, msgmerge might mark some entries as being fuzzy.
Also, the translator may decide herself to mark an entry as fuzzy for
her own convenience, when she wants to remember that the entry has to be
later revisited. So, some commands are more specifically related to
fuzzy entry processing.
f
Find the next fuzzy entry (po-next-fuzzy-entry).
F
Find the previous fuzzy entry (po-previous-fuzzy-entry).
<TAB>
Remove the fuzzy attribute of the current entry (po-unfuzzy).
The commands f (po-next-fuzzy-entry) and F
(po-previous-fuzzy-entry) move forwards or backwards, chasing for a
fuzzy entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps around
in the PO file buffer.
The command <TAB> (po-unfuzzy) removes the fuzzy attribute
associated with an entry, usually leaving it translated. Further, if
the variable po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy has not the nil value, the
<TAB> command will automatically chase for another interesting entry
to work on. The initial value of po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy is nil.
The initial value of po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit is nil. However, if
the variable po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit is set to t, any entry edited
through the <RET> command is marked fuzzy, as a way to ensure some
kind of double check, later. In this case, the usual paradigm is that
an entry becomes fuzzy (if not already) whenever the translator modifies
it. If she is satisfied with the translation, she then uses <TAB> to
pick another entry to work on, clearing the fuzzy attribute on the same
blow. If she is not satisfied yet, she merely uses <SPC> to chase
another entry, leaving the entry fuzzy.
The translator may also use the <DEL> command (po-fade-out-entry)
over any translated entry to mark it as being fuzzy, when she wants to
easily leave a trace she wants to later return working at this entry.
Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer with the
q command, the translator is asked for confirmation, if fuzzy string
still exists.

File: gettext.info, Node: Untranslated Entries, Next: Obsolete Entries, Prev: Fuzzy Entries, Up: PO Mode
8.3.7 Untranslated Entries
--------------------------
When xgettext originally creates a PO file, unless told otherwise,
it initializes the msgid field with the untranslated string, and
leaves the msgstr string to be empty. Such entries, having an empty
translation, are said to be “untranslated” entries. Later, when the
programmer slightly modifies some string right in the program, this
change is later reflected in the PO file by the appearance of a new
untranslated entry for the modified string.
The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider untranslated
entries on the same level as active entries. Untranslated entries are
easily recognizable by the fact they end with msgstr "".
The work of the translator might be (quite naively) seen as the
process of seeking for an untranslated entry, editing a translation for
it, and repeating these actions until no untranslated entries remain.
Some commands are more specifically related to untranslated entry
processing.
u
Find the next untranslated entry (po-next-untranslated-entry).
U
Find the previous untranslated entry
(po-previous-untransted-entry).
k
Turn the current entry into an untranslated one (po-kill-msgstr).
The commands u (po-next-untranslated-entry) and U
(po-previous-untransted-entry) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
an untranslated entry. If none is found, the search is extended and
wraps around in the PO file buffer.
An entry can be turned back into an untranslated entry by merely
emptying its translation, using the command k (po-kill-msgstr).
*Note Modifying Translations::.
Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer with the
q command, the translator is asked for confirmation, if some
untranslated string still exists.

File: gettext.info, Node: Obsolete Entries, Next: Modifying Translations, Prev: Untranslated Entries, Up: PO Mode
8.3.8 Obsolete Entries
----------------------
By “obsolete” PO file entries, we mean those entries which are
commented out, usually by msgmerge when it found that the translation
is not needed anymore by the package being localized.
The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider obsolete
entries on the same level as active entries. Obsolete entries are
easily recognizable by the fact that all their lines start with #,
even those lines containing msgid or msgstr.
Commands exist for emptying the translation or reinitializing it to
the original untranslated string. Commands interfacing with the kill
ring may force some previously saved text into the translation. The
user may interactively edit the translation. All these commands may
apply to obsolete entries, carefully leaving the entry obsolete after
the fact.
Moreover, some commands are more specifically related to obsolete
entry processing.
o
Find the next obsolete entry (po-next-obsolete-entry).
O
Find the previous obsolete entry (po-previous-obsolete-entry).
<DEL>
Make an active entry obsolete, or zap out an obsolete entry
(po-fade-out-entry).
The commands o (po-next-obsolete-entry) and O
(po-previous-obsolete-entry) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
an obsolete entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps
around in the PO file buffer.
PO mode does not provide ways for un-commenting an obsolete entry and
making it active, because this would reintroduce an original
untranslated string which does not correspond to any marked string in
the program sources. This goes with the philosophy of never introducing
useless msgid values.
However, it is possible to comment out an active entry, so making it
obsolete. GNU gettext utilities will later react to the disappearance
of a translation by using the untranslated string. The command <DEL>
(po-fade-out-entry) pushes the current entry a little further towards
annihilation. If the entry is active (it is a translated entry), then
it is first made fuzzy. If it is already fuzzy, then the entry is
merely commented out, with confirmation. If the entry is already
obsolete, then it is completely deleted from the PO file. It is easy to
recycle the translation so deleted into some other PO file entry,
usually one which is untranslated. *Note Modifying Translations::.
Here is a quite interesting problem to solve for later development of
PO mode, for those nights you are not sleepy. The idea would be that PO
mode might become bright enough, one of these days, to make good guesses
at retrieving the most probable candidate, among all obsolete entries,
for initializing the translation of a newly appeared string. I think it
might be a quite hard problem to do this algorithmically, as we have to
develop good and efficient measures of string similarity. Right now, PO
mode completely lets the decision to the translator, when the time comes
to find the adequate obsolete translation, it merely tries to provide
handy tools for helping her to do so.

File: gettext.info, Node: Modifying Translations, Next: Modifying Comments, Prev: Obsolete Entries, Up: PO Mode
8.3.9 Modifying Translations
----------------------------
PO mode prevents direct modification of the PO file, by the usual
means Emacs gives for altering a buffers contents. By doing so, it
pretends helping the translator to avoid little clerical errors about
the overall file format, or the proper quoting of strings, as those
errors would be easily made. Other kinds of errors are still possible,
but some may be caught and diagnosed by the batch validation process,
which the translator may always trigger by the V command. For all
other errors, the translator has to rely on her own judgment, and also
on the linguistic reports submitted to her by the users of the
translated package, having the same mother tongue.
When the time comes to create a translation, correct an error
diagnosed mechanically or reported by a user, the translators have to
resort to using the following commands for modifying the translations.
<RET>
Interactively edit the translation (po-edit-msgstr).
<LFD>
C-j
Reinitialize the translation with the original, untranslated string
(po-msgid-to-msgstr).
k
Save the translation on the kill ring, and delete it
(po-kill-msgstr).
w
Save the translation on the kill ring, without deleting it
(po-kill-ring-save-msgstr).
y
Replace the translation, taking the new from the kill ring
(po-yank-msgstr).
The command <RET> (po-edit-msgstr) opens a new Emacs window meant
to edit in a new translation, or to modify an already existing
translation. The new window contains a copy of the translation taken
from the current PO file entry, all ready for edition, expunged of all
quoting marks, fully modifiable and with the complete extent of Emacs
modifying commands. When the translator is done with her modifications,
she may use C-c C-c to close the subedit window with the automatically
requoted results, or C-c C-k to abort her modifications. *Note
Subedit::, for more information.
The command <LFD> (po-msgid-to-msgstr) initializes, or
reinitializes the translation with the original string. This command is
normally used when the translator wants to redo a fresh translation of
the original string, disregarding any previous work.
It is possible to arrange so, whenever editing an untranslated entry,
the <LFD> command be automatically executed. If you set
po-auto-edit-with-msgid to t, the translation gets initialised with
the original string, in case none exists already. The default value for
po-auto-edit-with-msgid is nil.
In fact, whether it is best to start a translation with an empty
string, or rather with a copy of the original string, is a matter of
taste or habit. Sometimes, the source language and the target language
are so different that is simply best to start writing on an empty page.
At other times, the source and target languages are so close that it
would be a waste to retype a number of words already being written in
the original string. A translator may also like having the original
string right under her eyes, as she will progressively overwrite the
original text with the translation, even if this requires some extra
editing work to get rid of the original.
The command k (po-kill-msgstr) merely empties the translation
string, so turning the entry into an untranslated one. But while doing
so, its previous contents is put apart in a special place, known as the
kill ring. The command w (po-kill-ring-save-msgstr) has also the
effect of taking a copy of the translation onto the kill ring, but it
otherwise leaves the entry alone, and does _not_ remove the translation
from the entry. Both commands use exactly the Emacs kill ring, which is
shared between buffers, and which is well known already to Emacs lovers.
The translator may use k or w many times in the course of her
work, as the kill ring may hold several saved translations. From the
kill ring, strings may later be reinserted in various Emacs buffers. In
particular, the kill ring may be used for moving translation strings
between different entries of a single PO file buffer, or if the
translator is handling many such buffers at once, even between PO files.
To facilitate exchanges with buffers which are not in PO mode, the
translation string put on the kill ring by the k command is fully
unquoted before being saved: external quotes are removed, multi-line
strings are concatenated, and backslash escaped sequences are turned
into their corresponding characters. In the special case of obsolete
entries, the translation is also uncommented prior to saving.
The command y (po-yank-msgstr) completely replaces the
translation of the current entry by a string taken from the kill ring.
Following Emacs terminology, we then say that the replacement string is
“yanked” into the PO file buffer. *Note (emacs)Yanking::. The first
time y is used, the translation receives the value of the most recent
addition to the kill ring. If y is typed once again, immediately,
without intervening keystrokes, the translation just inserted is taken
away and replaced by the second most recent addition to the kill ring.
By repeating y many times in a row, the translator may travel along
the kill ring for saved strings, until she finds the string she really
wanted.
When a string is yanked into a PO file entry, it is fully and
automatically requoted for complying with the format PO files should
have. Further, if the entry is obsolete, PO mode then appropriately
push the inserted string inside comments. Once again, translators
should not burden themselves with quoting considerations besides, of
course, the necessity of the translated string itself respective to the
program using it.
Note that k or w are not the only commands pushing strings on the
kill ring, as almost any PO mode command replacing translation strings
(or the translator comments) automatically saves the old string on the
kill ring. The main exceptions to this general rule are the yanking
commands themselves.
To better illustrate the operation of killing and yanking, lets use
an actual example, taken from a common situation. When the programmer
slightly modifies some string right in the program, his change is later
reflected in the PO file by the appearance of a new untranslated entry
for the modified string, and the fact that the entry translating the
original or unmodified string becomes obsolete. In many cases, the
translator might spare herself some work by retrieving the unmodified
translation from the obsolete entry, then initializing the untranslated
entry msgstr field with this retrieved translation. Once this done,
the obsolete entry is not wanted anymore, and may be safely deleted.
When the translator finds an untranslated entry and suspects that a
slight variant of the translation exists, she immediately uses m to
mark the current entry location, then starts chasing obsolete entries
with o, hoping to find some translation corresponding to the
unmodified string. Once found, she uses the <DEL> command for
deleting the obsolete entry, knowing that <DEL> also _kills_ the
translation, that is, pushes the translation on the kill ring. Then,
r returns to the initial untranslated entry, and y then _yanks_ the
saved translation right into the msgstr field. The translator is then
free to use <RET> for fine tuning the translation contents, and maybe
to later use u, then m again, for going on with the next
untranslated string.
When some sequence of keys has to be typed over and over again, the
translator may find it useful to become better acquainted with the Emacs
capability of learning these sequences and playing them back under
request. *Note (emacs)Keyboard Macros::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Modifying Comments, Next: Subedit, Prev: Modifying Translations, Up: PO Mode
8.3.10 Modifying Comments
-------------------------
Any translation work done seriously will raise many linguistic
difficulties, for which decisions have to be made, and the choices
further documented. These documents may be saved within the PO file in
form of translator comments, which the translator is free to create,
delete, or modify at will. These comments may be useful to herself when
she returns to this PO file after a while.
Comments not having whitespace after the initial #, for example,
those beginning with #. or #:, are _not_ translator comments, they
are exclusively created by other gettext tools. So, the commands
below will never alter such system added comments, they are not meant
for the translator to modify. *Note PO Files::.
The following commands are somewhat similar to those modifying
translations, so the general indications given for those apply here.
*Note Modifying Translations::.
#
Interactively edit the translator comments (po-edit-comment).
K
Save the translator comments on the kill ring, and delete it
(po-kill-comment).
W
Save the translator comments on the kill ring, without deleting it
(po-kill-ring-save-comment).
Y
Replace the translator comments, taking the new from the kill ring
(po-yank-comment).
These commands parallel PO mode commands for modifying the
translation strings, and behave much the same way as they do, except
that they handle this part of PO file comments meant for translator
usage, rather than the translation strings. So, if the descriptions
given below are slightly succinct, it is because the full details have
already been given. *Note Modifying Translations::.
The command # (po-edit-comment) opens a new Emacs window
containing a copy of the translator comments on the current PO file
entry. If there are no such comments, PO mode understands that the
translator wants to add a comment to the entry, and she is presented
with an empty screen. Comment marks (#) and the space following them
are automatically removed before edition, and reinstated after. For
translator comments pertaining to obsolete entries, the uncommenting and
recommenting operations are done twice. Once in the editing window, the
keys C-c C-c allow the translator to tell she is finished with editing
the comment. *Note Subedit::, for further details.
Functions found on po-subedit-mode-hook, if any, are executed after
the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
The command K (po-kill-comment) gets rid of all translator
comments, while saving those comments on the kill ring. The command W
(po-kill-ring-save-comment) takes a copy of the translator comments on
the kill ring, but leaves them undisturbed in the current entry. The
command Y (po-yank-comment) completely replaces the translator
comments by a string taken at the front of the kill ring. When this
command is immediately repeated, the comments just inserted are
withdrawn, and replaced by other strings taken along the kill ring.
On the kill ring, all strings have the same nature. There is no
distinction between _translation_ strings and _translator comments_
strings. So, for example, lets presume the translator has just
finished editing a translation, and wants to create a new translator
comment to document why the previous translation was not good, just to
remember what was the problem. Foreseeing that she will do that in her
documentation, the translator may want to quote the previous translation
in her translator comments. To do so, she may initialize the translator
comments with the previous translation, still at the head of the kill
ring. Because editing already pushed the previous translation on the
kill ring, she merely has to type M-w prior to #, and the previous
translation will be right there, all ready for being introduced by some
explanatory text.
On the other hand, presume there are some translator comments already
and that the translator wants to add to those comments, instead of
wholly replacing them. Then, she should edit the comment right away
with #. Once inside the editing window, she can use the regular Emacs
commands C-y (yank) and M-y (yank-pop) to get the previous
translation where she likes.

File: gettext.info, Node: Subedit, Next: C Sources Context, Prev: Modifying Comments, Up: PO Mode
8.3.11 Details of Sub Edition
-----------------------------
The PO subedit minor mode has a few peculiarities worth being
described in fuller detail. It installs a few commands over the usual
editing set of Emacs, which are described below.
C-c C-c
Complete edition (po-subedit-exit).
C-c C-k
Abort edition (po-subedit-abort).
C-c C-a
Consult auxiliary PO files (po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary).
The windows contents represents a translation for a given message,
or a translator comment. The translator may modify this window to her
hearts content. Once this is done, the command C-c C-c
(po-subedit-exit) may be used to return the edited translation into
the PO file, replacing the original translation, even if it moved out of
sight or if buffers were switched.
If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation or
comment, to the extent she prefers keeping what was existent prior to
the <RET> or # command, she may use the command C-c C-k
(po-subedit-abort) to merely get rid of edition, while preserving the
original translation or comment. Another way would be for her to exit
normally with C-c C-c, then type U once for undoing the whole effect
of last edition.
The command C-c C-a (po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary) allows for
glancing through translations already achieved in other languages,
directly while editing the current translation. This may be quite
convenient when the translator is fluent at many languages, but of
course, only makes sense when such completed auxiliary PO files are
already available to her (*note Auxiliary::).
Functions found on po-subedit-mode-hook, if any, are executed after
the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
While editing her translation, the translator should pay attention to
not inserting unwanted <RET> (newline) characters at the end of the
translated string if those are not meant to be there, or to removing
such characters when they are required. Since these characters are not
visible in the editing buffer, they are easily introduced by mistake.
To help her, <RET> automatically puts the character < at the end of
the string being edited, but this < is not really part of the string.
On exiting the editing window with C-c C-c, PO mode automatically
removes such < and all whitespace added after it. If the translator
adds characters after the terminating <, it looses its delimiting
property and integrally becomes part of the string. If she removes the
delimiting <, then the edited string is taken _as is_, with all
trailing newlines, even if invisible. Also, if the translated string
ought to end itself with a genuine <, then the delimiting < may not
be removed; so the string should appear, in the editing window, as
ending with two < in a row.
When a translation (or a comment) is being edited, the translator may
move the cursor back into the PO file buffer and freely move to other
entries, browsing at will. If, with an edition pending, the translator
wanders in the PO file buffer, she may decide to start modifying another
entry. Each entry being edited has its own subedit buffer. It is
possible to simultaneously edit the translation _and_ the comment of a
single entry, or to edit entries in different PO files, all at once.
Typing <RET> on a field already being edited merely resumes that
particular edit. Yet, the translator should better be comfortable at
handling many Emacs windows!
Pending subedits may be completed or aborted in any order, regardless
of how or when they were started. When many subedits are pending and
the translator asks for quitting the PO file (with the q command),
subedits are automatically resumed one at a time, so she may decide for
each of them.

File: gettext.info, Node: C Sources Context, Next: Auxiliary, Prev: Subedit, Up: PO Mode
8.3.12 C Sources Context
------------------------
PO mode is particularly powerful when used with PO files created
through GNU gettext utilities, as those utilities insert special
comments in the PO files they generate. Some of these special comments
relate the PO file entry to exactly where the untranslated string
appears in the program sources.
When the translator gets to an untranslated entry, she is fairly
often faced with an original string which is not as informative as it
normally should be, being succinct, cryptic, or otherwise ambiguous.
Before choosing how to translate the string, she needs to understand
better what the string really means and how tight the translation has to
be. Most of the time, when problems arise, the only way left to make
her judgment is looking at the true program sources from where this
string originated, searching for surrounding comments the programmer
might have put in there, and looking around for helping clues of _any_
kind.
Surely, when looking at program sources, the translator will receive
more help if she is a fluent programmer. However, even if she is not
versed in programming and feels a little lost in C code, the translator
should not be shy at taking a look, once in a while. It is most
probable that she will still be able to find some of the hints she
needs. She will learn quickly to not feel uncomfortable in program
code, paying more attention to programmers comments, variable and
function names (if he dared choosing them well), and overall
organization, than to the program code itself.
The following commands are meant to help the translator at getting
program source context for a PO file entry.
s
Resume the display of a program source context, or cycle through
them (po-cycle-source-reference).
M-s
Display of a program source context selected by menu
(po-select-source-reference).
S
Add a directory to the search path for source files
(po-consider-source-path).
M-S
Delete a directory from the search path for source files
(po-ignore-source-path).
The commands s (po-cycle-source-reference) and M-s
(po-select-source-reference) both open another window displaying some
source program file, and already positioned in such a way that it shows
an actual use of the string to be translated. By doing so, the command
gives source program context for the string. But if the entry has no
source context references, or if all references are unresolved along the
search path for program sources, then the command diagnoses this as an
error.
Even if s (or M-s) opens a new window, the cursor stays in the PO
file window. If the translator really wants to get into the program
source window, she ought to do it explicitly, maybe by using command
O.
When s is typed for the first time, or for a PO file entry which is
different of the last one used for getting source context, then the
command reacts by giving the first context available for this entry, if
any. If some context has already been recently displayed for the
current PO file entry, and the translator wandered off to do other
things, typing s again will merely resume, in another window, the
context last displayed. In particular, if the translator moved the
cursor away from the context in the source file, the command will bring
the cursor back to the context. By using s many times in a row, with
no other commands intervening, PO mode will cycle to the next available
contexts for this particular entry, getting back to the first context
once the last has been shown.
The command M-s behaves differently. Instead of cycling through
references, it lets the translator choose a particular reference among
many, and displays that reference. It is best used with completion, if
the translator types <TAB> immediately after M-s, in response to the
question, she will be offered a menu of all possible references, as a
reminder of which are the acceptable answers. This command is useful
only where there are really many contexts available for a single string
to translate.
Program source files are usually found relative to where the PO file
stands. As a special provision, when this fails, the file is also
looked for, but relative to the directory immediately above it. Those
two cases take proper care of most PO files. However, it might happen
that a PO file has been moved, or is edited in a different place than
its normal location. When this happens, the translator should tell PO
mode in which directory normally sits the genuine PO file. Many such
directories may be specified, and all together, they constitute what is
called the “search path” for program sources. The command S
(po-consider-source-path) is used to interactively enter a new
directory at the front of the search path, and the command M-S
(po-ignore-source-path) is used to select, with completion, one of the
directories she does not want anymore on the search path.

File: gettext.info, Node: Auxiliary, Prev: C Sources Context, Up: PO Mode
8.3.13 Consulting Auxiliary PO Files
------------------------------------
PO mode is able to help the knowledgeable translator, being fluent in
many languages, at taking advantage of translations already achieved in
other languages she just happens to know. It provides these other
language translations as additional context for her own work. Moreover,
it has features to ease the production of translations for many
languages at once, for translators preferring to work in this way.
An “auxiliary” PO file is an existing PO file meant for the same
package the translator is working on, but targeted to a different mother
tongue language. Commands exist for declaring and handling auxiliary PO
files, and also for showing contexts for the entry under work.
Here are the auxiliary file commands available in PO mode.
a
Seek auxiliary files for another translation for the same entry
(po-cycle-auxiliary).
C-c C-a
Switch to a particular auxiliary file (po-select-auxiliary).
A
Declare this PO file as an auxiliary file
(po-consider-as-auxiliary).
M-A
Remove this PO file from the list of auxiliary files
(po-ignore-as-auxiliary).
Command A (po-consider-as-auxiliary) adds the current PO file to
the list of auxiliary files, while command M-A
(po-ignore-as-auxiliary just removes it.
The command a (po-cycle-auxiliary) seeks all auxiliary PO files,
round-robin, searching for a translated entry in some other language
having an msgid field identical as the one for the current entry. The
found PO file, if any, takes the place of the current PO file in the
display (its window gets on top). Before doing so, the current PO file
is also made into an auxiliary file, if not already. So, a in this
newly displayed PO file will seek another PO file, and so on, so
repeating a will eventually yield back the original PO file.
The command C-c C-a (po-select-auxiliary) asks the translator for
her choice of a particular auxiliary file, with completion, and then
switches to that selected PO file. The command also checks if the
selected file has an msgid field identical as the one for the current
entry, and if yes, this entry becomes current. Otherwise, the cursor of
the selected file is left undisturbed.
For all this to work fully, auxiliary PO files will have to be
normalized, in that way that msgid fields should be written _exactly_
the same way. It is possible to write msgid fields in various ways
for representing the same string, different writing would break the
proper behaviour of the auxiliary file commands of PO mode. This is not
expected to be much a problem in practice, as most existing PO files
have their msgid entries written by the same GNU gettext tools.
However, PO files initially created by PO mode itself, while marking
strings in source files, are normalised differently. So are PO files
resulting of the M-x normalize command. Until these discrepancies
between PO mode and other GNU gettext tools get fully resolved, the
translator should stay aware of normalisation issues.

File: gettext.info, Node: Compendium, Prev: PO Mode, Up: Editing
8.4 Using Translation Compendia
===============================
A “compendium” is a special PO file containing a set of translations
recurring in many different packages. The translator can use gettext
tools to build a new compendium, to add entries to her compendium, and
to initialize untranslated entries, or to update already translated
entries, from translations kept in the compendium.
* Menu:
* Creating Compendia:: Merging translations for later use
* Using Compendia:: Using older translations if they fit

File: gettext.info, Node: Creating Compendia, Next: Using Compendia, Up: Compendium
8.4.1 Creating Compendia
------------------------
Basically every PO file consisting of translated entries only can be
declared as a valid compendium. Often the translator wants to have
special compendia; lets consider two cases: concatenating PO files
and extracting a message subset from a PO file.
8.4.1.1 Concatenate PO Files
............................
To concatenate several valid PO files into one compendium file you
can use msgcomm or msgcat (the latter preferred):
msgcat -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
By default, msgcat will accumulate divergent translations for the
same string. Those occurrences will be marked as fuzzy and highly
visible decorated; calling msgcat on file1.po:
#: src/hello.c:200
#, c-format
msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
msgstr "Comunicar `bugs' a <%s>.\n"
and file2.po:
#: src/bye.c:100
#, c-format
msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
msgstr "Comunicar \"bugs\" a <%s>.\n"
will result in:
#: src/hello.c:200 src/bye.c:100
#, fuzzy, c-format
msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
msgstr ""
"#-#-#-#-# file1.po #-#-#-#-#\n"
"Comunicar `bugs' a <%s>.\n"
"#-#-#-#-# file2.po #-#-#-#-#\n"
"Comunicar \"bugs\" a <%s>.\n"
The translator will have to resolve this “conflict” manually; she has to
decide whether the first or the second version is appropriate (or
provide a new translation), to delete the “marker lines”, and finally to
remove the fuzzy mark.
If the translator knows in advance the first found translation of a
message is always the best translation she can make use to the
--use-first switch:
msgcat --use-first -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
A good compendium file must not contain fuzzy or untranslated
entries. If input files are “dirty” you must preprocess the input files
or postprocess the result using msgattrib --translated --no-fuzzy.
8.4.1.2 Extract a Message Subset from a PO File
...............................................
Nobody wants to translate the same messages again and again; thus you
may wish to have a compendium file containing getopt.c messages.
To extract a message subset (e.g., all getopt.c messages) from an
existing PO file into one compendium file you can use msggrep:
msggrep --location src/getopt.c -o compendium.po file.po

File: gettext.info, Node: Using Compendia, Prev: Creating Compendia, Up: Compendium
8.4.2 Using Compendia
---------------------
You can use a compendium file to initialize a translation from
scratch or to update an already existing translation.
8.4.2.1 Initialize a New Translation File
.........................................
Since a PO file with translations does not exist the translator can
merely use /dev/null to fake the “old” translation file.
msgmerge --compendium compendium.po -o file.po /dev/null file.pot
8.4.2.2 Update an Existing Translation File
...........................................
Concatenate the compendium file(s) and the existing PO, merge the
result with the POT file and remove the obsolete entries (optional, here
done using msgattrib):
msgcat --use-first -o update.po compendium1.po compendium2.po file.po
msgmerge update.po file.pot | msgattrib --no-obsolete > file.po

File: gettext.info, Node: Manipulating, Next: Binaries, Prev: Editing, Up: Top
9 Manipulating PO Files
***********************
Sometimes it is necessary to manipulate PO files in a way that is
better performed automatically than by hand. GNU gettext includes a
complete set of tools for this purpose.
When merging two packages into a single package, the resulting POT
file will be the concatenation of the two packages POT files. Thus the
maintainer must concatenate the two existing package translations into a
single translation catalog, for each language. This is best performed
using msgcat. It is then the translators duty to deal with any
possible conflicts that arose during the merge.
When a translator takes over the translation job from another
translator, but she uses a different character encoding in her locale,
she will convert the catalog to her character encoding. This is best
done through the msgconv program.
When a maintainer takes a source file with tagged messages from
another package, he should also take the existing translations for this
source file (and not let the translators do the same job twice). One
way to do this is through msggrep, another is to create a POT file for
that source file and use msgmerge.
When a translator wants to adjust some translation catalog for a
special dialect or orthography — for example, German as written in
Switzerland versus German as written in Germany — she needs to apply
some text processing to every message in the catalog. The tool for
doing this is msgfilter.
Another use of msgfilter is to produce approximately the POT file
for which a given PO file was made. This can be done through a filter
command like msgfilter sed -e d | sed -e '/^# /d'. Note that the
original POT file may have had different comments and different plural
message counts, thats why its better to use the original POT file if
available.
When a translator wants to check her translations, for example
according to orthography rules or using a non-interactive spell checker,
she can do so using the msgexec program.
When third party tools create PO or POT files, sometimes duplicates
cannot be avoided. But the GNU gettext tools give an error when they
encounter duplicate msgids in the same file and in the same domain. To
merge duplicates, the msguniq program can be used.
msgcomm is a more general tool for keeping or throwing away
duplicates, occurring in different files.
msgcmp can be used to check whether a translation catalog is
completely translated.
msgattrib can be used to select and extract only the fuzzy or
untranslated messages of a translation catalog.
msgen is useful as a first step for preparing English translation
catalogs. It copies each messages msgid to its msgstr.
Finally, for those applications where all these various programs are
not sufficient, a library libgettextpo is provided that can be used to
write other specialized programs that process PO files.
* Menu:
* msgcat Invocation:: Invoking the msgcat Program
* msgconv Invocation:: Invoking the msgconv Program
* msggrep Invocation:: Invoking the msggrep Program
* msgfilter Invocation:: Invoking the msgfilter Program
* msguniq Invocation:: Invoking the msguniq Program
* msgcomm Invocation:: Invoking the msgcomm Program
* msgcmp Invocation:: Invoking the msgcmp Program
* msgattrib Invocation:: Invoking the msgattrib Program
* msgen Invocation:: Invoking the msgen Program
* msgexec Invocation:: Invoking the msgexec Program
* Colorizing:: Highlighting parts of PO files
* Other tools:: Other tools for manipulating PO files
* libgettextpo:: Writing your own programs that process PO files

File: gettext.info, Node: msgcat Invocation, Next: msgconv Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.1 Invoking the msgcat Program
=================================
msgcat [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]...
The msgcat program concatenates and merges the specified PO files.
It finds messages which are common to two or more of the specified PO
files. By using the --more-than option, greater commonality may be
requested before messages are printed. Conversely, the --less-than
option may be used to specify less commonality before messages are
printed (i.e. --less-than=2 will only print the unique messages).
Translations, comments, extracted comments, and file positions will be
cumulated, except that if --use-first is specified, they will be taken
from the first PO file to define them.
To concatenate POT files, better use xgettext, not msgcat,
because msgcat would choke on the undefined charsets in the specified
POT files.
9.1.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE ...
Input files.
-f FILE
--files-from=FILE
Read the names of the input files from FILE instead of getting them
from the command line.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If INPUTFILE is -, standard input is read.
9.1.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.1.3 Message selection
-----------------------
-< NUMBER
--less-than=NUMBER
Print messages with less than NUMBER definitions, defaults to
infinite if not set.
-> NUMBER
--more-than=NUMBER
Print messages with more than NUMBER definitions, defaults to 0 if
not set.
-u
--unique
Shorthand for --less-than=2. Requests that only unique messages
be printed.
9.1.4 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource
files in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.1.5 Output details
--------------------
-t
--to-code=NAME
Specify encoding for output.
--use-first
Use first available translation for each message. Dont merge
several translations into one.
--lang=CATALOGNAME
Specify the Language field to be used in the header entry. See
*note Header Entry:: for the meaning of this field. Note: The
Language-Team and Plural-Forms fields are left unchanged.
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.1.6 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgconv Invocation, Next: msggrep Invocation, Prev: msgcat Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.2 Invoking the msgconv Program
==================================
msgconv [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]
The msgconv program converts a translation catalog to a different
character encoding.
9.2.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.2.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.2.3 Conversion target
-----------------------
-t
--to-code=NAME
Specify encoding for output.
The default encoding is the current locales encoding.
9.2.4 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.2.5 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.2.6 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msggrep Invocation, Next: msgfilter Invocation, Prev: msgconv Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.3 Invoking the msggrep Program
==================================
msggrep [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]
The msggrep program extracts all messages of a translation catalog
that match a given pattern or belong to some given source files.
9.3.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.3.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.3.3 Message selection
-----------------------
[-N SOURCEFILE]... [-M DOMAINNAME]...
[-J MSGCTXT-PATTERN] [-K MSGID-PATTERN] [-T MSGSTR-PATTERN]
[-C COMMENT-PATTERN]
A message is selected if
• it comes from one of the specified source files,
• or if it comes from one of the specified domains,
• or if -J is given and its context (msgctxt) matches
MSGCTXT-PATTERN,
• or if -K is given and its key (msgid or msgid_plural) matches
MSGID-PATTERN,
• or if -T is given and its translation (msgstr) matches
MSGSTR-PATTERN,
• or if -C is given and the translators comment matches
COMMENT-PATTERN.
When more than one selection criterion is specified, the set of
selected messages is the union of the selected messages of each
criterion.
MSGCTXT-PATTERN or MSGID-PATTERN or MSGSTR-PATTERN syntax:
[-E | -F] [-e PATTERN | -f FILE]...
PATTERNs are basic regular expressions by default, or extended
regular expressions if -E is given, or fixed strings if -F is given.
-N SOURCEFILE
--location=SOURCEFILE
Select messages extracted from SOURCEFILE. SOURCEFILE can be
either a literal file name or a wildcard pattern.
-M DOMAINNAME
--domain=DOMAINNAME
Select messages belonging to domain DOMAINNAME.
-J
--msgctxt
Start of patterns for the msgctxt.
-K
--msgid
Start of patterns for the msgid.
-T
--msgstr
Start of patterns for the msgstr.
-C
--comment
Start of patterns for the translators comment.
-X
--extracted-comment
Start of patterns for the extracted comments.
-E
--extended-regexp
Specify that PATTERN is an extended regular expression.
-F
--fixed-strings
Specify that PATTERN is a set of newline-separated strings.
-e PATTERN
--regexp=PATTERN
Use PATTERN as a regular expression.
-f FILE
--file=FILE
Obtain PATTERN from FILE.
-i
--ignore-case
Ignore case distinctions.
-v
--invert-match
Output only the messages that do not match any selection criterion,
instead of the messages that match a selection criterion.
9.3.4 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.3.5 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.3.6 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
9.3.7 Examples
--------------
To extract the messages that come from the source files
gnulib-lib/error.c and gnulib-lib/getopt.c:
msggrep -N gnulib-lib/error.c -N gnulib-lib/getopt.c input.po
To extract the messages that contain the string “Please specify” in
the original string:
msggrep --msgid -F -e 'Please specify' input.po
To extract the messages that have a context specifier of either
“Menu>File” or “Menu>Edit” or a submenu of them:
msggrep --msgctxt -E -e '^Menu>(File|Edit)' input.po
To extract the messages whose translation contains one of the strings
in the file wordlist.txt:
msggrep --msgstr -F -f wordlist.txt input.po

File: gettext.info, Node: msgfilter Invocation, Next: msguniq Invocation, Prev: msggrep Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.4 Invoking the msgfilter Program
====================================
msgfilter [OPTION] FILTER [FILTER-OPTION]
The msgfilter program applies a filter to all translations of a
translation catalog.
During each FILTER invocation, the environment variable
MSGFILTER_MSGID is bound to the messages msgid, and the environment
variable MSGFILTER_LOCATION is bound to the location in the PO file of
the message. If the message has a context, the environment variable
MSGFILTER_MSGCTXT is bound to the messages msgctxt, otherwise it is
unbound. If the message has a plural form, environment variable
MSGFILTER_MSGID_PLURAL is bound to the messages msgid_plural and
MSGFILTER_PLURAL_FORM is bound to the order number of the plural
actually processed (starting with 0), otherwise both are unbound. If
the message has a previous msgid (added by msgmerge), environment
variable MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGCTXT is bound to the messages previous
msgctxt, MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID is bound to the previous msgid, and
MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL is bound to the previous msgid_plural.
9.4.1 Input file location
-------------------------
-i INPUTFILE
--input=INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.4.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.4.3 The filter
----------------
The FILTER can be any program that reads a translation from standard
input and writes a modified translation to standard output. A
frequently used filter is sed. A few particular built-in filters are
also recognized.
--newline
Add newline at the end of each input line and also strip the ending
newline from the output line.
Note: If the filter is not a built-in filter, you have to care about
encodings: It is your responsibility to ensure that the FILTER can cope
with input encoded in the translation catalogs encoding. If the FILTER
wants input in a particular encoding, you can in a first step convert
the translation catalog to that encoding using the msgconv program,
before invoking msgfilter. If the FILTER wants input in the locales
encoding, but you want to avoid the locales encoding, then you can
first convert the translation catalog to UTF-8 using the msgconv
program and then make msgfilter work in an UTF-8 locale, by using the
LC_ALL environment variable.
Note: Most translations in a translation catalog dont end with a
newline character. For this reason, unless the --newline option is
used, it is important that the FILTER recognizes its last input line
even if it ends without a newline, and that it doesnt add an undesired
trailing newline at the end. The sed program on some platforms is
known to ignore the last line of input if it is not terminated with a
newline. You can use GNU sed instead; it does not have this
limitation.
9.4.4 Useful FILTER-OPTIONs when the FILTER is sed
----------------------------------------------------
-e SCRIPT
--expression=SCRIPT
Add SCRIPT to the commands to be executed.
-f SCRIPTFILE
--file=SCRIPTFILE
Add the contents of SCRIPTFILE to the commands to be executed.
-n
--quiet
--silent
Suppress automatic printing of pattern space.
9.4.5 Built-in FILTERs
----------------------
The filter recode-sr-latin is recognized as a built-in filter. The
command recode-sr-latin converts Serbian text, written in the Cyrillic
script, to the Latin script. The command msgfilter recode-sr-latin
applies this conversion to the translations of a PO file. Thus, it can
be used to convert an sr.po file to an sr@latin.po file.
The filter quot is recognized as a built-in filter. The command
msgfilter quot converts any quotations surrounded by a pair of ",
', and `.
The filter boldquot is recognized as a built-in filter. The
command msgfilter boldquot converts any quotations surrounded by a
pair of ", ', and `, also adding the VT100 escape sequences to the
text to decorate it as bold.
The use of built-in filters is not sensitive to the current locales
encoding. Moreover, when used with a built-in filter, msgfilter can
automatically convert the message catalog to the UTF-8 encoding when
needed.
9.4.6 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.4.7 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--keep-header
Keep the header entry, i.e. the message with msgid "",
unmodified, instead of filtering it. By default, the header entry
is subject to filtering like any other message.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.4.8 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
9.4.9 Examples
--------------
To convert German translations to Swiss orthography (in an UTF-8
locale):
msgconv -t UTF-8 de.po | msgfilter sed -e 's/ß/ss/g'
To convert Serbian translations in Cyrillic script to Latin script:
msgfilter recode-sr-latin < sr.po

File: gettext.info, Node: msguniq Invocation, Next: msgcomm Invocation, Prev: msgfilter Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.5 Invoking the msguniq Program
==================================
msguniq [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]
The msguniq program unifies duplicate translations in a translation
catalog. It finds duplicate translations of the same message ID. Such
duplicates are invalid input for other programs like msgfmt,
msgmerge or msgcat. By default, duplicates are merged together.
When using the --repeated option, only duplicates are output, and all
other messages are discarded. Comments and extracted comments will be
cumulated, except that if --use-first is specified, they will be taken
from the first translation. File positions will be cumulated. When
using the --unique option, duplicates are discarded.
9.5.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.5.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.5.3 Message selection
-----------------------
-d
--repeated
Print only duplicates.
-u
--unique
Print only unique messages, discard duplicates.
9.5.4 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.5.5 Output details
--------------------
-t
--to-code=NAME
Specify encoding for output.
--use-first
Use first available translation for each message. Dont merge
several translations into one.
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.5.6 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgcomm Invocation, Next: msgcmp Invocation, Prev: msguniq Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.6 Invoking the msgcomm Program
==================================
msgcomm [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]...
The msgcomm program finds messages which are common to two or more
of the specified PO files. By using the --more-than option, greater
commonality may be requested before messages are printed. Conversely,
the --less-than option may be used to specify less commonality before
messages are printed (i.e. --less-than=2 will only print the unique
messages). Translations, comments and extracted comments will be
preserved, but only from the first PO file to define them. File
positions from all PO files will be cumulated.
9.6.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE ...
Input files.
-f FILE
--files-from=FILE
Read the names of the input files from FILE instead of getting them
from the command line.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If INPUTFILE is -, standard input is read.
9.6.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.6.3 Message selection
-----------------------
-< NUMBER
--less-than=NUMBER
Print messages with less than NUMBER definitions, defaults to
infinite if not set.
-> NUMBER
--more-than=NUMBER
Print messages with more than NUMBER definitions, defaults to 1 if
not set.
-u
--unique
Shorthand for --less-than=2. Requests that only unique messages
be printed.
9.6.4 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource
files in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.6.5 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
--omit-header
Dont write header with msgid "" entry.
9.6.6 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgcmp Invocation, Next: msgattrib Invocation, Prev: msgcomm Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.7 Invoking the msgcmp Program
=================================
msgcmp [OPTION] DEF.po REF.pot
The msgcmp program compares two Uniforum style .po files to check
that both contain the same set of msgid strings. The DEF.po file is an
existing PO file with the translations. The REF.pot file is the last
created PO file, or a PO Template file (generally created by
xgettext). This is useful for checking that you have translated each
and every message in your program. Where an exact match cannot be
found, fuzzy matching is used to produce better diagnostics.
9.7.1 Input file location
-------------------------
DEF.po
Translations.
REF.pot
References to the sources.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.
9.7.2 Operation modifiers
-------------------------
-m
--multi-domain
Apply REF.pot to each of the domains in DEF.po.
-N
--no-fuzzy-matching
Do not use fuzzy matching when an exact match is not found. This
may speed up the operation considerably.
--use-fuzzy
Consider fuzzy messages in the DEF.po file like translated
messages. Note that using this option is usually wrong, because
fuzzy messages are exactly those which have not been validated by a
human translator.
--use-untranslated
Consider untranslated messages in the DEF.po file like translated
messages. Note that using this option is usually wrong.
9.7.3 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource
files in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.7.4 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgattrib Invocation, Next: msgen Invocation, Prev: msgcmp Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.8 Invoking the msgattrib Program
====================================
msgattrib [OPTION] [INPUTFILE]
The msgattrib program filters the messages of a translation catalog
according to their attributes, and manipulates the attributes.
9.8.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.8.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.8.3 Message selection
-----------------------
--translated
Keep translated messages, remove untranslated messages.
--untranslated
Keep untranslated messages, remove translated messages.
--no-fuzzy
Remove fuzzy marked messages.
--only-fuzzy
Keep fuzzy marked messages, remove all other messages.
--no-obsolete
Remove obsolete #~ messages.
--only-obsolete
Keep obsolete #~ messages, remove all other messages.
9.8.4 Attribute manipulation
----------------------------
Attributes are modified after the message selection/removal has been
performed. If the --only-file or --ignore-file option is specified,
the attribute modification is applied only to those messages that are
listed in the ONLY-FILE and not listed in the IGNORE-FILE.
--set-fuzzy
Set all messages fuzzy.
--clear-fuzzy
Set all messages non-fuzzy.
--set-obsolete
Set all messages obsolete.
--clear-obsolete
Set all messages non-obsolete.
--previous
When setting fuzzy mark, keep “previous msgid” of translated
messages.
--clear-previous
Remove the “previous msgid” (#|) comments from all messages.
--empty
When removing fuzzy mark, also set msgstr empty.
--only-file=FILE
Limit the attribute changes to entries that are listed in FILE.
FILE should be a PO or POT file.
--ignore-file=FILE
Limit the attribute changes to entries that are not listed in FILE.
FILE should be a PO or POT file.
--fuzzy
Synonym for --only-fuzzy --clear-fuzzy: It keeps only the fuzzy
messages and removes their fuzzy mark.
--obsolete
Synonym for --only-obsolete --clear-obsolete: It keeps only the
obsolete messages and makes them non-obsolete.
9.8.5 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.8.6 Output details
--------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.8.7 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgen Invocation, Next: msgexec Invocation, Prev: msgattrib Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.9 Invoking the msgen Program
================================
msgen [OPTION] INPUTFILE
The msgen program creates an English translation catalog. The
input file is the last created English PO file, or a PO Template file
(generally created by xgettext). Untranslated entries are assigned a
translation that is identical to the msgid.
Note: msginit --no-translator --locale=en performs a very similar
task. The main difference is that msginit cares specially about the
header entry, whereas msgen doesnt.
9.9.1 Input file location
-------------------------
INPUTFILE
Input PO or POT file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If INPUTFILE is -, standard input is read.
9.9.2 Output file location
--------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
9.9.3 Input file syntax
-----------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.9.4 Output details
--------------------
--lang=CATALOGNAME
Specify the Language field to be used in the header entry. See
*note Header Entry:: for the meaning of this field. Note: The
Language-Team and Plural-Forms fields are not set by this
option.
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--no-location
Do not write #: FILENAME:LINE lines.
-n
--add-location=TYPE
Generate #: FILENAME:LINE lines (default).
The optional TYPE can be either full, file, or never. If it
is not given or full, it generates the lines with both file name
and line number. If it is file, the line number part is omitted.
If it is never, it completely suppresses the lines (same as
--no-location).
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
-F
--sort-by-file
Sort output by file location.
9.9.5 Informative output
------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgexec Invocation, Next: Colorizing, Prev: msgen Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.10 Invoking the msgexec Program
===================================
msgexec [OPTION] COMMAND [COMMAND-OPTION]
The msgexec program applies a command to all translations of a
translation catalog. The COMMAND can be any program that reads a
translation from standard input. It is invoked once for each
translation. Its output becomes msgexecs output. msgexec’’s return
code is the maximum return code across all invocations.
A special builtin command called 0 outputs the translation,
followed by a null byte. The output of msgexec 0 is suitable as input
for xargs -0.
--newline
Add newline at the end of each input line.
During each COMMAND invocation, the environment variable
MSGEXEC_MSGID is bound to the messages msgid, and the environment
variable MSGEXEC_LOCATION is bound to the location in the PO file of
the message. If the message has a context, the environment variable
MSGEXEC_MSGCTXT is bound to the messages msgctxt, otherwise it is
unbound. If the message has a plural form, environment variable
MSGEXEC_MSGID_PLURAL is bound to the messages msgid_plural and
MSGEXEC_PLURAL_FORM is bound to the order number of the plural
actually processed (starting with 0), otherwise both are unbound. If
the message has a previous msgid (added by msgmerge), environment
variable MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGCTXT is bound to the messages previous
msgctxt, MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID is bound to the previous msgid, and
MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL is bound to the previous msgid_plural.
Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that the COMMAND can cope
with input encoded in the translation catalogs encoding. If the
COMMAND wants input in a particular encoding, you can in a first step
convert the translation catalog to that encoding using the msgconv
program, before invoking msgexec. If the COMMAND wants input in the
locales encoding, but you want to avoid the locales encoding, then you
can first convert the translation catalog to UTF-8 using the msgconv
program and then make msgexec work in an UTF-8 locale, by using the
LC_ALL environment variable.
9.10.1 Input file location
--------------------------
-i INPUTFILE
--input=INPUTFILE
Input PO file.
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting .po
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
If no INPUTFILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
9.10.2 Input file syntax
------------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file
in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
9.10.3 Informative output
-------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.

File: gettext.info, Node: Colorizing, Next: Other tools, Prev: msgexec Invocation, Up: Manipulating
9.11 Highlighting parts of PO files
===================================
Translators are usually only interested in seeing the untranslated
and fuzzy messages of a PO file. Also, when a message is set fuzzy
because the msgid changed, they want to see the differences between the
previous msgid and the current one (especially if the msgid is long and
only few words in it have changed). Finally, its always welcome to
highlight the different sections of a message in a PO file (comments,
msgid, msgstr, etc.).
Such highlighting is possible through the options --color and
--style. They are supported by all the programs that produce a PO
file on standard output, such as msgcat, msgmerge, and msgunfmt.
* Menu:
* The --color option:: Triggering colorized output
* The TERM variable:: The environment variable TERM
* The --style option:: The --style option
* Style rules:: Style rules for PO files
* Customizing less:: Customizing less for viewing PO files

File: gettext.info, Node: The --color option, Next: The TERM variable, Up: Colorizing
9.11.1 The --color option
---------------------------
The --color=WHEN option specifies under which conditions colorized
output should be generated. The WHEN part can be one of the following:
always
yes
The output will be colorized.
never
no
The output will not be colorized.
auto
tty
The output will be colorized if the output device is a tty, i.e.
when the output goes directly to a text screen or terminal emulator
window.
html
The output will be colorized and be in HTML format.
test
This is a special value, understood only by the msgcat program.
It is explained in the next section (*note The TERM variable::).
--color is equivalent to --color=yes. The default is
--color=auto.
Thus, a command like msgcat vi.po will produce colorized output
when called by itself in a command window. Whereas in a pipe, such as
msgcat vi.po | less -R, it will not produce colorized output. To get
colorized output in this situation nevertheless, use the command msgcat
--color vi.po | less -R.
The --color=html option will produce output that can be viewed in a
browser. This can be useful, for example, for Indic languages, because
the renderic of Indic scripts in browsers is usually better than in
terminal emulators.
Note that the output produced with the --color option is _not_ a
valid PO file in itself. It contains additional terminal-specific
escape sequences or HTML tags. A PO file reader will give a syntax
error when confronted with such content. Except for the --color=html
case, you therefore normally dont need to save output produced with the
--color option in a file.

File: gettext.info, Node: The TERM variable, Next: The --style option, Prev: The --color option, Up: Colorizing
9.11.2 The environment variable TERM
--------------------------------------
The environment variable TERM contains a identifier for the text
windows capabilities. You can get a detailed list of these
cababilities by using the infocmp command, using man 5 terminfo as a
reference.
When producing text with embedded color directives, msgcat looks at
the TERM variable. Text windows today typically support at least 8
colors. Often, however, the text window supports 16 or more colors,
even though the TERM variable is set to a identifier denoting only 8
supported colors. It can be worth setting the TERM variable to a
different value in these cases:
xterm
xterm is in most cases built with support for 16 colors. It can
also be built with support for 88 or 256 colors (but not both).
You can try to set TERM to either xterm-16color,
xterm-88color, or xterm-256color.
rxvt
rxvt is often built with support for 16 colors. You can try to
set TERM to rxvt-16color.
konsole
konsole too is often built with support for 16 colors. You can
try to set TERM to konsole-16color or xterm-16color.
After setting TERM, you can verify it by invoking msgcat
--color=test and seeing whether the output looks like a reasonable
color map.

File: gettext.info, Node: The --style option, Next: Style rules, Prev: The TERM variable, Up: Colorizing
9.11.3 The --style option
---------------------------
The --style=STYLE_FILE option specifies the style file to use when
colorizing. It has an effect only when the --color option is
effective.
If the --style option is not specified, the environment variable
PO_STYLE is considered. It is meant to point to the users preferred
style for PO files.
The default style file is
$prefix/share/gettext/styles/po-default.css, where $prefix is the
installation location.
A few style files are predefined:
po-vim.css
This style imitates the look used by vim 7.
po-emacs-x.css
This style imitates the look used by GNU Emacs 21 and 22 in an X11
window.
po-emacs-xterm.css
po-emacs-xterm16.css
po-emacs-xterm256.css
This style imitates the look used by GNU Emacs 22 in a terminal of
type xterm (8 colors) or xterm-16color (16 colors) or
xterm-256color (256 colors), respectively.
You can use these styles without specifying a directory. They are
actually located in $prefix/share/gettext/styles/, where $prefix is
the installation location.
You can also design your own styles. This is described in the next
section.

File: gettext.info, Node: Style rules, Next: Customizing less, Prev: The --style option, Up: Colorizing
9.11.4 Style rules for PO files
-------------------------------
The same style file can be used for styling of a PO file, for
terminal output and for HTML output. It is written in CSS (Cascading
Style Sheet) syntax. See <https://www.w3.org/TR/css2/cover.html> for a
formal definition of CSS. Many HTML authoring tutorials also contain
explanations of CSS.
In the case of HTML output, the style file is embedded in the HTML
output. In the case of text output, the style file is interpreted by
the msgcat program. This means, in particular, that when @import is
used with relative file names, the file names are
relative to the resulting HTML file, in the case of HTML output,
relative to the style sheet containing the @import, in the case
of text output. (Actually, @imports are not yet supported in
this case, due to a limitation in libcroco.)
CSS rules are built up from selectors and declarations. The
declarations specify graphical properties; the selectors specify when
they apply.
In PO files, the following simple selectors (based on "CSS classes",
see the CSS2 spec, section 5.8.3) are supported.
• Selectors that apply to entire messages:
.header
This matches the header entry of a PO file.
.translated
This matches a translated message.
.untranslated
This matches an untranslated message (i.e. a message with
empty translation).
.fuzzy
This matches a fuzzy message (i.e. a message which has a
translation that needs review by the translator).
.obsolete
This matches an obsolete message (i.e. a message that was
translated but is not needed by the current POT file any
more).
• Selectors that apply to parts of a message in PO syntax. Recall
the general structure of a message in PO syntax:
WHITE-SPACE
# TRANSLATOR-COMMENTS
#. EXTRACTED-COMMENTS
#: REFERENCE...
#, FLAG...
#| msgid PREVIOUS-UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgid UNTRANSLATED-STRING
msgstr TRANSLATED-STRING
.comment
This matches all comments (translator comments, extracted
comments, source file reference comments, flag comments,
previous message comments, as well as the entire obsolete
messages).
.translator-comment
This matches the translator comments.
.extracted-comment
This matches the extracted comments, i.e. the comments placed
by the programmer at the attention of the translator.
.reference-comment
This matches the source file reference comments (entire
lines).
.reference
This matches the individual source file references inside the
source file reference comment lines.
.flag-comment
This matches the flag comment lines (entire lines).
.flag
This matches the individual flags inside flag comment lines.
.fuzzy-flag
This matches the fuzzy flag inside flag comment lines.
.previous-comment
This matches the comments containing the previous untranslated
string (entire lines).
.previous
This matches the previous untranslated string including the
string delimiters, the associated keywords (msgid etc.) and
the spaces between them.
.msgid
This matches the untranslated string including the string
delimiters, the associated keywords (msgid etc.) and the
spaces between them.
.msgstr
This matches the translated string including the string
delimiters, the associated keywords (msgstr etc.) and the
spaces between them.
.keyword
This matches the keywords (msgid, msgstr, etc.).
.string
This matches strings, including the string delimiters (double
quotes).
• Selectors that apply to parts of strings:
.text
This matches the entire contents of a string (excluding the
string delimiters, i.e. the double quotes).
.escape-sequence
This matches an escape sequence (starting with a backslash).
.format-directive
This matches a format string directive (starting with a %
sign in the case of most programming languages, with a { in
the case of java-format and csharp-format, with a ~ in
the case of lisp-format and scheme-format, or with $ in
the case of sh-format).
.invalid-format-directive
This matches an invalid format string directive.
.added
In an untranslated string, this matches a part of the string
that was not present in the previous untranslated string.
(Not yet implemented in this release.)
.changed
In an untranslated string or in a previous untranslated
string, this matches a part of the string that is changed or
replaced. (Not yet implemented in this release.)
.removed
In a previous untranslated string, this matches a part of the
string that is not present in the current untranslated string.
(Not yet implemented in this release.)
These selectors can be combined to hierarchical selectors. For
example,
.msgstr .invalid-format-directive { color: red; }
will highlight the invalid format directives in the translated strings.
In text mode, pseudo-classes (CSS2 spec, section 5.11) and
pseudo-elements (CSS2 spec, section 5.12) are not supported.
The declarations in HTML mode are not limited; any graphical
attribute supported by the browsers can be used.
The declarations in text mode are limited to the following
properties. Other properties will be silently ignored.
color (CSS2 spec, section 14.1)
background-color (CSS2 spec, section 14.2.1)
These properties is supported. Colors will be adjusted to match
the terminals capabilities. Note that many terminals support only
8 colors.
font-weight (CSS2 spec, section 15.2.3)
This property is supported, but most terminals can only render two
different weights: normal and bold. Values >= 600 are rendered
as bold.
font-style (CSS2 spec, section 15.2.3)
This property is supported. The values italic and oblique are
rendered the same way.
text-decoration (CSS2 spec, section 16.3.1)
This property is supported, limited to the values none and
underline.

File: gettext.info, Node: Customizing less, Prev: Style rules, Up: Colorizing
9.11.5 Customizing less for viewing PO files
----------------------------------------------
The less program is a popular text file browser for use in a text
screen or terminal emulator. It also supports text with embedded escape
sequences for colors and text decorations.
You can use less to view a PO file like this (assuming an UTF-8
environment):
msgcat --to-code=UTF-8 --color xyz.po | less -R
You can simplify this to this simple command:
less xyz.po
after these three preparations:
1. Add the options -R and -f to the LESS environment variable.
In sh shells:
$ LESS="$LESS -R -f"
$ export LESS
2. If your system does not already have the lessopen.sh and
lessclose.sh scripts, create them and set the LESSOPEN and
LESSCLOSE environment variables, as indicated in the manual page
(man less).
3. Add to lessopen.sh a piece of script that recognizes PO files
through their file extension and invokes msgcat on them,
producing a temporary file. Like this:
case "$1" in
*.po)
tmpfile=`mktemp "${TMPDIR-/tmp}/less.XXXXXX"`
msgcat --to-code=UTF-8 --color "$1" > "$tmpfile"
echo "$tmpfile"
exit 0
;;
esac

File: gettext.info, Node: Other tools, Next: libgettextpo, Prev: Colorizing, Up: Manipulating
9.12 Other tools for manipulating PO files
==========================================
The “Pology” package is a Free Software package for manipulating PO
files. It features, in particular:
• Examination and in-place modification of collections of PO files.
• Format-aware diffing and patching of PO files.
• Handling of version-control branches.
• Fine-grained asynchronous review workflow.
• Custom translation validation.
• Language and project specific support.
Its home page is at <http://pology.nedohodnik.net/>.

File: gettext.info, Node: libgettextpo, Prev: Other tools, Up: Manipulating
9.13 Writing your own programs that process PO files
====================================================
For the tasks for which a combination of msgattrib, msgcat etc.
is not sufficient, a set of C functions is provided in a library, to
make it possible to process PO files in your own programs. When you use
this library, you dont need to write routines to parse the PO file;
instead, you retrieve a pointer in memory to each of messages contained
in the PO file. Functions for writing those memory structures to a file
after working with them are provided too.
The functions are declared in the header file <gettext-po.h>, and
are defined in a library called libgettextpo.
* Menu:
* Error Handling:: Error handling functions
* po_file_t API:: File management
* po_message_iterator_t API:: Message iteration
* po_message_t API:: The basic units of the file
* PO Header Entry API:: Meta information of the file
* po_filepos_t API:: References to the sources
* Format Type API:: Supported format types
* Checking API:: Enforcing constraints
The following example shows code how these functions can be used.
Error handling code is omitted, as its implementation is delegated to
the user provided functions.
struct po_xerror_handler handler =
{
.xerror = ...,
.xerror2 = ...
};
const char *filename = ...;
/* Read the file into memory. */
po_file_t file = po_file_read (filename, &handler);
{
const char * const *domains = po_file_domains (file);
const char * const *domainp;
/* Iterate the domains contained in the file. */
for (domainp = domains; *domainp; domainp++)
{
po_message_t *message;
const char *domain = *domainp;
po_message_iterator_t iterator = po_message_iterator (file, domain);
/* Iterate each message inside the domain. */
while ((message = po_next_message (iterator)) != NULL)
{
/* Read data from the message ... */
const char *msgid = po_message_msgid (message);
const char *msgstr = po_message_msgstr (message);
...
/* Modify its contents ... */
if (perform_some_tests (msgid, msgstr))
po_message_set_fuzzy (message, 1);
...
}
/* Always release returned po_message_iterator_t. */
po_message_iterator_free (iterator);
}
/* Write back the result. */
po_file_t result = po_file_write (file, filename, &handler);
}
/* Always release the returned po_file_t. */
po_file_free (file);

File: gettext.info, Node: Error Handling, Next: po_file_t API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.1 Error Handling
---------------------
Error management is performed through callbacks provided by the user
of the library. They are provided through a parameter with the
following type:
-- Data Type: struct po_xerror_handler
Its pointer is defined as po_xerror_handler_t. Contains two
fields, xerror and xerror2, with the following function
signatures.
-- Function: void xerror (int SEVERITY, po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *FILENAME, size_t LINENO, size_t COLUMN,
int MULTILINE_P, const char *MESSAGE_TEXT)
This function is called to signal a problem of the given SEVERITY.
It _must not return_ if SEVERITY is PO_SEVERITY_FATAL_ERROR.
MESSAGE_TEXT is the problem description. When MULTILINE_P is true,
it can contain multiple lines of text, each terminated with a
newline, otherwise a single line.
MESSAGE and/or FILENAME and LINENO indicate where the problem
occurred:
• If FILENAME is NULL, FILENAME and LINENO and COLUMN should
be ignored.
• If LINENO is (size_t)(-1), LINENO and COLUMN should be
ignored.
• If COLUMN is (size_t)(-1), it should be ignored.
-- Function: void xerror2 (int SEVERITY, po_message_t MESSAGE1,
const char *FILENAME1, size_t LINENO1, size_t COLUMN1,
int MULTILINE_P1, const char *MESSAGE_TEXT1,
po_message_t MESSAGE2, const char *FILENAME2, size_t LINENO2,
size_t COLUMN2, int MULTILINE_P2, const char *MESSAGE_TEXT2)
This function is called to signal a problem of the given SEVERITY
that refers to two messages. It _must not return_ if SEVERITY is
PO_SEVERITY_FATAL_ERROR.
It is similar to two calls to xerror. If possible, an ellipsis can
be appended to MESSAGE_TEXT1 and prepended to MESSAGE_TEXT2.

File: gettext.info, Node: po_file_t API, Next: po_message_iterator_t API, Prev: Error Handling, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.2 po_file_t API
--------------------
-- Data Type: po_file_t
This is a pointer type that refers to the contents of a PO file,
after it has been read into memory.
-- Function: po_file_t po_file_create ()
The po_file_create function creates an empty PO file
representation in memory.
-- Function: po_file_t po_file_read (const char *FILENAME,
struct po_xerror_handler *HANDLER)
The po_file_read function reads a PO file into memory. The file
name is given as argument. The return value is a handle to the PO
files contents, valid until po_file_free is called on it. In
case of error, the functions from HANDLER are called to signal it.
This function is exported as po_file_read_v3 at ABI level, but is
defined as po_file_read in C code after the inclusion of
<gettext-po.h>.
-- Function: po_file_t po_file_write (po_file_t FILE,
const char *FILENAME, struct po_xerror_handler *HANDLER)
The po_file_write function writes the contents of the memory
structure FILE the FILENAME given. The return value is FILE after
a successful operation. In case of error, the functions from
HANDLER are called to signal it.
This function is exported as po_file_write_v2 at ABI level, but
is defined as po_file_write in C code after the inclusion of
<gettext-po.h>.
-- Function: void po_file_free (po_file_t FILE)
The po_file_free function frees a PO files contents from memory,
including all messages that are only implicitly accessible through
iterators.
-- Function: const char * const * po_file_domains (po_file_t FILE)
The po_file_domains function returns the domains for which the
given PO file has messages. The return value is a NULL
terminated array which is valid as long as the FILE handle is
valid. For PO files which contain no domain directive, the
return value contains only one domain, namely the default domain
"messages".

File: gettext.info, Node: po_message_iterator_t API, Next: po_message_t API, Prev: po_file_t API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.3 po_message_iterator_t API
--------------------------------
-- Data Type: po_message_iterator_t
This is a pointer type that refers to an iterator that produces a
sequence of messages.
-- Function: po_message_iterator_t po_message_iterator (po_file_t FILE,
const char *DOMAIN)
The po_message_iterator returns an iterator that will produce the
messages of FILE that belong to the given DOMAIN. If DOMAIN is
NULL, the default domain is used instead. To list the messages,
use the function po_next_message repeatedly.
-- Function: void po_message_iterator_free
(po_message_iterator_t ITERATOR)
The po_message_iterator_free function frees an iterator
previously allocated through the po_message_iterator function.
-- Function: po_message_t po_next_message
(po_message_iterator_t ITERATOR)
The po_next_message function returns the next message from
ITERATOR and advances the iterator. It returns NULL when the
iterator has reached the end of its message list.

File: gettext.info, Node: po_message_t API, Next: PO Header Entry API, Prev: po_message_iterator_t API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.4 po_message_t API
-----------------------
-- Data Type: po_message_t
This is a pointer type that refers to a message of a PO file,
including its translation.
-- Function: po_message_t po_message_create (void)
Returns a freshly constructed message. To finish initializing the
message, you must set the msgid and msgstr. It _must_ be
inserted into a file to manage its memory, as there is no
po_message_free available to the user of the library.
The following functions access details of a po_message_t. Recall
that the results are valid as long as the FILE handle is valid.
-- Function: const char * po_message_msgctxt (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_msgctxt function returns the msgctxt, the
context of MESSAGE. Returns NULL for a message not restricted to
a context.
-- Function: void po_message_set_msgctxt (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *MSGCTXT)
The po_message_set_msgctxt function changes the msgctxt, the
context of the message, to the value provided through MSGCTXT. The
value NULL removes the restriction.
-- Function: const char * po_message_msgid (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_msgid function returns the msgid (untranslated
English string) of MESSAGE. This is guaranteed to be non-NULL.
-- Function: void po_message_set_msgid (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *MSGID)
The po_message_set_msgid function changes the msgid
(untranslated English string) of MESSAGE to the value provided
through MSGID, a non-NULL string.
-- Function: const char * po_message_msgid_plural
(po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_msgid_plural function returns the msgid_plural
(untranslated English plural string) of MESSAGE, a message with
plurals, or NULL for a message without plural.
-- Function: void po_message_set_msgid_plural (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *MSGID_PLURAL)
The po_message_set_msgid_plural function changes the
msgid_plural (untranslated English plural string) of a message to
the value provided through MSGID_PLURAL, or removes the plurals if
NULL is provided as MSGID_PLURAL.
-- Function: const char * po_message_msgstr (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_msgstr function returns the msgstr (translation)
of MESSAGE. For an untranslated message, the return value is an
empty string.
-- Function: void po_message_set_msgstr (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *MSGSTR)
The po_message_set_msgstr function changes the msgstr
(translation) of MESSAGE to the value provided through MSGSTR, a
non-NULL string.
-- Function: const char * po_message_msgstr_plural
(po_message_t MESSAGE, int INDEX)
The po_message_msgstr_plural function returns the msgstr[INDEX]
of MESSAGE, a message with plurals, or NULL when the INDEX is out
of range or for a message without plural.
-- Function: void po_message_set_msgstr_plural (po_message_t MESSAGE,
int INDEX, const char *MSGSTR_PLURAL)
The po_message_set_msgstr_plural function changes the
msgstr[INDEX] of MESSAGE, a message with plurals, to the value
provided through MSGSTR_PLURAL. MESSAGE must be a message with
plurals. Use NULL as the value of MSGSTR_PLURAL with INDEX
pointing to the last element to reduce the number of plural forms.
-- Function: const char * po_message_comments (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_comments function returns the comments of MESSAGE,
a multiline string, ending in a newline, or a non-NULL empty
string.
-- Function: void po_message_set_comments (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *COMMENTS)
The po_message_set_comments function changes the comments of
MESSAGE to the value COMMENTS, a multiline string, ending in a
newline, or a non-NULL empty string.
-- Function: const char * po_message_extracted_comments
(po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_extracted_comments function returns the extracted
comments of MESSAGE, a multiline string, ending in a newline, or a
non-NULL empty string.
-- Function: void po_message_set_extracted_comments
(po_message_t MESSAGE, const char *EXTRACTED_COMMENTS)
The po_message_set_extracted_comments function changes the
comments of MESSAGE to the value EXTRACTED_COMMENTS, a multiline
string, ending in a newline, or a non-NULL empty string.
-- Function: const char * po_message_prev_msgctxt
(po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_prev_msgctxt function returns the previous
msgctxt, the previous context of MESSAGE. Return NULL for a
message that does not have a previous context.
-- Function: void po_message_set_prev_msgctxt (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *PREV_MSGCTXT)
The po_message_set_prev_msgctxt function changes the previous
msgctxt, the context of the message, to the value provided
through PREV_MSGCTXT. The value NULL removes the stored previous
msgctxt.
-- Function: const char * po_message_prev_msgid (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_prev_msgid function returns the previous msgid
(untranslated English string) of MESSAGE, or NULL if there is no
previous msgid stored.
-- Function: void po_message_set_prev_msgid (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *PREV_MSGID)
The po_message_set_prev_msgid function changes the previous
msgid (untranslated English string) of MESSAGE to the value
provided through PREV_MSGID, or removes the message when it is
NULL.
-- Function: const char * po_message_prev_msgid_plural
(po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_prev_msgid_plural function returns the previous
msgid_plural (untranslated English plural string) of MESSAGE, a
message with plurals, or NULL for a message without plural
without any stored previous msgid_plural.
-- Function: void po_message_set_prev_msgid_plural
(po_message_t MESSAGE, const char *PREV_MSGID_PLURAL)
The po_message_set_prev_msgid_plural function changes the
previous msgid_plural (untranslated English plural string) of a
message to the value provided through PREV_MSGID_PLURAL, or removes
the stored previous msgid_plural if NULL is provided as
PREV_MSGID_PLURAL.
-- Function: int po_message_is_obsolete (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_is_obsolete function returns true when MESSAGE is
marked as obsolete.
-- Function: void po_message_set_obsolete (po_message_t MESSAGE,
int OBSOLETE)
The po_message_set_obsolete function changes the obsolete mark of
MESSAGE.
-- Function: int po_message_is_fuzzy (po_message_t MESSAGE)
The po_message_is_fuzzy function returns true when MESSAGE is
marked as fuzzy.
-- Function: void po_message_set_fuzzy (po_message_t MESSAGE,
int FUZZY)
The po_message_set_fuzzy function changes the fuzzy mark of
MESSAGE.
-- Function: int po_message_is_format (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *FORMAT_TYPE)
The po_message_is_format function returns true when the message
is marked as being a format string of FORMAT_TYPE.
-- Function: void po_message_set_format (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *FORMAT_TYPE, int VALUE)
The po_message_set_fuzzy function changes the format mark of the
message for the FORMAT_TYPE provided.
-- Function: int po_message_is_range (po_message_t MESSAGE, int *MINP,
int *MAXP)
The po_message_is_range function returns true when the message
has a numeric range set, and stores the minimum and maximum value
in the locations pointed by MINP and MAXP respectively.
-- Function: void po_message_set_range (po_message_t MESSAGE, int MIN,
int MAX)
The po_message_set_range function changes the numeric range of
the message. MIN and MAX must be non-negative, with MIN < MAX.
Use MIN and MAX with value -1 to remove the numeric range of
MESSAGE.

File: gettext.info, Node: PO Header Entry API, Next: po_filepos_t API, Prev: po_message_t API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.5 PO Header Entry API
--------------------------
The following functions provide an interface to extract and
manipulate the header entry (*note Header Entry::) from a file loaded in
memory. The meta information must be written back into the domain
message with the empty string as msgid.
-- Function: const char * po_file_domain_header (po_file_t FILE,
const char *DOMAIN)
Returns the header entry of a domain from FILE, a PO file loaded in
memory. The value NULL provided as DOMAIN denotes the default
domain. Returns NULL if there is no header entry.
-- Function: char * po_header_field (const char *HEADER,
const char *FIELD)
Returns the value of FIELD in the HEADER entry. The return value
is either a freshly allocated string, to be freed by the caller, or
NULL.
-- Function: char * po_header_set_field (const char *HEADER,
const char *FIELD, const char *VALUE)
Returns a freshly allocated string which contains the entry from
HEADER with FIELD set to VALUE. The field is added if necessary.

File: gettext.info, Node: po_filepos_t API, Next: Format Type API, Prev: PO Header Entry API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.6 po_filepos_t API
-----------------------
-- Data Type: po_filepos_t
This is a pointer type that refers to a strings position within a
source file.
The following functions provide an interface to extract and
manipulate these references.
-- Function: po_filepos_t po_message_filepos (po_message_t MESSAGE,
int INDEX)
Returns the file reference in position INDEX from the message. If
INDEX is out of range, returns NULL.
-- Function: void po_message_remove_filepos (po_message_t MESSAGE,
int INDEX)
Removes the file reference in position INDEX from the message. It
moves all references following INDEX one position backwards.
-- Function: void po_message_add_filepos (po_message_t MESSAGE,
const char *FILE, size_t START_LINE)
Adds a reference to the string from FILE starting at START_LINE, if
it is not already present for the message. The value
(size_t)(-1) for START_LINE denotes that the line number is not
available.

File: gettext.info, Node: Format Type API, Next: Checking API, Prev: po_filepos_t API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.7 Format Type API
----------------------
-- Function: const char * const * po_format_list (void)
Returns a NULL terminated array of the supported format types.
-- Function: const char * po_format_pretty_name
(const char *FORMAT_TYPE)
Returns the pretty name associated with FORMAT_TYPE. For example,
it returns “C#” when FORMAT_TYPE is “csharp_format”. Return NULL
if FORMAT_TYPE is not a supported format type.

File: gettext.info, Node: Checking API, Prev: Format Type API, Up: libgettextpo
9.13.8 Checking API
-------------------
-- Function: void po_file_check_all (po_file_t FILE,
po_xerror_handler_t HANDLER)
Tests whether the entire FILE is valid, like msgfmt does it. If
it is invalid, passes the reasons to HANDLER.
-- Function: void po_message_check_all (po_message_t MESSAGE,
po_message_iterator_t ITERATOR, po_xerror_handler_t HANDLER)
Tests MESSAGE, to be inserted at ITERATOR in a PO file in memory,
like msgfmt does it. If it is invalid, passes the reasons to
HANDLER. ITERATOR is not modified by this call; it only specifies
the file and the domain.
-- Function: void po_message_check_format (po_message_t MESSAGE,
po_xerror_handler_t HANDLER)
Tests whether the message translation from MESSAGE is a valid
format string if the message is marked as being a format string.
If it is invalid, passes the reasons to HANDLER.
This function is exported as po_message_check_format_v2 at ABI
level, but is defined as po_message_check_format in C code after
the inclusion of <gettext-po.h>.

File: gettext.info, Node: Binaries, Next: Programmers, Prev: Manipulating, Up: Top
10 Producing Binary MO Files
****************************
* Menu:
* msgfmt Invocation:: Invoking the msgfmt Program
* msgunfmt Invocation:: Invoking the msgunfmt Program
* MO Files:: The Format of GNU MO Files

File: gettext.info, Node: msgfmt Invocation, Next: msgunfmt Invocation, Up: Binaries
10.1 Invoking the msgfmt Program
==================================
msgfmt [OPTION] FILENAME.po ...
The msgfmt programs generates a binary message catalog from a
textual translation description.
10.1.1 Input file location
--------------------------
FILENAME.po ...
-D DIRECTORY
--directory=DIRECTORY
Add DIRECTORY to the list of directories. Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories. The resulting
binary file will be written relative to the current directory,
though.
If an input file is -, standard input is read.
10.1.2 Operation mode
---------------------
-j
--java
Java mode: generate a Java ResourceBundle class.
--java2
Like java, and assume Java2 (JDK 1.2 or higher).
--csharp
C# mode: generate a .NET .dll file containing a subclass of
GettextResourceSet.
--csharp-resources
C# resources mode: generate a .NET .resources file.
--tcl
Tcl mode: generate a tcl/msgcat .msg file.
--qt
Qt mode: generate a Qt .qm file.
--desktop
Desktop Entry mode: generate a .desktop file.
--xml
XML mode: generate an XML file.
10.1.3 Output file location
---------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
--strict
Direct the program to work strictly following the Uniforum/Sun
implementation. Currently this only affects the naming of the
output file. If this option is not given the name of the output
file is the same as the domain name. If the strict Uniforum mode
is enabled the suffix .mo is added to the file name if it is not
already present.
We find this behaviour of Suns implementation rather silly and so
by default this mode is _not_ selected.
If the output FILE is -, output is written to standard output.
10.1.4 Output file location in Java mode
----------------------------------------
-r RESOURCE
--resource=RESOURCE
Specify the resource name.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory of classes directory hierarchy.
--source
Produce a .java source file, instead of a compiled .class file.
The class name is determined by appending the locale name to the
resource name, separated with an underscore. The -d option is
mandatory. The class is written under the specified directory.
10.1.5 Output file location in C# mode
--------------------------------------
-r RESOURCE
--resource=RESOURCE
Specify the resource name.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory for locale dependent .dll files.
The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .dll file is written
in a subdirectory of the specified directory whose name depends on the
locale.
10.1.6 Output file location in Tcl mode
---------------------------------------
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory of .msg message catalogs.
The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .msg file is written
in the specified directory.
10.1.7 Desktop Entry mode operations
------------------------------------
--template=TEMPLATE
Specify a .desktop file used as a template.
-k[KEYWORDSPEC]
--keyword[=KEYWORDSPEC]
Specify KEYWORDSPEC as an additional keyword to be looked for.
Without a KEYWORDSPEC, the option means to not use default
keywords.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the directory where PO files are read. The directory must
contain the LINGUAS file.
To generate a .desktop file for a single locale, you can use it as
follows.
msgfmt --desktop --template=TEMPLATE --locale=LOCALE \
-o FILE FILENAME.po ...
msgfmt provides a special "bulk" operation mode to process multiple
.po files at a time.
msgfmt --desktop --template=TEMPLATE -d DIRECTORY -o FILE
msgfmt first reads the LINGUAS file under DIRECTORY, and then
processes all .po files listed there. You can also limit the locales
to a subset, through the LINGUAS environment variable.
For either operation modes, the -o and --template options are
mandatory.
10.1.8 XML mode operations
--------------------------
--template=TEMPLATE
Specify an XML file used as a template.
-L NAME
--language=NAME
Specifies the language of the input files.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory of .po message catalogs.
To generate an XML file for a single locale, you can use it as
follows.
msgfmt --xml --template=TEMPLATE --locale=LOCALE \
-o FILE FILENAME.po ...
msgfmt provides a special "bulk" operation mode to process multiple
.po files at a time.
msgfmt --xml --template=TEMPLATE -d DIRECTORY -o FILE
msgfmt first reads the LINGUAS file under DIRECTORY, and then
processes all .po files listed there. You can also limit the locales
to a subset, through the LINGUAS environment variable.
For either operation modes, the -o and --template options are
mandatory.
10.1.9 Input file syntax
------------------------
-P
--properties-input
Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java
.properties syntax, not in PO file syntax.
--stringtable-input
Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource
files in .strings syntax, not in PO file syntax.
10.1.10 Input file interpretation
---------------------------------
-c
--check
Perform all the checks implied by --check-format,
--check-header, --check-domain.
--check-format
Check language dependent format strings.
If the string represents a format string used in a printf-like
function both strings should have the same number of % format
specifiers, with matching types. If the flag c-format or
possible-c-format appears in the special comment <#,> for this
entry a check is performed. For example, the check will diagnose
using %.*s against %s, or %d against %s, or %d against
%x. It can even handle positional parameters.
Normally the xgettext program automatically decides whether a
string is a format string or not. This algorithm is not perfect,
though. It might regard a string as a format string though it is
not used in a printf-like function and so msgfmt might report
errors where there are none.
To solve this problem the programmer can dictate the decision to
the xgettext program (*note c-format::). The translator should
not consider removing the flag from the <#,> line. This "fix"
would be reversed again as soon as msgmerge is called the next
time.
--check-header
Verify presence and contents of the header entry. *Note Header
Entry::, for a description of the various fields in the header
entry.
--check-domain
Check for conflicts between domain directives and the
--output-file option
-C
--check-compatibility
Check that GNU msgfmt behaves like X/Open msgfmt. This will give
an error when attempting to use the GNU extensions.
--check-accelerators[=CHAR]
Check presence of keyboard accelerators for menu items. This is
based on the convention used in some GUIs that a keyboard
accelerator in a menu item string is designated by an immediately
preceding & character. Sometimes a keyboard accelerator is also
called "keyboard mnemonic". This check verifies that if the
untranslated string has exactly one & character, the translated
string has exactly one & as well. If this option is given with a
CHAR argument, this CHAR should be a non-alphanumeric character and
is used as keyboard accelerator mark instead of &.
-f
--use-fuzzy
Use fuzzy entries in output. Note that using this option is
usually wrong, because fuzzy messages are exactly those which have
not been validated by a human translator.
10.1.11 Output details
----------------------
--no-convert
Dont convert the messages to UTF-8 encoding. By default, messages
are converted to UTF-8 encoding before being stored in a MO file;
this helps avoiding conversions at run time, since nowadays most
locales use the UTF-8 encoding.
--no-redundancy
Dont pre-expand ISO C 99 <inttypes.h> format string directive
macros. By default, messages that are marked as c-format and
contain ISO C 99 <inttypes.h> format string directive macros are
pre-expanded for selected platforms, and these redundant expansions
are stored in the MO file. These redundant expansions make the
translations of these messages work with the gettext
implementation in the libc of that platform, without requiring
GNU gettext’’s libintl. The platforms that benefit from this
pre-expansion are those with the musl libc.
-a NUMBER
--alignment=NUMBER
Align strings to NUMBER bytes (default: 1).
--endianness=BYTEORDER
Write out 32-bit numbers in the given byte order. The possible
values are big and little. The default is little.
MO files of any endianness can be used on any platform. When a MO
file has an endianness other than the platforms one, the 32-bit
numbers from the MO file are swapped at runtime. The performance
impact is negligible.
This option can be useful to produce MO files that are optimized
for one platform.
--no-hash
Dont include a hash table in the binary file. Lookup will be more
expensive at run time (binary search instead of hash table lookup).
10.1.12 Informative output
--------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
--statistics
Print statistics about translations. When the option --verbose
is used in combination with --statistics, the input file name is
printed in front of the statistics line.
-v
--verbose
Increase verbosity level.

File: gettext.info, Node: msgunfmt Invocation, Next: MO Files, Prev: msgfmt Invocation, Up: Binaries
10.2 Invoking the msgunfmt Program
====================================
msgunfmt [OPTION] [FILE]...
The msgunfmt program converts a binary message catalog to a
Uniforum style .po file.
10.2.1 Operation mode
---------------------
-j
--java
Java mode: input is a Java ResourceBundle class.
--csharp
C# mode: input is a .NET .dll file containing a subclass of
GettextResourceSet.
--csharp-resources
C# resources mode: input is a .NET .resources file.
--tcl
Tcl mode: input is a tcl/msgcat .msg file.
10.2.2 Input file location
--------------------------
FILE ...
Input .mo files.
If no input FILE is given or if it is -, standard input is read.
10.2.3 Input file location in Java mode
---------------------------------------
-r RESOURCE
--resource=RESOURCE
Specify the resource name.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
The class name is determined by appending the locale name to the
resource name, separated with an underscore. The class is located using
the CLASSPATH.
10.2.4 Input file location in C# mode
-------------------------------------
-r RESOURCE
--resource=RESOURCE
Specify the resource name.
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory for locale dependent .dll files.
The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .msg file is located
in a subdirectory of the specified directory whose name depends on the
locale.
10.2.5 Input file location in Tcl mode
--------------------------------------
-l LOCALE
--locale=LOCALE
Specify the locale name, either a language specification of the
form LL or a combined language and country specification of the
form LL_CC.
-d DIRECTORY
Specify the base directory of .msg message catalogs.
The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .msg file is located
in the specified directory.
10.2.6 Output file location
---------------------------
-o FILE
--output-file=FILE
Write output to specified file.
The results are written to standard output if no output file is
specified or if it is -.
10.2.7 Output details
---------------------
--color
--color=WHEN
Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See *note The --color option:: for details.
--style=STYLE_FILE
Specify the CSS style rule file to use for --color. See *note
The --style option:: for details.
--force-po
Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
-i
--indent
Write the .po file using indented style.
--strict
Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file. Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesnt support the
GNU extensions.
-p
--properties-output
Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java .properties syntax. Note
that this file format doesnt support plural forms and silently
drops obsolete messages.
--stringtable-output
Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in .strings
syntax. Note that this file format doesnt support plural forms.
-w NUMBER
--width=NUMBER
Set the output page width. Long strings in the output files will
be split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each lines
width (= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given
NUMBER.
--no-wrap
Do not break long message lines. Message lines whose width exceeds
the output page width will not be split into several lines. Only
file reference lines which are wider than the output page width
will be split.
-s
--sort-output
Generate sorted output. Note that using this option makes it much
harder for the translator to understand each messages context.
10.2.8 Informative output
-------------------------
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
-v
--verbose
Increase verbosity level.

File: gettext.info, Node: MO Files, Prev: msgunfmt Invocation, Up: Binaries
10.3 The Format of GNU MO Files
===============================
The format of the generated MO files is best described by a picture,
which appears below.
The first two words serve the identification of the file. The magic
number will always signal GNU MO files. The number is stored in the
byte order used when the MO file was generated, so the magic number
really is two numbers: 0x950412de and 0xde120495.
The second word describes the current revision of the file format,
composed of a major and a minor revision number. The revision numbers
ensure that the readers of MO files can distinguish new formats from old
ones and handle their contents, as far as possible. For now the major
revision is 0 or 1, and the minor revision is also 0 or 1. More
revisions might be added in the future. A program seeing an unexpected
major revision number should stop reading the MO file entirely; whereas
an unexpected minor revision number means that the file can be read but
will not reveal its full contents, when parsed by a program that
supports only smaller minor revision numbers.
The version is kept separate from the magic number, instead of using
different magic numbers for different formats, mainly because
/etc/magic is not updated often.
Follow a number of pointers to later tables in the file, allowing for
the extension of the prefix part of MO files without having to recompile
programs reading them. This might become useful for later inserting a
few flag bits, indication about the charset used, new tables, or other
things.
Then, at offset O and offset T in the picture, two tables of string
descriptors can be found. In both tables, each string descriptor uses
two 32 bits integers, one for the string length, another for the offset
of the string in the MO file, counting in bytes from the start of the
file. The first table contains descriptors for the original strings,
and is sorted so the original strings are in increasing lexicographical
order. The second table contains descriptors for the translated
strings, and is parallel to the first table: to find the corresponding
translation one has to access the array slot in the second array with
the same index.
Having the original strings sorted enables the use of simple binary
search, for when the MO file does not contain an hashing table, or for
when it is not practical to use the hashing table provided in the MO
file. This also has another advantage, as the empty string in a PO file
GNU gettext is usually _translated_ into some system information
attached to that particular MO file, and the empty string necessarily
becomes the first in both the original and translated tables, making the
system information very easy to find.
The size S of the hash table can be zero. In this case, the hash
table itself is not contained in the MO file. Some people might prefer
this because a precomputed hashing table takes disk space, and does not
win _that_ much speed. The hash table contains indices to the sorted
array of strings in the MO file. Conflict resolution is done by double
hashing. The precise hashing algorithm used is fairly dependent on GNU
gettext code, and is not documented here.
As for the strings themselves, they follow the hash file, and each is
terminated with a <NUL>, and this <NUL> is not counted in the length
which appears in the string descriptor. The msgfmt program has an
option selecting the alignment for MO file strings. With this option,
each string is separately aligned so it starts at an offset which is a
multiple of the alignment value. On some RISC machines, a correct
alignment will speed things up.
Contexts are stored by storing the concatenation of the context, a
<EOT> byte, and the original string, instead of the original string.
Plural forms are stored by letting the plural of the original string
follow the singular of the original string, separated through a <NUL>
byte. The length which appears in the string descriptor includes both.
However, only the singular of the original string takes part in the hash
table lookup. The plural variants of the translation are all stored
consecutively, separated through a <NUL> byte. Here also, the length in
the string descriptor includes all of them.
The character encoding of the strings can be any standard
ASCII-compatible encoding, such as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, EUC-JP, etc., as
long as the encodings name is stated in the header entry (*note Header
Entry::). Starting with GNU gettext version 0.22, the MO files
produced by msgfmt have them in UTF-8 encoding, unless the msgfmt
option --no-convert is used.
Nothing prevents a MO file from having embedded <NUL>s in strings.
However, the program interface currently used already presumes that
strings are <NUL> terminated, so embedded <NUL>s are somewhat useless.
But the MO file format is general enough so other interfaces would be
later possible, if for example, we ever want to implement wide
characters right in MO files, where <NUL> bytes may accidentally appear.
(No, we dont want to have wide characters in MO files. They would make
the file unnecessarily large, and the wchar_t type being platform
dependent, MO files would be platform dependent as well.)
This particular issue has been strongly debated in the GNU gettext
development forum, and it is expectable that MO file format will evolve
or change over time. It is even possible that many formats may later be
supported concurrently. But surely, we have to start somewhere, and the
MO file format described here is a good start. Nothing is cast in
concrete, and the format may later evolve fairly easily, so we should
feel comfortable with the current approach.
byte
+------------------------------------------+
0 | magic number = 0x950412de |
| |
4 | file format revision = 0 |
| |
8 | number of strings | == N
| |
12 | offset of table with original strings | == O
| |
16 | offset of table with translation strings | == T
| |
20 | size of hashing table | == S
| |
24 | offset of hashing table | == H
| |
. .
. (possibly more entries later) .
. .
| |
O | length & offset 0th string ----------------.
O + 8 | length & offset 1st string ------------------.
... ... | |
O + ((N-1)*8)| length & offset (N-1)th string | | |
| | | |
T | length & offset 0th translation ---------------.
T + 8 | length & offset 1st translation -----------------.
... ... | | | |
T + ((N-1)*8)| length & offset (N-1)th translation | | | | |
| | | | | |
H | start hash table | | | | |
... ... | | | |
H + S * 4 | end hash table | | | | |
| | | | | |
| NUL terminated 0th string <----------------' | | |
| | | | |
| NUL terminated 1st string <------------------' | |
| | | |
... ... | |
| | | |
| NUL terminated 0th translation <---------------' |
| | |
| NUL terminated 1st translation <-----------------'
| |
... ...
| |
+------------------------------------------+

File: gettext.info, Node: Programmers, Next: Translators, Prev: Binaries, Up: Top
11 The Programmers View
************************
One aim of the current message catalog implementation provided by GNU
gettext was to use the systems message catalog handling, if the
installer wishes to do so. So we perhaps should first take a look at
the solutions we know about. The people in the POSIX committee did not
manage to agree on one of the semi-official standards which well
describe below. In fact they couldnt agree on anything, so they
decided only to include an example of an interface. The major Unix
vendors are split in the usage of the two most important specifications:
X/Opens catgets vs. Uniforums gettext interface. Well describe them
both and later explain our solution of this dilemma.
* Menu:
* catgets:: About catgets
* gettext:: About gettext
* Comparison:: Comparing the two interfaces
* Using libintl.a:: Using libintl.a in own programs
* gettext grok:: Being a gettext grok
* Temp Programmers:: Temporary Notes for the Programmers Chapter

File: gettext.info, Node: catgets, Next: gettext, Up: Programmers
11.1 About catgets
====================
The catgets implementation is defined in the X/Open Portability
Guide, Volume 3, XSI Supplementary Definitions, Chapter 5. But the
process of creating this standard seemed to be too slow for some of the
Unix vendors so they created their implementations on preliminary
versions of the standard. Of course this leads again to problems while
writing platform independent programs: even the usage of catgets does
not guarantee a unique interface.
Another, personal comment on this that only a bunch of committee
members could have made this interface. They never really tried to
program using this interface. It is a fast, memory-saving
implementation, an user can happily live with it. But programmers hate
it (at least I and some others do...)
But we must not forget one point: after all the trouble with
transferring the rights on Unix they at last came to X/Open, the very
same who published this specification. This leads me to making the
prediction that this interface will be in future Unix standards (e.g.
Spec1170) and therefore part of all Unix implementation
(implementations, which are _allowed_ to wear this name).
* Menu:
* Interface to catgets:: The interface
* Problems with catgets:: Problems with the catgets interface?!

File: gettext.info, Node: Interface to catgets, Next: Problems with catgets, Up: catgets
11.1.1 The Interface
--------------------
The interface to the catgets implementation consists of three
functions which correspond to those used in file access: catopen to
open the catalog for using, catgets for accessing the message tables,
and catclose for closing after work is done. Prototypes for the
functions and the needed definitions are in the <nl_types.h> header
file.
catopen is used like in this:
nl_catd catd = catopen ("catalog_name", 0);
The function takes as the argument the name of the catalog. This
usual refers to the name of the program or the package. The second
parameter is not further specified in the standard. I dont even know
whether it is implemented consistently among various systems. So the
common advice is to use 0 as the value. The return value is a handle
to the message catalog, equivalent to handles to file returned by
open.
This handle is of course used in the catgets function which can be
used like this:
char *translation = catgets (catd, set_no, msg_id, "original string");
The first parameter is this catalog descriptor. The second parameter
specifies the set of messages in this catalog, in which the message
described by msg_id is obtained. catgets therefore uses a
three-stage addressing:
catalog name ⇒ set number ⇒ message ID ⇒ translation
The fourth argument is not used to address the translation. It is
given as a default value in case when one of the addressing stages fail.
One important thing to remember is that although the return type of
catgets is char * the resulting string _must not_ be changed. It
should better be const char *, but the standard is published in 1988,
one year before ANSI C.
The last of these functions is used and behaves as expected:
catclose (catd);
After this no catgets call using the descriptor is legal anymore.

File: gettext.info, Node: Problems with catgets, Prev: Interface to catgets, Up: catgets
11.1.2 Problems with the catgets Interface?!
----------------------------------------------
Now that this description seemed to be really easy — where are the
problems we speak of? In fact the interface could be used in a
reasonable way, but constructing the message catalogs is a pain. The
reason for this lies in the third argument of catgets: the unique
message ID. This has to be a numeric value for all messages in a single
set. Perhaps you could imagine the problems keeping such a list while
changing the source code. Add a new message here, remove one there. Of
course there have been developed a lot of tools helping to organize this
chaos but one as the other fails in one aspect or the other. We dont
want to say that the other approach has no problems but they are far
more easy to manage.

File: gettext.info, Node: gettext, Next: Comparison, Prev: catgets, Up: Programmers
11.2 About gettext
====================
The definition of the gettext interface comes from a Uniforum
proposal. It was submitted there by Sun, who had implemented the
gettext function in SunOS 4, around 1990. Nowadays, the gettext
interface is specified by the OpenI18N standard.
The main point about this solution is that it does not follow the
method of normal file handling (open-use-close) and that it does not
burden the programmer with so many tasks, especially the unique key
handling. Of course here also a unique key is needed, but this key is
the message itself (how long or short it is). See *note Comparison::
for a more detailed comparison of the two methods.
The following section contains a rather detailed description of the
interface. We make it that detailed because this is the interface we
chose for the GNU gettext Library. Programmers interested in using
this library will be interested in this description.
* Menu:
* Interface to gettext:: The interface
* Ambiguities:: Solving ambiguities
* Locating Catalogs:: Locating message catalog files
* Charset conversion:: How to request conversion to Unicode
* Contexts:: Solving ambiguities in GUI programs
* Plural forms:: Additional functions for handling plurals
* Optimized gettext:: Optimization of the *gettext functions

File: gettext.info, Node: Interface to gettext, Next: Ambiguities, Up: gettext
11.2.1 The Interface
--------------------
The minimal functionality an interface must have is a) to select a
domain the strings are coming from (a single domain for all programs is
not reasonable because its construction and maintenance is difficult,
perhaps impossible) and b) to access a string in a selected domain.
This is principally the description of the gettext interface. It
has a global domain which unqualified usages reference. Of course this
domain is selectable by the user.
char *textdomain (const char *domain_name);
This provides the possibility to change or query the current status
of the current global domain of the LC_MESSAGE category. The argument
is a null-terminated string, whose characters must be legal in the use
in filenames. If the DOMAIN_NAME argument is NULL, the function
returns the current value. If no value has been set before, the name of
the default domain is returned: _messages_. Please note that although
the return value of textdomain is of type char * no changing is
allowed. It is also important to know that no checks of the
availability are made. If the name is not available you will see this
by the fact that no translations are provided.
To use a domain set by textdomain the function
char *gettext (const char *msgid);
is to be used. This is the simplest reasonable form one can imagine.
The translation of the string MSGID is returned if it is available in
the current domain. If it is not available, the argument itself is
returned. If the argument is NULL the result is undefined.
One thing which should come into mind is that no explicit dependency
to the used domain is given. The current value of the domain is used.
If this changes between two executions of the same gettext call in the
program, both calls reference a different message catalog.
For the easiest case, which is normally used in internationalized
packages, once at the beginning of execution a call to textdomain is
issued, setting the domain to a unique name, normally the package name.
In the following code all strings which have to be translated are
filtered through the gettext function. Thats all, the package speaks
your language.

File: gettext.info, Node: Ambiguities, Next: Locating Catalogs, Prev: Interface to gettext, Up: gettext
11.2.2 Solving Ambiguities
--------------------------
While this single name domain works well for most applications there
might be the need to get translations from more than one domain. Of
course one could switch between different domains with calls to
textdomain, but this is really not convenient nor is it fast. A
possible situation could be one case subject to discussion during this
writing: all error messages of functions in the set of common used
functions should go into a separate domain error. By this mean we
would only need to translate them once. Another case are messages from
a library, as these _have_ to be independent of the current domain set
by the application.
For this reasons there are two more functions to retrieve strings:
char *dgettext (const char *domain_name, const char *msgid);
char *dcgettext (const char *domain_name, const char *msgid,
int category);
Both take an additional argument at the first place, which
corresponds to the argument of textdomain. The third argument of
dcgettext allows to use another locale category but LC_MESSAGES.
But I really dont know where this can be useful. If the DOMAIN_NAME is
NULL or CATEGORY has an value beside the known ones, the result is
undefined. It should also be noted that this function is not part of
the second known implementation of this function family, the one found
in Solaris.
A second ambiguity can arise by the fact, that perhaps more than one
domain has the same name. This can be solved by specifying where the
needed message catalog files can be found.
char *bindtextdomain (const char *domain_name,
const char *dir_name);
Calling this function binds the given domain to a file in the
specified directory (how this file is determined follows below).
Especially a file in the systems default place is not favored against
the specified file anymore (as it would be by solely using
textdomain). A NULL pointer for the DIR_NAME parameter returns the
binding associated with DOMAIN_NAME. If DOMAIN_NAME itself is NULL
nothing happens and a NULL pointer is returned. Here again as for all
the other functions is true that none of the return value must be
changed!
It is important to remember that relative path names for the DIR_NAME
parameter can be trouble. Since the path is always computed relative to
the current directory different results will be achieved when the
program executes a chdir command. Relative paths should always be
avoided to avoid dependencies and unreliabilities.
wchar_t *wbindtextdomain (const char *domain_name,
const wchar_t *dir_name);
This function is provided only on native Windows platforms. It is
like bindtextdomain, except that the DIR_NAME parameter is a wide
string (in UTF-16 encoding, as usual on Windows).

File: gettext.info, Node: Locating Catalogs, Next: Charset conversion, Prev: Ambiguities, Up: gettext
11.2.3 Locating Message Catalog Files
-------------------------------------
Because many different languages for many different packages have to
be stored we need some way to add these information to file message
catalog files. The way usually used in Unix environments is have this
encoding in the file name. This is also done here. The directory name
given in bindtextdomains second argument (or the default directory),
followed by the name of the locale, the locale category, and the domain
name are concatenated:
DIR_NAME/LOCALE/LC_CATEGORY/DOMAIN_NAME.mo
The default value for DIR_NAME is system specific. For the GNU
library, and for packages adhering to its conventions, its:
/usr/local/share/locale
LOCALE is the name of the locale category which is designated by
LC_CATEGORY. For gettext and dgettext this LC_CATEGORY is
always LC_MESSAGES.(1) The name of the locale category is determined
through setlocale (LC_CATEGORY, NULL). (2) When using the function
dcgettext, you can specify the locale category through the third
argument.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) Some system, e.g. mingw, dont have LC_MESSAGES. Here we use a
more or less arbitrary value for it, namely 1729, the smallest positive
integer which can be represented in two different ways as the sum of two
cubes.
(2) When the system does not support setlocale its behavior in
setting the locale values is simulated by looking at the environment
variables.

File: gettext.info, Node: Charset conversion, Next: Contexts, Prev: Locating Catalogs, Up: gettext
11.2.4 How to specify the output character set gettext uses
-------------------------------------------------------------
gettext not only looks up a translation in a message catalog. It
also converts the translation on the fly to the desired output character
set. This is useful if the user is working in a different character set
than the translator who created the message catalog, because it avoids
distributing variants of message catalogs which differ only in the
character set.
The output character set is, by default, the value of nl_langinfo
(CODESET), which depends on the LC_CTYPE part of the current locale.
But programs which store strings in a locale independent way (e.g.
UTF-8) can request that gettext and related functions return the
translations in that encoding, by use of the bind_textdomain_codeset
function.
Note that the MSGID argument to gettext is not subject to character
set conversion. Also, when gettext does not find a translation for
MSGID, it returns MSGID unchanged independently of the current output
character set. It is therefore recommended that all MSGIDs be US-ASCII
strings.
-- Function: char * bind_textdomain_codeset (const char *DOMAINNAME,
const char *CODESET)
The bind_textdomain_codeset function can be used to specify the
output character set for message catalogs for domain DOMAINNAME.
The CODESET argument must be a valid codeset name which can be used
for the iconv_open function, or a null pointer.
If the CODESET parameter is the null pointer,
bind_textdomain_codeset returns the currently selected codeset
for the domain with the name DOMAINNAME. It returns NULL if no
codeset has yet been selected.
The bind_textdomain_codeset function can be used several times.
If used multiple times with the same DOMAINNAME argument, the later
call overrides the settings made by the earlier one.
The bind_textdomain_codeset function returns a pointer to a
string containing the name of the selected codeset. The string is
allocated internally in the function and must not be changed by the
user. If the system went out of core during the execution of
bind_textdomain_codeset, the return value is NULL and the
global variable ERRNO is set accordingly.

File: gettext.info, Node: Contexts, Next: Plural forms, Prev: Charset conversion, Up: gettext
11.2.5 Using contexts for solving ambiguities
---------------------------------------------
One place where the gettext functions, if used normally, have big
problems is within programs with graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The
problem is that many of the strings which have to be translated are very
short. They have to appear in pull-down menus which restricts the
length. But strings which are not containing entire sentences or at
least large fragments of a sentence may appear in more than one
situation in the program but might have different translations. This is
especially true for the one-word strings which are frequently used in
GUI programs.
As a consequence many people say that the gettext approach is wrong
and instead catgets should be used which indeed does not have this
problem. But there is a very simple and powerful method to handle this
kind of problems with the gettext functions.
Contexts can be added to strings to be translated. A context
dependent translation lookup is when a translation for a given string is
searched, that is limited to a given context. The translation for the
same string in a different context can be different. The different
translations of the same string in different contexts can be stored in
the in the same MO file, and can be edited by the translator in the same
PO file.
The gettext.h include file contains the lookup macros for strings
with contexts. They are implemented as thin macros and inline functions
over the functions from <libintl.h>.
const char *pgettext (const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid);
In a call of this macro, MSGCTXT and MSGID must be string literals.
The macro returns the translation of MSGID, restricted to the context
given by MSGCTXT.
The MSGCTXT string is visible in the PO file to the translator. You
should try to make it somehow canonical and never changing. Because
every time you change an MSGCTXT, the translator will have to review the
translation of MSGID.
Finding a canonical MSGCTXT string that doesnt change over time can
be hard. But you shouldnt use the file name or class name containing
the pgettext call because it is a common development task to rename
a file or a class, and it shouldnt cause translator work. Also you
shouldnt use a comment in the form of a complete English sentence as
MSGCTXT because orthography or grammar changes are often applied to
such sentences, and again, it shouldnt force the translator to do a
review.
The p in pgettext stands for “particular”: pgettext fetches a
particular translation of the MSGID.
const char *dpgettext (const char *domain_name,
const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid);
const char *dcpgettext (const char *domain_name,
const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid,
int category);
These are generalizations of pgettext. They behave similarly to
dgettext and dcgettext, respectively. The DOMAIN_NAME argument
defines the translation domain. The CATEGORY argument allows to use
another locale category than LC_MESSAGES.
As as example consider the following fictional situation. A GUI
program has a menu bar with the following entries:
+------------+------------+--------------------------------------+
| File | Printer | |
+------------+------------+--------------------------------------+
| Open | | Select |
| New | | Open |
+----------+ | Connect |
+----------+
To have the strings File, Printer, Open, New, Select, and
Connect translated there has to be at some point in the code a call to
a function of the gettext family. But in two places the string passed
into the function would be Open. The translations might not be the
same and therefore we are in the dilemma described above.
What distinguishes the two places is the menu path from the menu root
to the particular menu entries:
Menu|File
Menu|Printer
Menu|File|Open
Menu|File|New
Menu|Printer|Select
Menu|Printer|Open
Menu|Printer|Connect
The context is thus the menu path without its last part. So, the
calls look like this:
pgettext ("Menu|", "File")
pgettext ("Menu|", "Printer")
pgettext ("Menu|File|", "Open")
pgettext ("Menu|File|", "New")
pgettext ("Menu|Printer|", "Select")
pgettext ("Menu|Printer|", "Open")
pgettext ("Menu|Printer|", "Connect")
Whether or not to use the | character at the end of the context is
a matter of style.
For more complex cases, where the MSGCTXT or MSGID are not string
literals, more general macros are available:
const char *pgettext_expr (const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid);
const char *dpgettext_expr (const char *domain_name,
const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid);
const char *dcpgettext_expr (const char *domain_name,
const char *msgctxt, const char *msgid,
int category);
Here MSGCTXT and MSGID can be arbitrary string-valued expressions.
These macros are more general. But in the case that both argument
expressions are string literals, the macros without the _expr suffix
are more efficient.

File: gettext.info, Node: Plural forms, Next: Optimized gettext, Prev: Contexts, Up: gettext
11.2.6 Additional functions for plural forms
--------------------------------------------
The functions of the gettext family described so far (and all the
catgets functions as well) have one problem in the real world which
have been neglected completely in all existing approaches. What is
meant here is the handling of plural forms.
Looking through Unix source code before the time anybody thought
about internationalization (and, sadly, even afterwards) one can often
find code similar to the following:
printf ("%d file%s deleted", n, n == 1 ? "" : "s");
After the first complaints from people internationalizing the code
people either completely avoided formulations like this or used strings
like "file(s)". Both look unnatural and should be avoided. First
tries to solve the problem correctly looked like this:
if (n == 1)
printf ("%d file deleted", n);
else
printf ("%d files deleted", n);
But this does not solve the problem. It helps languages where the
plural form of a noun is not simply constructed by adding an s but
that is all. Once again people fell into the trap of believing the
rules their language is using are universal. But the handling of plural
forms differs widely between the language families. For example, Rafal
Maszkowski <rzm@mat.uni.torun.pl> reports:
In Polish we use e.g. plik (file) this way:
1 plik
2,3,4 pliki
5-21 pliko'w
22-24 pliki
25-31 pliko'w
and so on (o means 8859-2 oacute which should be rather okreska,
similar to aogonek).
There are two things which can differ between languages (and even
inside language families);
• The form how plural forms are built differs. This is a problem
with languages which have many irregularities. German, for
instance, is a drastic case. Though English and German are part of
the same language family (Germanic), the almost regular forming of
plural noun forms (appending an s) is hardly found in German.
• The number of plural forms differ. This is somewhat surprising for
those who only have experiences with Romanic and Germanic languages
since here the number is the same (there are two).
But other language families have only one form or many forms. More
information on this in an extra section.
The consequence of this is that application writers should not try to
solve the problem in their code. This would be localization since it is
only usable for certain, hardcoded language environments. Instead the
extended gettext interface should be used.
These extra functions are taking instead of the one key string two
strings and a numerical argument. The idea behind this is that using
the numerical argument and the first string as a key, the implementation
can select using rules specified by the translator the right plural
form. The two string arguments then will be used to provide a return
value in case no message catalog is found (similar to the normal
gettext behavior). In this case the rules for Germanic language is
used and it is assumed that the first string argument is the singular
form, the second the plural form.
This has the consequence that programs without language catalogs can
display the correct strings only if the program itself is written using
a Germanic language. This is a limitation but since the GNU C library
(as well as the GNU gettext package) are written as part of the GNU
package and the coding standards for the GNU project require program
being written in English, this solution nevertheless fulfills its
purpose.
-- Function: char * ngettext (const char *MSGID1, const char *MSGID2,
unsigned long int N)
The ngettext function is similar to the gettext function as it
finds the message catalogs in the same way. But it takes two extra
arguments. The MSGID1 parameter must contain the singular form of
the string to be converted. It is also used as the key for the
search in the catalog. The MSGID2 parameter is the plural form.
The parameter N is used to determine the plural form. If no
message catalog is found MSGID1 is returned if n == 1, otherwise
msgid2.
An example for the use of this function is:
printf (ngettext ("%d file removed", "%d files removed", n), n);
Please note that the numeric value N has to be passed to the
printf function as well. It is not sufficient to pass it only to
ngettext.
In the English singular case, the number always 1 can be
replaced with "one":
printf (ngettext ("One file removed", "%d files removed", n), n);
This works because the printf function discards excess arguments
that are not consumed by the format string.
If this function is meant to yield a format string that takes two
or more arguments, you can not use it like this:
printf (ngettext ("%d file removed from directory %s",
"%d files removed from directory %s",
n),
n, dir);
because in many languages the translators want to replace the %d
with an explicit word in the singular case, just like “one” in
English, and C format strings cannot consume the second argument
but skip the first argument. Instead, you have to reorder the
arguments so that n comes last:
printf (ngettext ("%2$d file removed from directory %1$s",
"%2$d files removed from directory %1$s",
n),
dir, n);
See *note c-format:: for details about this argument reordering
syntax.
When you know that the value of n is within a given range, you
can specify it as a comment directed to the xgettext tool. This
information may help translators to use more adequate translations.
Like this:
if (days > 7 && days < 14)
/* xgettext: range: 1..6 */
printf (ngettext ("one week and one day", "one week and %d days",
days - 7),
days - 7);
It is also possible to use this function when the strings dont
contain a cardinal number:
puts (ngettext ("Delete the selected file?",
"Delete the selected files?",
n));
In this case the number N is only used to choose the plural form.
-- Function: char * dngettext (const char *DOMAIN, const char *MSGID1,
const char *MSGID2, unsigned long int N)
The dngettext is similar to the dgettext function in the way
the message catalog is selected. The difference is that it takes
two extra parameter to provide the correct plural form. These two
parameters are handled in the same way ngettext handles them.
-- Function: char * dcngettext (const char *DOMAIN, const char *MSGID1,
const char *MSGID2, unsigned long int N, int CATEGORY)
The dcngettext is similar to the dcgettext function in the way
the message catalog is selected. The difference is that it takes
two extra parameter to provide the correct plural form. These two
parameters are handled in the same way ngettext handles them.
Now, how do these functions solve the problem of the plural forms?
Without the input of linguists (which was not available) it was not
possible to determine whether there are only a few different forms in
which plural forms are formed or whether the number can increase with
every new supported language.
Therefore the solution implemented is to allow the translator to
specify the rules of how to select the plural form. Since the formula
varies with every language this is the only viable solution except for
hardcoding the information in the code (which still would require the
possibility of extensions to not prevent the use of new languages).
The information about the plural form selection has to be stored in
the header entry of the PO file (the one with the empty msgid string).
The plural form information looks like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=n == 1 ? 0 : 1;
The nplurals value must be a decimal number which specifies how
many different plural forms exist for this language. The string
following plural is an expression which is using the C language
syntax. Exceptions are that no negative numbers are allowed, numbers
must be decimal, and the only variable allowed is n. Spaces are
allowed in the expression, but backslash-newlines are not; in the
examples below the backslash-newlines are present for formatting
purposes only. This expression will be evaluated whenever one of the
functions ngettext, dngettext, or dcngettext is called. The
numeric value passed to these functions is then substituted for all uses
of the variable n in the expression. The resulting value then must be
greater or equal to zero and smaller than the value given as the value
of nplurals.
The following rules are known at this point. The language with families
are listed. But this does not necessarily mean the information can be
generalized for the whole family (as can be easily seen in the table
below).(1)
Only one form:
Some languages only require one single form. There is no
distinction between the singular and plural form. An appropriate
header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=1; plural=0;
Languages with this property include:
Asian family
Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean
Tai-Kadai family
Thai
Two forms, singular used for one only
This is the form used in most existing programs since it is what
English is using. A header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=n != 1;
(Note: this uses the feature of C expressions that boolean
expressions have to value zero or one.)
Languages with this property include:
Germanic family
English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Faroese
Romanic family
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Latin/Greek family
Greek
Slavic family
Bulgarian
Finno-Ugric family
Finnish, Estonian
Semitic family
Hebrew
Austronesian family
Bahasa Indonesian
Artificial
Esperanto
Other languages using the same header entry are:
Finno-Ugric family
Hungarian
Turkic/Altaic family
Turkish
Hungarian does not appear to have a plural if you look at sentences
involving cardinal numbers. For example, “1 apple” is “1 alma”,
and “123 apples” is “123 alma”. But when the number is not
explicit, the distinction between singular and plural exists: “the
apple” is “az alma”, and “the apples” is “az almák”. Since
ngettext has to support both types of sentences, it is classified
here, under “two forms”.
The same holds for Turkish: “1 apple” is “1 elma”, and “123 apples”
is “123 elma”. But when the number is omitted, the distinction
between singular and plural exists: “the apple” is “elma”, and “the
apples” is “elmalar”.
Two forms, singular used for zero and one
Exceptional case in the language family. The header entry would
be:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=n>1;
Languages with this property include:
Romanic family
Brazilian Portuguese, French
Three forms, special case for zero
The header entry would be:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : n != 0 ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Baltic family
Latvian
Three forms, special cases for one and two
The header entry would be:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=n==1 ? 0 : n==2 ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Celtic
Gaeilge (Irish)
Three forms, special case for numbers ending in 00 or [2-9][0-9]
The header entry would be:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; \
plural=n==1 ? 0 : (n==0 || (n%100 > 0 && n%100 < 20)) ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Romanic family
Romanian
Three forms, special case for numbers ending in 1[2-9]
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; \
plural=n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : \
n%10>=2 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Baltic family
Lithuanian
Three forms, special cases for numbers ending in 1 and 2, 3, 4, except those ending in 1[1-4]
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; \
plural=n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : \
n%10>=2 && n%10<=4 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Slavic family
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Croatian
Three forms, special cases for 1 and 2, 3, 4
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; \
plural=(n==1) ? 0 : (n>=2 && n<=4) ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Slavic family
Czech, Slovak
Three forms, special case for one and some numbers ending in 2, 3, or 4
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; \
plural=n==1 ? 0 : \
n%10>=2 && n%10<=4 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2;
Languages with this property include:
Slavic family
Polish
Four forms, special case for one and all numbers ending in 02, 03, or 04
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=4; \
plural=n%100==1 ? 0 : n%100==2 ? 1 : n%100==3 || n%100==4 ? 2 : 3;
Languages with this property include:
Slavic family
Slovenian
Six forms, special cases for one, two, all numbers ending in 02, 03, ... 10, all numbers ending in 11 ... 99, and others
The header entry would look like this:
Plural-Forms: nplurals=6; \
plural=n==0 ? 0 : n==1 ? 1 : n==2 ? 2 : n%100>=3 && n%100<=10 ? 3 \
: n%100>=11 ? 4 : 5;
Languages with this property include:
Afroasiatic family
Arabic
You might now ask, ngettext handles only numbers N of type
unsigned long. What about larger integer types? What about negative
numbers? What about floating-point numbers?
About larger integer types, such as uintmax_t or unsigned long
long: they can be handled by reducing the value to a range that fits in
an unsigned long. Simply casting the value to unsigned long would
not do the right thing, since it would treat ULONG_MAX + 1 like zero,
ULONG_MAX + 2 like singular, and the like. Here you can exploit the
fact that all mentioned plural form formulas eventually become periodic,
with a period that is a divisor of 100 (or 1000 or 1000000). So, when
you reduce a large value to another one in the range [1000000, 1999999]
that ends in the same 6 decimal digits, you can assume that it will lead
to the same plural form selection. This code does this:
#include <inttypes.h>
uintmax_t nbytes = ...;
printf (ngettext ("The file has %"PRIuMAX" byte.",
"The file has %"PRIuMAX" bytes.",
(nbytes > ULONG_MAX
? (nbytes % 1000000) + 1000000
: nbytes)),
nbytes);
Negative and floating-point values usually represent physical
entities for which singular and plural dont clearly apply. In such
cases, there is no need to use ngettext; a simple gettext call with
a form suitable for all values will do. For example:
printf (gettext ("Time elapsed: %.3f seconds"),
num_milliseconds * 0.001);
Even if NUM_MILLISECONDS happens to be a multiple of 1000, the output
Time elapsed: 1.000 seconds
is acceptable in English, and similarly for other languages.
The translators perspective regarding plural forms is explained in
*note Translating plural forms::.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) Additions are welcome. Send appropriate information to
<bug-gettext@gnu.org> and <bug-glibc-manual@gnu.org>. The Unicode CLDR
Project (<http://cldr.unicode.org>) provides a comprehensive set of
plural forms in a different format. The msginit program has
preliminary support for the format so you can use it as a baseline
(*note msginit Invocation::).

File: gettext.info, Node: Optimized gettext, Prev: Plural forms, Up: gettext
11.2.7 Optimization of the *gettext functions
---------------------------------------------
At this point of the discussion we should talk about an advantage of
the GNU gettext implementation. Some readers might have pointed out
that an internationalized program might have a poor performance if some
string has to be translated in an inner loop. While this is unavoidable
when the string varies from one run of the loop to the other it is
simply a waste of time when the string is always the same. Take the
following example:
{
while (...)
{
puts (gettext ("Hello world"));
}
}
When the locale selection does not change between two runs the resulting
string is always the same. One way to use this is:
{
str = gettext ("Hello world");
while (...)
{
puts (str);
}
}
But this solution is not usable in all situation (e.g. when the locale
selection changes) nor does it lead to legible code.
For this reason, GNU gettext caches previous translation results.
When the same translation is requested twice, with no new message
catalogs being loaded in between, gettext will, the second time, find
the result through a single cache lookup.

File: gettext.info, Node: Comparison, Next: Using libintl.a, Prev: gettext, Up: Programmers
11.3 Comparing the Two Interfaces
=================================
The following discussion is perhaps a little bit colored. As said
above we implemented GNU gettext following the Uniforum proposal and
this surely has its reasons. But it should show how we came to this
decision.
First we take a look at the developing process. When we write an
application using NLS provided by gettext we proceed as always. Only
when we come to a string which might be seen by the users and thus has
to be translated we use gettext("...") instead of "...". At the
beginning of each source file (or in a central header file) we define
#define gettext(String) (String)
Even this definition can be avoided when the system supports the
gettext function in its C library. When we compile this code the
result is the same as if no NLS code is used. When you take a look at
the GNU gettext code you will see that we use _("...") instead of
gettext("..."). This reduces the number of additional characters per
translatable string to _3_ (in words: three).
When now a production version of the program is needed we simply
replace the definition
#define _(String) (String)
by
#include <libintl.h>
#define _(String) gettext (String)
Additionally we run the program xgettext on all source code file which
contain translatable strings and thats it: we have a running program
which does not depend on translations to be available, but which can use
any that becomes available.
The same procedure can be done for the gettext_noop invocations
(*note Special cases::). One usually defines gettext_noop as a no-op
macro. So you should consider the following code for your project:
#define gettext_noop(String) String
#define N_(String) gettext_noop (String)
N_ is a short form similar to _. The Makefile in the po/
directory of GNU gettext knows by default both of the mentioned short
forms so you are invited to follow this proposal for your own ease.
Now to catgets. The main problem is the work for the programmer.
Every time he comes to a translatable string he has to define a number
(or a symbolic constant) which has also be defined in the message
catalog file. He also has to take care for duplicate entries, duplicate
message IDs etc. If he wants to have the same quality in the message
catalog as the GNU gettext program provides he also has to put the
descriptive comments for the strings and the location in all source code
files in the message catalog. This is nearly a Mission: Impossible.
But there are also some points people might call advantages speaking
for catgets. If you have a single word in a string and this string is
used in different contexts it is likely that in one or the other
language the word has different translations. Example:
printf ("%s: %d", gettext ("number"), number_of_errors)
printf ("you should see %d %s", number_count,
number_count == 1 ? gettext ("number") : gettext ("numbers"))
Here we have to translate two times the string "number". Even if
you do not speak a language beside English it might be possible to
recognize that the two words have a different meaning. In German the
first appearance has to be translated to "Anzahl" and the second to
"Zahl".
Now you can say that this example is really esoteric. And you are
right! This is exactly how we felt about this problem and decide that
it does not weight that much. The solution for the above problem could
be very easy:
printf ("%s %d", gettext ("number:"), number_of_errors)
printf (number_count == 1 ? gettext ("you should see %d number")
: gettext ("you should see %d numbers"),
number_count)
We believe that we can solve all conflicts with this method. If it
is difficult one can also consider changing one of the conflicting
string a little bit. But it is not impossible to overcome.
catgets allows same original entry to have different translations,
but gettext has another, scalable approach for solving ambiguities of
this kind: *Note Ambiguities::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Using libintl.a, Next: gettext grok, Prev: Comparison, Up: Programmers
11.4 Using libintl.a in own programs
====================================
Starting with version 0.9.4 the library libintl.h should be
self-contained. I.e., you can use it in your own programs without
providing additional functions. The Makefile will put the header and
the library in directories selected using the $(prefix).

File: gettext.info, Node: gettext grok, Next: Temp Programmers, Prev: Using libintl.a, Up: Programmers
11.5 Being a gettext grok
===========================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
To fully exploit the functionality of the GNU gettext library it is
surely helpful to read the source code. But for those who dont want to
spend that much time in reading the (sometimes complicated) code here is
a list comments:
• Changing the language at runtime
For interactive programs it might be useful to offer a selection of
the used language at runtime. To understand how to do this one
need to know how the used language is determined while executing
the gettext function. The method which is presented here only
works correctly with the GNU implementation of the gettext
functions.
In the function dcgettext at every call the current setting of
the highest priority environment variable is determined and used.
Highest priority means here the following list with decreasing
priority:
1. LANGUAGE
2. LC_ALL
3. LC_xxx, according to selected locale category
4. LANG
Afterwards the path is constructed using the found value and the
translation file is loaded if available.
What happens now when the value for, say, LANGUAGE changes?
According to the process explained above the new value of this
variable is found as soon as the dcgettext function is called.
But this also means the (perhaps) different message catalog file is
loaded. In other words: the used language is changed.
But there is one little hook. The code for gcc-2.7.0 and up
provides some optimization. This optimization normally prevents
the calling of the dcgettext function as long as no new catalog
is loaded. But if dcgettext is not called the program also
cannot find the LANGUAGE variable be changed (*note Optimized
gettext::). A solution for this is very easy. Include the
following code in the language switching function.
/* Change language. */
setenv ("LANGUAGE", "fr", 1);
/* Make change known. */
{
extern int _nl_msg_cat_cntr;
++_nl_msg_cat_cntr;
}
The variable _nl_msg_cat_cntr is defined in loadmsgcat.c. You
dont need to know what this is for. But it can be used to detect
whether a gettext implementation is GNU gettext and not non-GNU
systems native gettext implementation.

File: gettext.info, Node: Temp Programmers, Prev: gettext grok, Up: Programmers
11.6 Temporary Notes for the Programmers Chapter
================================================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
* Menu:
* Temp Implementations:: Temporary - Two Possible Implementations
* Temp catgets:: Temporary - About catgets
* Temp WSI:: Temporary - Why a single implementation
* Temp Notes:: Temporary - Notes

File: gettext.info, Node: Temp Implementations, Next: Temp catgets, Up: Temp Programmers
11.6.1 Temporary - Two Possible Implementations
-----------------------------------------------
There are two competing methods for language independent messages:
the X/Open catgets method, and the Uniforum gettext method. The
catgets method indexes messages by integers; the gettext method
indexes them by their English translations. The catgets method has
been around longer and is supported by more vendors. The gettext
method is supported by Sun, and it has been heard that the COSE
multi-vendor initiative is supporting it. Neither method is a POSIX
standard; the POSIX.1 committee had a lot of disagreement in this area.
Neither one is in the POSIX standard. There was much disagreement in
the POSIX.1 committee about using the gettext routines vs. catgets
(XPG). In the end the committee couldnt agree on anything, so no
messaging system was included as part of the standard. I believe the
informative annex of the standard includes the XPG3 messaging
interfaces, “...as an example of a messaging system that has been
implemented...”
They were very careful not to say anywhere that you should use one
set of interfaces over the other. For more on this topic please see the
Programming for Internationalization FAQ.

File: gettext.info, Node: Temp catgets, Next: Temp WSI, Prev: Temp Implementations, Up: Temp Programmers
11.6.2 Temporary - About catgets
----------------------------------
There have been a few discussions of late on the use of catgets as
a base. I think it important to present both sides of the argument and
hence am opting to play devils advocate for a little bit.
Ill not deny the fact that catgets could have been designed a lot
better. It currently has quite a number of limitations and these have
already been pointed out.
However there is a great deal to be said for consistency and
standardization. A common recurring problem when writing Unix software
is the myriad portability problems across Unix platforms. It seems as
if every Unix vendor had a look at the operating system and found parts
they could improve upon. Undoubtedly, these modifications are probably
innovative and solve real problems. However, software developers have a
hard time keeping up with all these changes across so many platforms.
And this has prompted the Unix vendors to begin to standardize their
systems. Hence the impetus for Spec1170. Every major Unix vendor has
committed to supporting this standard and every Unix software developer
waits with glee the day they can write software to this standard and
simply recompile (without having to use autoconf) across different
platforms.
As I understand it, Spec1170 is roughly based upon version 4 of the
X/Open Portability Guidelines (XPG4). Because catgets and friends are
defined in XPG4, Im led to believe that catgets is a part of Spec1170
and hence will become a standardized component of all Unix systems.

File: gettext.info, Node: Temp WSI, Next: Temp Notes, Prev: Temp catgets, Up: Temp Programmers
11.6.3 Temporary - Why a single implementation
----------------------------------------------
Now it seems kind of wasteful to me to have two different systems
installed for accessing message catalogs. If we do want to remedy
catgets deficiencies why dont we try to expand catgets (in a
compatible manner) rather than implement an entirely new system.
Otherwise, well end up with two message catalog access systems
installed with an operating system - one set of routines for packages
using GNU gettext for their internationalization, and another set of
routines (catgets) for all other software. Bloated?
Supposing another catalog access system is implemented. Which do we
recommend? At least for Linux, we need to attract as many software
developers as possible. Hence we need to make it as easy for them to
port their software as possible. Which means supporting catgets. We
will be implementing the libintl code within our libc, but does this
mean we also have to incorporate another message catalog access scheme
within our libc as well? And what about people who are going to be
using the libintl + non-catgets routines. When they port their
software to other platforms, theyre now going to have to include the
front-end (libintl) code plus the back-end code (the non-catgets
access routines) with their software instead of just including the
libintl code with their software.
Message catalog support is however only the tip of the iceberg. What
about the data for the other locale categories? They also have a number
of deficiencies. Are we going to abandon them as well and develop
another duplicate set of routines (should libintl expand beyond
message catalog support)?
Like many parts of Unix that can be improved upon, were stuck with
balancing compatibility with the past with useful improvements and
innovations for the future.

File: gettext.info, Node: Temp Notes, Prev: Temp WSI, Up: Temp Programmers
11.6.4 Temporary - Notes
------------------------
X/Open agreed very late on the standard form so that many
implementations differ from the final form. Both of my system (old
Linux catgets and Ultrix-4) have a strange variation.
OK. After incorporating the last changes I have to spend some time on
making the GNU/Linux libc gettext functions. So in future Solaris
is not the only system having gettext.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translators, Next: Maintainers, Prev: Programmers, Up: Top
12 The Translators View
************************
* Menu:
* Trans Intro 0:: Introduction 0
* Trans Intro 1:: Introduction 1
* Discussions:: Discussions
* Organization:: Organization
* Information Flow:: Information Flow
* Translating plural forms:: How to fill in msgstr[0], msgstr[1]
* Prioritizing messages:: How to find which messages to translate first

File: gettext.info, Node: Trans Intro 0, Next: Trans Intro 1, Up: Translators
12.1 Introduction 0
===================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
Free software is going international! The Translation Project is a
way to get maintainers, translators and users all together, so free
software will gradually become able to speak many native languages.
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 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. If youd
like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, please send mail to
your translating team.
Each 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:
Chinese zh, Czech cs, Danish da, Dutch nl, Esperanto eo,
Finnish fi, French fr, Irish ga, German de, Greek el,
Italian it, Japanese ja, Indonesian in, Norwegian no,
Polish pl, Portuguese pt, Russian ru, Spanish es, Swedish
sv and Turkish tr.
For example, you may reach the Chinese translating team by writing to
zh@li.org. When you become a member of the translating team for your
own language, you may subscribe to its list. 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 coordinator@translationproject.org; you
will then reach the coordinator for all translator teams.
A handful of GNU packages have already been adapted and provided with
message translations for several languages. Translation teams have
begun to organize, using these packages as a starting point. But there
are many more packages and many languages for which we have no volunteer
translators. If you would like to volunteer to work at translating
messages, please send mail to coordinator@translationproject.org
indicating what language(s) you can work on.

File: gettext.info, Node: Trans Intro 1, Next: Discussions, Prev: Trans Intro 0, Up: Translators
12.2 Introduction 1
===================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
This is now official, GNU is going international! Here is the
announcement submitted for the January 1995 GNU Bulletin:
A handful of GNU packages have already been adapted and provided
with message translations for several languages. Translation teams
have begun to organize, using these packages as a starting point.
But there are many more packages and many languages for which we
have no volunteer translators. If youd like to volunteer to work
at translating messages, please send mail to
coordinator@translationproject.org indicating what language(s)
you can work on.
This document should answer many questions for those who are curious
about the process or would like to contribute. Please at least skim
over it, hoping to cut down a little of the high volume of e-mail
generated by this collective effort towards internationalization of free
software.
Most free programming which is widely shared is done in English, and
currently, English is used as the main communicating language between
national communities collaborating to free software. This very document
is written in English. This will not change in the foreseeable future.
However, there is a strong appetite from national communities for
having more software able to write using national language and habits,
and there is an on-going effort to modify free software in such a way
that it becomes able to do so. The experiments driven so far raised an
enthusiastic response from pretesters, so we believe that
internationalization of free software is dedicated to succeed.
For suggestion clarifications, additions or corrections to this
document, please e-mail to coordinator@translationproject.org.

File: gettext.info, Node: Discussions, Next: Organization, Prev: Trans Intro 1, Up: Translators
12.3 Discussions
================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
Facing this internationalization effort, a few users expressed their
concerns. Some of these doubts are presented and discussed, here.
• Smaller groups
Some languages are not spoken by a very large number of people, so
people speaking them sometimes consider that there may not be all
that much demand such versions of free software packages.
Moreover, many people being _into computers_, in some countries,
generally seem to prefer English versions of their software.
On the other end, people might enjoy their own language a lot, and
be very motivated at providing to themselves the pleasure of having
their beloved free software speaking their mother tongue. They do
themselves a personal favor, and do not pay that much attention to
the number of people benefiting of their work.
• Misinterpretation
Other users are shy to push forward their own language, seeing in
this some kind of misplaced propaganda. Someone thought there must
be some users of the language over the networks pestering other
people with it.
But any spoken language is worth localization, because there are
people behind the language for whom the language is important and
dear to their hearts.
• Odd translations
The biggest problem is to find the right translations so that
everybody can understand the messages. Translations are usually a
little odd. Some people get used to English, to the extent they
may find translations into their own language “rather pushy,
obnoxious and sometimes even hilarious.” As a French speaking man,
I have the experience of those instruction manuals for goods, so
poorly translated in French in Korea or Taiwan...
The fact is that we sometimes have to create a kind of national
computer culture, and this is not easy without the collaboration of
many people liking their mother tongue. This is why translations
are better achieved by people knowing and loving their own
language, and ready to work together at improving the results they
obtain.
• Dependencies over the GPL or LGPL
Some people wonder if using GNU gettext necessarily brings their
package under the protective wing of the GNU General Public License
or the GNU Lesser General Public License, when they do not want to
make their program free, or want other kinds of freedom. The
simplest answer is “normally not”.
The gettext-runtime part of GNU gettext, i.e. the contents of
libintl, is covered by the GNU Lesser General Public License.
The gettext-tools part of GNU gettext, i.e. the rest of the GNU
gettext package, is covered by the GNU General Public License.
The mere marking of localizable strings in a package, or
conditional inclusion of a few lines for initialization, is not
really including GPLed or LGPLed code. However, since the
localization routines in libintl are under the LGPL, the LGPL
needs to be considered. It gives the right to distribute the
complete unmodified source of libintl even with non-free
programs. It also gives the right to use libintl as a shared
library, even for non-free programs. But it gives the right to use
libintl as a static library or to incorporate libintl into
another library only to free software.

File: gettext.info, Node: Organization, Next: Information Flow, Prev: Discussions, Up: Translators
12.4 Organization
=================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
On a larger scale, the true solution would be to organize some kind
of fairly precise set up in which volunteers could participate. I gave
some thought to this idea lately, and realize there will be some touchy
points. I thought of writing to Richard Stallman to launch such a
project, but feel it might be good to shake out the ideas between
ourselves first. Most probably that Linux International has some
experience in the field already, or would like to orchestrate the
volunteer work, maybe. Food for thought, in any case!
I guess we have to setup something early, somehow, that will help
many possible contributors of the same language to interlock and avoid
work duplication, and further be put in contact for solving together
problems particular to their tongue (in most languages, there are many
difficulties peculiar to translating technical English). My Swedish
contributor acknowledged these difficulties, and Im well aware of them
for French.
This is surely not a technical issue, but we should manage so the
effort of locale contributors be maximally useful, despite the national
team layer interface between contributors and maintainers.
The Translation Project needs some setup for coordinating language
coordinators. Localizing evolving programs will surely become a
permanent and continuous activity in the free software community, once
well started. The setup should be minimally completed and tested before
GNU gettext becomes an official reality. The e-mail address
coordinator@translationproject.org has been set up for receiving
offers from volunteers and general e-mail on these topics. This address
reaches the Translation Project coordinator.
* Menu:
* Central Coordination:: Central Coordination
* National Teams:: National Teams
* Mailing Lists:: Mailing Lists

File: gettext.info, Node: Central Coordination, Next: National Teams, Up: Organization
12.4.1 Central Coordination
---------------------------
I also think GNU will need sooner than it thinks, that someone set up
a way to organize and coordinate these groups. Some kind of group of
groups. My opinion is that it would be good that GNU delegates this
task to a small group of collaborating volunteers, shortly. Perhaps in
gnu.announce a list of this national committees can be published.
My role as coordinator would simply be to refer to Ulrich any German
speaking volunteer interested to localization of free software packages,
and maybe helping national groups to initially organize, while
maintaining national registries for until national groups are ready to
take over. In fact, the coordinator should ease volunteers to get in
contact with one another for creating national teams, which should then
select one coordinator per language, or country (regionalized language).
If well done, the coordination should be useful without being an
overwhelming task, the time to put delegations in place.

File: gettext.info, Node: National Teams, Next: Mailing Lists, Prev: Central Coordination, Up: Organization
12.4.2 National Teams
---------------------
I suggest we look for volunteer coordinators/editors for individual
languages. These people will scan contributions of translation files
for various programs, for their own languages, and will ensure high and
uniform standards of diction.
From my current experience with other people in these days, those who
provide localizations are very enthusiastic about the process, and are
more interested in the localization process than in the program they
localize, and want to do many programs, not just one. This seems to
confirm that having a coordinator/editor for each language is a good
idea.
We need to choose someone who is good at writing clear and concise
prose in the language in question. That is hard—we cant check it
ourselves. So we need to ask a few people to judge each others writing
and select the one who is best.
I announce my prerelease to a few dozen people, and you would not
believe all the discussions it generated already. I shudder to think
what will happen when this will be launched, for true, officially, world
wide. Who am I to arbitrate between two Czekolsovak users contradicting
each other, for example?
I assume that your German is not much better than my French so that I
would not be able to judge about these formulations. What I would
suggest is that for each language there is a group for people who
maintain the PO files and judge about changes. I suspect there will be
cultural differences between how such groups of people will behave.
Some will have relaxed ways, reach consensus easily, and have anyone of
the group relate to the maintainers, while others will fight to death,
organize heavy administrations up to national standards, and use strict
channels.
The German team is putting out a good example. Right now, they are
maybe half a dozen people revising translations of each other and
discussing the linguistic issues. I do not even have all the names.
Ulrich Drepper is taking care of coordinating the German team. He
subscribed to all my pretest lists, so I do not even have to warn him
specifically of incoming releases.
Im sure, that is a good idea to get teams for each language working
on translations. That will make the translations better and more
consistent.
* Menu:
* Sub-Cultures:: Sub-Cultures
* Organizational Ideas:: Organizational Ideas

File: gettext.info, Node: Sub-Cultures, Next: Organizational Ideas, Up: National Teams
12.4.2.1 Sub-Cultures
.....................
Taking French for example, there are a few sub-cultures around
computers which developed diverging vocabularies. Picking volunteers
here and there without addressing this problem in an organized way, soon
in the project, might produce a distasteful mix of internationalized
programs, and possibly trigger endless quarrels among those who really
care.
Keeping some kind of unity in the way French localization of
internationalized programs is achieved is a difficult (and delicate)
job. Knowing the latin character of French people (:-), if we take this
the wrong way, we could end up nowhere, or spoil a lot of energies.
Maybe we should begin to address this problem seriously _before_ GNU
gettext become officially published. And I suspect that this means
soon!

File: gettext.info, Node: Organizational Ideas, Prev: Sub-Cultures, Up: National Teams
12.4.2.2 Organizational Ideas
.............................
I expect the next big changes after the official release. Please
note that I use the German translation of the short GPL message. We
need to set a few good examples before the localization goes out for
true in the free software community. Here are a few points to discuss:
• Each group should have one FTP server (at least one master).
• The files on the server should reflect the latest version (of
course!) and it should also contain a RCS directory with the
corresponding archives (I dont have this now).
• There should also be a ChangeLog file (this is more useful than the
RCS archive but can be generated automatically from the later by
Emacs).
• A “core group” should judge about questionable changes (for now
this group consists solely by me but I ask some others
occasionally; this also seems to work).

File: gettext.info, Node: Mailing Lists, Prev: National Teams, Up: Organization
12.4.3 Mailing Lists
--------------------
If we get any inquiries about GNU gettext, send them on to:
coordinator@translationproject.org
The *-pretest lists are quite useful to me, maybe the idea could be
generalized to many GNU, and non-GNU packages. But each maintainer
his/her way!
François, we have a mechanism in place here at gnu.ai.mit.edu to
track teams, support mailing lists for them and log members. We have a
slight preference that you use it. If this is OK with you, I can get
you clued in.
Things are changing! A few years ago, when Daniel Fekete and I asked
for a mailing list for GNU localization, nested at the FSF, we were
politely invited to organize it anywhere else, and so did we. For
communicating with my pretesters, I later made a handful of mailing
lists located at iro.umontreal.ca and administrated by majordomo.
These lists have been _very_ dependable so far...
I suspect that the German team will organize itself a mailing list
located in Germany, and so forth for other countries. But before they
organize for true, it could surely be useful to offer mailing lists
located at the FSF to each national team. So yes, please explain me how
I should proceed to create and handle them.
We should create temporary mailing lists, one per country, to help
people organize. Temporary, because once regrouped and structured, it
would be fair the volunteers from country bring back _their_ list in
there and manage it as they want. My feeling is that, in the long run,
each team should run its own list, from within their country. There
also should be some central list to which all teams could subscribe as
they see fit, as long as each team is represented in it.

File: gettext.info, Node: Information Flow, Next: Translating plural forms, Prev: Organization, Up: Translators
12.5 Information Flow
=====================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
There will surely be some discussion about this messages after the
packages are finally released. If people now send you some proposals
for better messages, how do you proceed? Jim, please note that right
now, as I put forward nearly a dozen of localizable programs, I receive
both the translations and the coordination concerns about them.
If I put one of my things to pretest, Ulrich receives the
announcement and passes it on to the German team, who make last minute
revisions. Then he submits the translation files to me _as the
maintainer_. For free packages I do not maintain, I would not even hear
about it. This scheme could be made to work for the whole Translation
Project, I think. For security reasons, maybe Ulrich (national
coordinators, in fact) should update central registry kept at the
Translation Project (Jim, me, or Lens recruits) once in a while.
In December/January, I was aggressively ready to internationalize all
of GNU, giving myself the duty of one small GNU package per week or so,
taking many weeks or months for bigger packages. But it does not work
this way. I first did all the things Im responsible for. Ive nothing
against some missionary work on other maintainers, but Im also losing a
lot of energy over it—same debates over again.
And when the first localized packages are released well get a lot of
responses about ugly translations :-). Surely, and we need to have
beforehand a fairly good idea about how to handle the information flow
between the national teams and the package maintainers.
Please start saving somewhere a quick history of each PO file. I
know for sure that the file format will change, allowing for comments.
It would be nice that each file has a kind of log, and references for
those who want to submit comments or gripes, or otherwise contribute. I
sent a proposal for a fast and flexible format, but it is not receiving
acceptance yet by the GNU deciders. Ill tell you when I have more
information about this.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translating plural forms, Next: Prioritizing messages, Prev: Information Flow, Up: Translators
12.6 Translating plural forms
=============================
Suppose you are translating a PO file, and it contains an entry like
this:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"
msgstr[0] ""
msgstr[1] ""
What does this mean? How do you fill it in?
Such an entry denotes a message with plural forms, that is, a message
where the text depends on a cardinal number. The general form of the
message, in English, is the msgid_plural line. The msgid line is
the English singular form, that is, the form for when the number is
equal to 1. More details about plural forms are explained in *note
Plural forms::.
The first thing you need to look at is the Plural-Forms line in the
header entry of the PO file. It contains the number of plural forms and
a formula. If the PO file does not yet have such a line, you have to
add it. It only depends on the language into which you are translating.
You can get this info by using the msginit command (see *note
Creating::) it contains a database of known plural formulas or by
asking other members of your translation team.
Suppose the line looks as follows:
"Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : n%10>=2 && n"
"%10<=4 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2;\n"
Its logically one line; recall that the PO file formatting is
allowed to break long lines so that each physical line fits in 80
monospaced columns.
The value of nplurals here tells you that there are three plural
forms. The first thing you need to do is to ensure that the entry
contains an msgstr line for each of the forms:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"
msgstr[0] ""
msgstr[1] ""
msgstr[2] ""
Then translate the msgid_plural line and fill it in into each
msgstr line:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"
msgstr[0] "%d slika uklonjenih"
msgstr[1] "%d slika uklonjenih"
msgstr[2] "%d slika uklonjenih"
Now you can refine the translation so that it matches the plural
form. According to the formula above, msgstr[0] is used when the
number ends in 1 but does not end in 11; msgstr[1] is used when the
number ends in 2, 3, 4, but not in 12, 13, 14; and msgstr[2] is used
in all other cases. With this knowledge, you can refine the
translations:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"
msgstr[0] "%d slika je uklonjena"
msgstr[1] "%d datoteke uklonjenih"
msgstr[2] "%d slika uklonjenih"
You noticed that in the English singular form (msgid) the number
placeholder could be omitted and replaced by the numeral word “one”.
Can you do this in your translation as well?
msgstr[0] "jednom datotekom je uklonjen"
Well, it depends on whether msgstr[0] applies only to the number 1, or
to other numbers as well. If, according to the plural formula,
msgstr[0] applies only to n == 1, then you can use the specialized
translation without the number placeholder. In our case, however,
msgstr[0] also applies to the numbers 21, 31, 41, etc., and therefore
you cannot omit the placeholder.

File: gettext.info, Node: Prioritizing messages, Prev: Translating plural forms, Up: Translators
12.7 Prioritizing messages: How to determine which messages to translate first
==============================================================================
A translator sometimes has only a limited amount of time per week to
spend on a package, and some packages have quite large message catalogs
(over 1000 messages). Therefore she wishes to translate the messages
first that are the most visible to the user, or that occur most
frequently. This section describes how to determine these "most urgent"
messages. It also applies to determine the "next most urgent" messages
after the message catalog has already been partially translated.
In a first step, she uses the programs like a user would do. While
she does this, the GNU gettext library logs into a file the not yet
translated messages for which a translation was requested from the
program.
In a second step, she uses the PO mode to translate precisely this
set of messages.
Here are more details. The GNU libintl library (but not the
corresponding functions in GNU libc) supports an environment variable
GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED. The GNU libintl library will log into
this file the messages for which gettext() and related functions
couldnt find the translation. If the file doesnt exist, it will be
created as needed. On systems with GNU libc a shared library
preloadable_libintl.so is provided that can be used with the ELF
LD_PRELOAD mechanism.
So, in the first step, the translator uses these commands on systems
with GNU libc:
$ LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/preloadable_libintl.so
$ export LD_PRELOAD
$ GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED=$HOME/gettextlogused
$ export GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED
and these commands on other systems:
$ GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED=$HOME/gettextlogused
$ export GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED
Then she uses and peruses the programs. (It is a good and
recommended practice to use the programs for which you provide
translations: it gives you the needed context.) When done, she removes
the environment variables:
$ unset LD_PRELOAD
$ unset GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED
The second step starts with removing duplicates:
$ msguniq $HOME/gettextlogused > missing.po
The result is a PO file, but needs some preprocessing before a PO
file editor can be used with it. First, it is a multi-domain PO file,
containing messages from many translation domains. Second, it lacks all
translator comments and source references. Here is how to get a list of
the affected translation domains:
$ sed -n -e 's,^domain "\(.*\)"$,\1,p' < missing.po | sort | uniq
Then the translator can handle the domains one by one. For
simplicity, lets use environment variables to denote the language,
domain and source package.
$ lang=nl # your language
$ domain=coreutils # the name of the domain to be handled
$ package=/usr/src/gnu/coreutils-4.5.4 # the package where it comes from
She takes the latest copy of $lang.po from the Translation Project,
or from the package (in most cases, $package/po/$lang.po), or creates
a fresh one if shes the first translator (see *note Creating::). She
then uses the following commands to mark the not urgent messages as
"obsolete". (This doesnt mean that these messages - translated and
untranslated ones - will go away. It simply means that the PO file
editor will ignore them in the following editing session.)
$ msggrep --domain=$domain missing.po | grep -v '^domain' \
> $domain-missing.po
$ msgattrib --set-obsolete --ignore-file $domain-missing.po $domain.$lang.po \
> $domain.$lang-urgent.po
The she translates $domain.$lang-urgent.po by use of a PO file
editor (*note Editing::). (FIXME: I dont know whether KBabel and
gtranslator also preserve obsolete messages, as they should.) Finally
she restores the not urgent messages (with their earlier translations,
for those which were already translated) through this command:
$ msgmerge --no-fuzzy-matching $domain.$lang-urgent.po $package/po/$domain.pot \
> $domain.$lang.po
Then she can submit $domain.$lang.po and proceed to the next
domain.

File: gettext.info, Node: Maintainers, Next: Installers, Prev: Translators, Up: Top
13 The Maintainers View
************************
The maintainer of a package has many responsibilities. One of them
is ensuring that the package will install easily on many platforms, and
that the magic we described earlier (*note Users::) will work for
installers and end users.
Of course, there are many possible ways by which GNU gettext might
be integrated in a distribution, and this chapter does not cover them in
all generality. Instead, it details one possible approach which is
especially adequate for many free software distributions following GNU
standards, or even better, Gnits standards, because GNU gettext is
purposely for helping the internationalization of the whole GNU project,
and as many other good free packages as possible. So, the maintainers
view presented here presumes that the package already has a
configure.ac file and uses GNU Autoconf.
Nevertheless, GNU gettext may surely be useful for free packages
not following GNU standards and conventions, but the maintainers of such
packages might have to show imagination and initiative in organizing
their distributions so gettext work for them in all situations. There
are surely many, out there.
Even if gettext methods are now stabilizing, slight adjustments
might be needed between successive gettext versions, so you should
ideally revise this chapter in subsequent releases, looking for changes.
* Menu:
* Flat and Non-Flat:: Flat or Non-Flat Directory Structures
* Prerequisites:: Prerequisite Works
* gettextize Invocation:: Invoking the gettextize Program
* Adjusting Files:: Files You Must Create or Alter
* autoconf macros:: Autoconf macros for use in configure.ac
* Version Control Issues::
* Release Management:: Creating a Distribution Tarball

File: gettext.info, Node: Flat and Non-Flat, Next: Prerequisites, Up: Maintainers
13.1 Flat or Non-Flat Directory Structures
==========================================
Some free software packages are distributed as tar files which
unpack in a single directory, these are said to be “flat” distributions.
Other free software packages have a one level hierarchy of
subdirectories, using for example a subdirectory named doc/ for the
Texinfo manual and man pages, another called lib/ for holding
functions meant to replace or complement C libraries, and a subdirectory
src/ for holding the proper sources for the package. These other
distributions are said to be “non-flat”.
We cannot say much about flat distributions. A flat directory
structure has the disadvantage of increasing the difficulty of updating
to a new version of GNU gettext. Also, if you have many PO files,
this could somewhat pollute your single directory. Also, GNU
gettext’’s libintl sources consist of C sources, shell scripts, sed
scripts and complicated Makefile rules, which dont fit well into an
existing flat structure. For these reasons, we recommend to use
non-flat approach in this case as well.
Maybe because GNU gettext itself has a non-flat structure, we have
more experience with this approach, and this is what will be described
in the remaining of this chapter. Some maintainers might use this as an
opportunity to unflatten their package structure.

File: gettext.info, Node: Prerequisites, Next: gettextize Invocation, Prev: Flat and Non-Flat, Up: Maintainers
13.2 Prerequisite Works
=======================
There are some works which are required for using GNU gettext in
one of your package. These works have some kind of generality that
escape the point by point descriptions used in the remainder of this
chapter. So, we describe them here.
• Before attempting to use gettextize you should install some other
packages first. Ensure that recent versions of GNU m4, GNU
Autoconf and GNU gettext are already installed at your site, and
if not, proceed to do this first. If you get to install these
things, beware that GNU m4 must be fully installed before GNU
Autoconf is even _configured_.
To further ease the task of a package maintainer the automake
package was designed and implemented. GNU gettext now uses this
tool and the Makefile in the po/ directory therefore knows
about all the goals necessary for using automake.
Those four packages are only needed by you, as a maintainer; the
installers of your own package and end users do not really need any
of GNU m4, GNU Autoconf, GNU gettext, or GNU automake for
successfully installing and running your package, with messages
properly translated. But this is not completely true if you
provide internationalized shell scripts within your own package:
GNU gettext shall then be installed at the user site if the end
users want to see the translation of shell script messages.
• Your package should use Autoconf and have a configure.ac or
configure.in file. If it does not, you have to learn how. The
Autoconf documentation is quite well written, it is a good idea
that you print it and get familiar with it.
• Your C sources should have already been modified according to
instructions given earlier in this manual. *Note Sources::.
• Your po/ directory should receive all PO files submitted to you
by the translator teams, each having LL.po as a name. This is
not usually easy to get translation work done before your package
gets internationalized and available! Since the cycle has to start
somewhere, the easiest for the maintainer is to start with
absolutely no PO files, and wait until various translator teams get
interested in your package, and submit PO files.
It is worth adding here a few words about how the maintainer should
ideally behave with PO files submissions. As a maintainer, your role is
to authenticate the origin of the submission as being the representative
of the appropriate translating teams of the Translation Project (forward
the submission to coordinator@translationproject.org in case of
doubt), to ensure that the PO file format is not severely broken and
does not prevent successful installation, and for the rest, to merely
put these PO files in po/ for distribution.
As a maintainer, you do not have to take on your shoulders the
responsibility of checking if the translations are adequate or complete,
and should avoid diving into linguistic matters. Translation teams
drive themselves and are fully responsible of their linguistic choices
for the Translation Project. Keep in mind that translator teams are
_not_ driven by maintainers. You can help by carefully redirecting all
communications and reports from users about linguistic matters to the
appropriate translation team, or explain users how to reach or join
their team.
Maintainers should _never ever_ apply PO file bug reports themselves,
short-cutting translation teams. If some translator has difficulty to
get some of her points through her team, it should not be an option for
her to directly negotiate translations with maintainers. Teams ought to
settle their problems themselves, if any. If you, as a maintainer, ever
think there is a real problem with a team, please never try to _solve_ a
teams problem on your own.

File: gettext.info, Node: gettextize Invocation, Next: Adjusting Files, Prev: Prerequisites, Up: Maintainers
13.3 Invoking the gettextize Program
======================================
The gettextize program is an interactive tool that helps the
maintainer of a package internationalized through GNU gettext. It is
used for two purposes:
• As a wizard, when a package is modified to use GNU gettext for
the first time.
• As a migration tool, for upgrading the GNU gettext support in a
package from a previous to a newer version of GNU gettext.
This program performs the following tasks:
• It copies into the package some files that are consistently and
identically needed in every package internationalized through GNU
gettext.
• It performs as many of the tasks mentioned in the next section
*note Adjusting Files:: as can be performed automatically.
• It removes obsolete files and idioms used for previous GNU
gettext versions to the form recommended for the current GNU
gettext version.
• It prints a summary of the tasks that ought to be done manually and
could not be done automatically by gettextize.
It can be invoked as follows:
gettextize [ OPTION... ] [ DIRECTORY ]
and accepts the following options:
-f
--force
Force replacement of files which already exist.
--po-dir=DIR
Specify a directory containing PO files. Such a directory contains
the translations into various languages of a particular POT file.
This option can be specified multiple times, once for each
translation domain. If it is not specified, the directory named
po/ is updated.
--no-changelog
Dont update or create ChangeLog files. By default, gettextize
logs all changes (file additions, modifications and removals) in a
file called ChangeLog in each affected directory.
--symlink
Make symbolic links instead of copying the needed files. This can
be useful to save a few kilobytes of disk space, but it requires
extra effort to create self-contained tarballs, it may disturb some
mechanism the maintainer applies to the sources, and it is likely
to introduce bugs when a newer version of gettext is installed on
the system.
-n
--dry-run
Print modifications but dont perform them. All actions that
gettextize would normally execute are inhibited and instead only
listed on standard output.
--help
Display this help and exit.
--version
Output version information and exit.
If DIRECTORY is given, this is the top level directory of a package
to prepare for using GNU gettext. If not given, it is assumed that
the current directory is the top level directory of such a package.
The program gettextize provides the following files. However, no
existing file will be replaced unless the option --force (-f) is
specified.
1. The ABOUT-NLS file is copied in the main directory of your
package, the one being at the top level. This file contains a
reference to the GNU gettext documentation. It also avoids an
error from Automake in packages that use the Automake option gnu
or gnits: “error: required file ./ABOUT-NLS not found”.
2. A po/ directory is created for eventually holding all translation
files, but initially only containing the file po/Makefile.in.in
from the GNU gettext distribution (beware the double .in in the
file name) and a few auxiliary files. If the po/ directory
already exists, it will be preserved along with the files it
contains, and only Makefile.in.in and the auxiliary files will be
overwritten.
If --po-dir has been specified, this holds for every directory
specified through --po-dir, instead of po/.
3. The file config.rpath is copied into the directory containing
configuration support files. It is needed by the AM_GNU_GETTEXT
autoconf macro.
4. Only if the project is using GNU automake: A set of autoconf
macro files is copied into the packages autoconf macro
repository, usually in a directory called m4/.
If your site support symbolic links, gettextize will not actually
copy the files into your package, but establish symbolic links instead.
This avoids duplicating the disk space needed in all packages. Merely
using the -h option while creating the tar archive of your
distribution will resolve each link by an actual copy in the
distribution archive. So, to insist, you really should use -h option
with tar within your dist goal of your main Makefile.in.
Furthermore, gettextize will update all Makefile.am files in each
affected directory, as well as the top level configure.ac or
configure.in file.
It is interesting to understand that most new files for supporting
GNU gettext facilities in one package go in po/ and m4/
subdirectories. Still, these directories will mostly contain package
dependent files.
The gettextize program makes backup files for all files it replaces
or changes, and also write ChangeLog entries about these changes. This
way, the careful maintainer can check after running gettextize whether
its changes are acceptable to him, and possibly adjust them. An
exception to this rule is the intl/ directory, which is removed as a
whole if it still existed.
It is important to understand that gettextize can not do the entire
job of adapting a package for using GNU gettext. The amount of
remaining work depends on whether the package uses GNU automake or
not. But in any case, the maintainer should still read the section
*note Adjusting Files:: after invoking gettextize.
In particular, if after using gettexize, you get an error
AC_COMPILE_IFELSE was called before AC_GNU_SOURCE or AC_RUN_IFELSE
was called before AC_GNU_SOURCE, you can fix it by modifying
configure.ac, as described in *note configure.ac::.
It is also important to understand that gettextize is not part of
the GNU build system, in the sense that it should not be invoked
automatically, and not be invoked by someone who doesnt assume the
responsibilities of a package maintainer. For the latter purpose, a
separate tool is provided, see *note autopoint Invocation::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Adjusting Files, Next: autoconf macros, Prev: gettextize Invocation, Up: Maintainers
13.4 Files You Must Create or Alter
===================================
Besides files which are automatically added through gettextize,
there are many files needing revision for properly interacting with GNU
gettext. If you are closely following GNU standards for Makefile
engineering and auto-configuration, the adaptations should be easier to
achieve. Here is a point by point description of the changes needed in
each.
So, here comes a list of files, each one followed by a description of
all alterations it needs. Many examples are taken out from the GNU
gettext 0.22.5 distribution itself, or from the GNU hello
distribution (<https://www.gnu.org/software/hello>). You may indeed
refer to the source code of the GNU gettext and GNU hello packages,
as they are intended to be good examples for using GNU gettext
functionality.
* Menu:
* po/POTFILES.in:: POTFILES.in in po/
* po/LINGUAS:: LINGUAS in po/
* po/Makevars:: Makevars in po/
* po/Rules-*:: Extending Makefile in po/
* configure.ac:: configure.ac at top level
* config.guess:: config.guess, config.sub at top level
* mkinstalldirs:: mkinstalldirs at top level
* aclocal:: aclocal.m4 at top level
* config.h.in:: config.h.in at top level
* Makefile:: Makefile.in at top level
* src/Makefile:: Makefile.in in src/
* lib/gettext.h:: gettext.h in lib/

File: gettext.info, Node: po/POTFILES.in, Next: po/LINGUAS, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.1 POTFILES.in in po/
-----------------------------
The po/ directory should receive a file named POTFILES.in. This
file tells which files, among all program sources, have marked strings
needing translation. Here is an example of such a file:
# List of source files containing translatable strings.
# Copyright (C) 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
# Common library files
lib/error.c
lib/getopt.c
lib/xmalloc.c
# Package source files
src/gettext.c
src/msgfmt.c
src/xgettext.c
Hash-marked comments and white lines are ignored. All other lines list
those source files containing strings marked for translation (*note Mark
Keywords::), in a notation relative to the top level of your whole
distribution, rather than the location of the POTFILES.in file itself.
When a C file is automatically generated by a tool, like flex or
bison, that doesnt introduce translatable strings by itself, it is
recommended to list in po/POTFILES.in the real source file (ending in
.l in the case of flex, or in .y in the case of bison), not the
generated C file.

File: gettext.info, Node: po/LINGUAS, Next: po/Makevars, Prev: po/POTFILES.in, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.2 LINGUAS in po/
-------------------------
The po/ directory should also receive a file named LINGUAS. This
file contains the list of available translations. It is a whitespace
separated list. Hash-marked comments and white lines are ignored. Here
is an example file:
# Set of available languages.
de fr
This example means that German and French PO files are available, so
that these languages are currently supported by your package. If you
want to further restrict, at installation time, the set of installed
languages, this should not be done by modifying the LINGUAS file, but
rather by using the LINGUAS environment variable (*note Installers::).
It is recommended that you add the "languages" en@quot and
en@boldquot to the LINGUAS file. en@quot is a variant of English
message catalogs (en) which uses real quotation marks instead of the
ugly looking asymmetric ASCII substitutes ` and '. en@boldquot is
a variant of en@quot that additionally outputs quoted pieces of text
in a bold font, when used in a terminal emulator which supports the
VT100 escape sequences (such as xterm or the Linux console, but not
Emacs in M-x shell mode).
These extra message catalogs en@quot and en@boldquot are
constructed automatically, not by translators; to support them, you need
the files Rules-quot, quot.sed, boldquot.sed, en@quot.header,
en@boldquot.header, insert-header.sin in the po/ directory. You
can copy them from GNU gettexts po/ directory; they are also
installed by running gettextize.

File: gettext.info, Node: po/Makevars, Next: po/Rules-*, Prev: po/LINGUAS, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.3 Makevars in po/
--------------------------
The po/ directory also has a file named Makevars. It contains
variables that are specific to your project. po/Makevars gets
inserted into the po/Makefile when the latter is created. The
variables thus take effect when the POT file is created or updated, and
when the message catalogs get installed.
The first three variables can be left unmodified if your package has
a single message domain and, accordingly, a single po/ directory.
Only packages which have multiple po/ directories at different
locations need to adjust the three first variables defined in
Makevars.
As an alternative to the XGETTEXT_OPTIONS variable, it is also
possible to specify xgettext options through the AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION
autoconf macro. See *note AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION::.

File: gettext.info, Node: po/Rules-*, Next: configure.ac, Prev: po/Makevars, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.4 Extending Makefile in po/
------------------------------------
All files called Rules-* in the po/ directory get appended to the
po/Makefile when it is created. They present an opportunity to add
rules for special PO files to the Makefile, without needing to mess with
po/Makefile.in.in.
GNU gettext comes with a Rules-quot file, containing rules for
building catalogs en@quot.po and en@boldquot.po. The effect of
en@quot.po is that people who set their LANGUAGE environment
variable to en@quot will get messages with proper looking symmetric
Unicode quotation marks instead of abusing the ASCII grave accent and
the ASCII apostrophe for indicating quotations. To enable this catalog,
simply add en@quot to the po/LINGUAS file. The effect of
en@boldquot.po is that people who set LANGUAGE to en@boldquot will
get not only proper quotation marks, but also the quoted text will be
shown in a bold font on terminals and consoles. This catalog is useful
only for command-line programs, not GUI programs. To enable it,
similarly add en@boldquot to the po/LINGUAS file.
Similarly, you can create rules for building message catalogs for the
sr@latin locale Serbian written with the Latin alphabet from those
for the sr locale Serbian written with Cyrillic letters. See *note
msgfilter Invocation::.

File: gettext.info, Node: configure.ac, Next: config.guess, Prev: po/Rules-*, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.5 configure.ac at top level
----------------------------------
configure.ac or configure.in - this is the source from which
autoconf generates the configure script.
1. Declare the package and version.
This is done by a set of lines like these:
PACKAGE=gettext
VERSION=0.22.5
AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(PACKAGE, "$PACKAGE")
AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(VERSION, "$VERSION")
AC_SUBST(PACKAGE)
AC_SUBST(VERSION)
or, if you are using GNU automake, by a line like this:
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(gettext, 0.22.5)
Of course, you replace gettext with the name of your package, and
0.22.5 by its version numbers, exactly as they should appear in
the packaged tar file name of your distribution
(gettext-0.22.5.tar.gz, here).
2. Check for internationalization support.
Here is the main m4 macro for triggering internationalization
support. Just add this line to configure.ac:
AM_GNU_GETTEXT([external])
This call is purposely simple, even if it generates a lot of
configure time checking and actions.
3. Have output files created.
The AC_OUTPUT directive, at the end of your configure.ac file,
needs to be modified in two ways:
AC_OUTPUT([EXISTING CONFIGURATION FILES po/Makefile.in],
[EXISTING ADDITIONAL ACTIONS])
The modification to the first argument to AC_OUTPUT asks for
substitution in the po/ directory. Note the .in suffix used
for po/ only. This is because the distributed file is really
po/Makefile.in.in.

File: gettext.info, Node: config.guess, Next: mkinstalldirs, Prev: configure.ac, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.6 config.guess, config.sub at top level
------------------------------------------------
You need to add the GNU config.guess and config.sub files to your
distribution. They are needed because the AM_ICONV macro contains
knowledge about specific platforms and therefore needs to identify the
platform.
You can obtain the newest version of config.guess and config.sub
from the config project at https://savannah.gnu.org/. The commands
to fetch them are
$ wget -O config.guess 'https://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=config.git;a=blob_plain;f=config.guess;hb=HEAD'
$ wget -O config.sub 'https://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=config.git;a=blob_plain;f=config.sub;hb=HEAD'
Less recent versions are also contained in the GNU automake and GNU
libtool packages.
Normally, config.guess and config.sub are put at the top level of
a distribution. But it is also possible to put them in a subdirectory,
altogether with other configuration support files like install-sh,
ltconfig, ltmain.sh or missing. All you need to do, other than
moving the files, is to add the following line to your configure.ac.
AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([SUBDIR])

File: gettext.info, Node: mkinstalldirs, Next: aclocal, Prev: config.guess, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.7 mkinstalldirs at top level
-----------------------------------
With earlier versions of GNU gettext, you needed to add the GNU
mkinstalldirs script to your distribution. This is not needed any
more. You can remove it.

File: gettext.info, Node: aclocal, Next: config.h.in, Prev: mkinstalldirs, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.8 aclocal.m4 at top level
--------------------------------
If you do not have an aclocal.m4 file in your distribution, the
simplest is to concatenate the files build-to-host.m4, gettext.m4,
host-cpu-c-abi.m4, intlmacosx.m4, iconv.m4, lib-ld.m4,
lib-link.m4, lib-prefix.m4, nls.m4, po.m4, progtest.m4 from
GNU gettext’’s m4/ directory into a single file.
If you already have an aclocal.m4 file, then you will have to merge
the said macro files into your aclocal.m4. Note that if you are
upgrading from a previous release of GNU gettext, you should most
probably _replace_ the macros (AM_GNU_GETTEXT, etc.), as they usually
change a little from one release of GNU gettext to the next. Their
contents may vary as we get more experience with strange systems out
there.
You should be using GNU automake 1.9 or newer. With it, you need
to copy the files build-to-host.m4, gettext.m4, host-cpu-c-abi.m4,
intlmacosx.m4, iconv.m4, lib-ld.m4, lib-link.m4,
lib-prefix.m4, nls.m4, po.m4, progtest.m4 from GNU gettext’’s
m4/ directory to a subdirectory named m4/ and add the line
ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4
to your top level Makefile.am.
If you are using GNU automake 1.10 or newer, it is even easier: Add
the line
ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = --install -I m4
to your top level Makefile.am, and run aclocal --install -I m4.
This will copy the needed files to the m4/ subdirectory automatically,
before updating aclocal.m4.
These macros check for the internationalization support functions and
related informations. Hopefully, once stabilized, these macros might be
integrated in the standard Autoconf set, because this piece of m4 code
will be the same for all projects using GNU gettext.

File: gettext.info, Node: config.h.in, Next: Makefile, Prev: aclocal, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.9 config.h.in at top level
---------------------------------
The include file template that holds the C macros to be defined by
configure is usually called config.h.in and may be maintained either
manually or automatically.
If it is maintained automatically, by use of the autoheader
program, you need to do nothing about it. This is the case in
particular if you are using GNU automake.
If it is maintained manually, you can get away by adding the
following lines to config.h.in:
/* Define to 1 if translation of program messages to the user's
native language is requested. */
#undef ENABLE_NLS

File: gettext.info, Node: Makefile, Next: src/Makefile, Prev: config.h.in, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.10 Makefile.in at top level
----------------------------------
Here are a few modifications you need to make to your main, top-level
Makefile.in file.
1. Add the following lines near the beginning of your Makefile.in,
so the dist: goal will work properly (as explained further down):
PACKAGE = @PACKAGE@
VERSION = @VERSION@
2. Wherever you process subdirectories in your Makefile.in, be sure
you also process the subdirectory po. Special rules in the
Makefiles take care for the case where no internationalization is
wanted.
If you are using Makefiles, either generated by automake, or
hand-written so they carefully follow the GNU coding standards, the
effected goals for which the new subdirectories must be handled
include installdirs, install, uninstall, clean,
distclean.
Here is an example of a canonical order of processing. In this
example, we also define SUBDIRS in Makefile.in for it to be
further used in the dist: goal.
SUBDIRS = doc lib src po
3. A delicate point is the dist: goal, as po/Makefile will later
assume that the proper directory has been set up from the main
Makefile. Here is an example at what the dist: goal might look
like:
distdir = $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
dist: Makefile
rm -fr $(distdir)
mkdir $(distdir)
chmod 777 $(distdir)
for file in $(DISTFILES); do \
ln $$file $(distdir) 2>/dev/null || cp -p $$file $(distdir); \
done
for subdir in $(SUBDIRS); do \
mkdir $(distdir)/$$subdir || exit 1; \
chmod 777 $(distdir)/$$subdir; \
(cd $$subdir && $(MAKE) $@) || exit 1; \
done
tar chozf $(distdir).tar.gz $(distdir)
rm -fr $(distdir)
Note that if you are using GNU automake, Makefile.in is
automatically generated from Makefile.am, and all needed changes to
Makefile.am are already made by running gettextize.

File: gettext.info, Node: src/Makefile, Next: lib/gettext.h, Prev: Makefile, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.11 Makefile.in in src/
-------------------------------
Some of the modifications made in the main Makefile.in will also be
needed in the Makefile.in from your package sources, which we assume
here to be in the src/ subdirectory. Here are all the modifications
needed in src/Makefile.in:
1. In view of the dist: goal, you should have these lines near the
beginning of src/Makefile.in:
PACKAGE = @PACKAGE@
VERSION = @VERSION@
2. If not done already, you should guarantee that top_srcdir gets
defined. This will serve for cpp include files. Just add the
line:
top_srcdir = @top_srcdir@
3. You might also want to define subdir as src, later allowing for
almost uniform dist: goals in all your Makefile.in. At list,
the dist: goal below assume that you used:
subdir = src
4. The main function of your program will normally call
bindtextdomain (see *note Triggering::), like this:
bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
textdomain (PACKAGE);
On native Windows platforms, the main function may call
wbindtextdomain instead of bindtextdomain.
To make LOCALEDIR known to the program, add the following lines to
Makefile.in:
datadir = @datadir@
datarootdir= @datarootdir@
localedir = @localedir@
DEFS = -DLOCALEDIR=$(localedir_c_make) @DEFS@
$(localedir_c_make) expands to the value of localedir, in C
syntax, escaped for use in a Makefile. Note that @datadir@
defaults to $(prefix)/share, and $(localedir) defaults to
$(prefix)/share/locale.
5. You should ensure that the final linking will use @LIBINTL@ or
@LTLIBINTL@ as a library. @LIBINTL@ is for use without
libtool, @LTLIBINTL@ is for use with libtool. An easy way to
achieve this is to manage that it gets into LIBS, like this:
LIBS = @LIBINTL@ @LIBS@
In most packages internationalized with GNU gettext, one will
find a directory lib/ in which a library containing some helper
functions will be build. (You need at least the few functions
which the GNU gettext Library itself needs.) However some of the
functions in the lib/ also give messages to the user which of
course should be translated, too. Taking care of this, the support
library (say libsupport.a) should be placed before @LIBINTL@
and @LIBS@ in the above example. So one has to write this:
LIBS = ../lib/libsupport.a @LIBINTL@ @LIBS@
6. Your dist: goal has to conform with others. Here is a reasonable
definition for it:
distdir = ../$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/$(subdir)
dist: Makefile $(DISTFILES)
for file in $(DISTFILES); do \
ln $$file $(distdir) 2>/dev/null || cp -p $$file $(distdir) || exit 1; \
done
Note that if you are using GNU automake, Makefile.in is
automatically generated from Makefile.am, and the first three changes
and the last change are not necessary. The remaining needed
Makefile.am modifications are the following:
1. To make LOCALEDIR known to the program, add the following to
Makefile.am:
<module>_CPPFLAGS = -DLOCALEDIR=$(localedir_c_make)
for each specific module or compilation unit, or
AM_CPPFLAGS = -DLOCALEDIR=$(localedir_c_make)
for all modules and compilation units together.
2. To ensure that the final linking will use @LIBINTL@ or
@LTLIBINTL@ as a library, add the following to Makefile.am:
<program>_LDADD = @LIBINTL@
for each specific program, or
LDADD = @LIBINTL@
for all programs together. Remember that when you use libtool to
link a program, you need to use @LTLIBINTL@ instead of @LIBINTL@
for that program.

File: gettext.info, Node: lib/gettext.h, Prev: src/Makefile, Up: Adjusting Files
13.4.12 gettext.h in lib/
-----------------------------
Internationalization of packages, as provided by GNU gettext, is
optional. It can be turned off in two situations:
• When the installer has specified ./configure --disable-nls. This
can be useful when small binaries are more important than features,
for example when building utilities for boot diskettes. It can
also be useful in order to get some specific C compiler warnings
about code quality with some older versions of GCC (older than
3.0).
• When the libintl.h header (with its associated libintl library, if
any) is not already installed on the system, it is preferable that
the package builds without internationalization support, rather
than to give a compilation error.
A C preprocessor macro can be used to detect these two cases.
Usually, when libintl.h was found and not explicitly disabled, the
ENABLE_NLS macro will be defined to 1 in the autoconf generated
configuration file (usually called config.h). In the two negative
situations, however, this macro will not be defined, thus it will
evaluate to 0 in C preprocessor expressions.
gettext.h is a convenience header file for conditional use of
<libintl.h>, depending on the ENABLE_NLS macro. If ENABLE_NLS is
set, it includes <libintl.h>; otherwise it defines no-op substitutes
for the libintl.h functions. We recommend the use of "gettext.h" over
direct use of <libintl.h>, so that portability to older systems is
guaranteed and installers can turn off internationalization if they want
to. In the C code, you will then write
#include "gettext.h"
instead of
#include <libintl.h>
The location of gettext.h is usually in a directory containing
auxiliary include files. In many GNU packages, there is a directory
lib/ containing helper functions; gettext.h fits there. In other
packages, it can go into the src directory.
Do not install the gettext.h file in public locations. Every
package that needs it should contain a copy of it on its own.

File: gettext.info, Node: autoconf macros, Next: Version Control Issues, Prev: Adjusting Files, Up: Maintainers
13.5 Autoconf macros for use in configure.ac
==============================================
GNU gettext installs macros for use in a packages configure.ac
or configure.in. *Note Introduction: (autoconf)Top. The primary
macro is, of course, AM_GNU_GETTEXT.
* Menu:
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT in gettext.m4
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION in gettext.m4
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED:: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED in gettext.m4
* AM_PO_SUBDIRS:: AM_PO_SUBDIRS in po.m4
* AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION:: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION in po.m4
* AM_ICONV:: AM_ICONV in iconv.m4

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT, Next: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.1 AM_GNU_GETTEXT in gettext.m4
-------------------------------------
The AM_GNU_GETTEXT macro tests for the presence of the GNU gettext
function family in either the C library or a separate libintl library
(shared or static libraries are both supported). It also invokes
AM_PO_SUBDIRS, thus preparing the po/ directories of the package for
building.
AM_GNU_GETTEXT accepts up to two optional arguments. The general
syntax is
AM_GNU_GETTEXT([INTLSYMBOL], [NEEDSYMBOL])
INTLSYMBOL should always be external.
If NEEDSYMBOL is specified and is need-ngettext, then GNU gettext
implementations (in libc or libintl) without the ngettext() function
will be ignored. If NEEDSYMBOL is specified and is
need-formatstring-macros, then GNU gettext implementations that dont
support the ISO C 99 <inttypes.h> formatstring macros will be ignored.
Only one NEEDSYMBOL can be specified. These requirements can also be
specified by using the macro AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED elsewhere. To
specify more than one requirement, just specify the strongest one among
them, or invoke the AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED macro several times. The
hierarchy among the various alternatives is as follows:
need-formatstring-macros implies need-ngettext.
The AM_GNU_GETTEXT macro determines whether GNU gettext is
available and should be used. If so, it sets the USE_NLS variable to
yes; it defines ENABLE_NLS to 1 in the autoconf generated
configuration file (usually called config.h); it sets the variables
LIBINTL and LTLIBINTL to the linker options for use in a Makefile
(LIBINTL for use without libtool, LTLIBINTL for use with libtool);
it adds an -I option to CPPFLAGS if necessary. In the negative
case, it sets USE_NLS to no; it sets LIBINTL and LTLIBINTL to
empty and doesnt change CPPFLAGS.
The complexities that AM_GNU_GETTEXT deals with are the following:
• Some operating systems have gettext in the C library, for example
glibc. Some have it in a separate library libintl. GNU
libintl might have been installed as part of the GNU gettext
package.
• GNU libintl, if installed, is not necessarily already in the
search path (CPPFLAGS for the include file search path, LDFLAGS
for the library search path).
• Except for glibc and the Solaris 11 libc, the operating systems
native gettext cannot exploit the GNU mo files, doesnt have the
necessary locale dependency features, and cannot convert messages
from the catalogs text encoding to the users locale encoding.
• GNU libintl, if installed, is not necessarily already in the run
time library search path. To avoid the need for setting an
environment variable like LD_LIBRARY_PATH, the macro adds the
appropriate run time search path options to the LIBINTL and
LTLIBINTL variables. This works on most systems, but not on some
operating systems with limited shared library support, like SCO.
• GNU libintl relies on POSIX/XSI iconv. The macro checks for
linker options needed to use iconv and appends them to the
LIBINTL and LTLIBINTL variables.
Additionally, the AM_GNU_GETTEXT macro sets two variables, for
convenience. Both are derived from the --localedir configure option.
They are correct even on native Windows, where directories frequently
contain backslashes.
localedir_c
This is the value of localedir, in C syntax. This variable is
meant to be substituted into C or C++ code through
AC_CONFIG_FILES.
localedir_c_make
This is the value of localedir, in C syntax, escaped for use in a
Makefile. This variable is meant to be used in Makefiles, for
example for defining a C macro named LOCALEDIR:
AM_CPPFLAGS = ... -DLOCALEDIR=$(localedir_c_make) ...

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION, Next: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED, Prev: AM_GNU_GETTEXT, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.2 AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION in gettext.m4
---------------------------------------------
The AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION macro declares the version number of the
GNU gettext infrastructure that is used by the package.
The use of this macro is optional; only the autopoint program makes
use of it (*note Version Control Issues::).

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED, Next: AM_PO_SUBDIRS, Prev: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.3 AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED in gettext.m4
------------------------------------------
The AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED macro declares a constraint regarding the
GNU gettext implementation. The syntax is
AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED([NEEDSYMBOL])
If NEEDSYMBOL is need-ngettext, then GNU gettext implementations
(in libc or libintl) without the ngettext() function will be ignored.
If NEEDSYMBOL is need-formatstring-macros, then GNU gettext
implementations that dont support the ISO C 99 <inttypes.h>
formatstring macros will be ignored.
The optional second argument of AM_GNU_GETTEXT is also taken into
account.
The AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED invocations can occur before or after the
AM_GNU_GETTEXT invocation; the order doesnt matter.

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_PO_SUBDIRS, Next: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION, Prev: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.4 AM_PO_SUBDIRS in po.m4
-------------------------------
The AM_PO_SUBDIRS macro prepares the po/ directories of the
package for building. This macro should be used in internationalized
programs written in other programming languages than C, C++, Objective
C, for example sh, Python, Lisp. See *note Programming
Languages:: for a list of programming languages that support
localization through PO files.
The AM_PO_SUBDIRS macro determines whether internationalization
should be used. If so, it sets the USE_NLS variable to yes,
otherwise to no. It also determines the right values for Makefile
variables in each po/ directory.

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION, Next: AM_ICONV, Prev: AM_PO_SUBDIRS, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.5 AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION in po.m4
------------------------------------
The AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION macro registers a command-line option to be
used in the invocations of xgettext in the po/ directories of the
package.
For example, if you have a source file that defines a function
error_at_line whose fifth argument is a format string, you can use
AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION([--flag=error_at_line:5:c-format])
to instruct xgettext to mark all translatable strings in gettext
invocations that occur as fifth argument to this function as c-format.
See *note xgettext Invocation:: for the list of options that
xgettext accepts.
The use of this macro is an alternative to the use of the
XGETTEXT_OPTIONS variable in po/Makevars.

File: gettext.info, Node: AM_ICONV, Prev: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION, Up: autoconf macros
13.5.6 AM_ICONV in iconv.m4
-----------------------------
The AM_ICONV macro tests for the presence of the POSIX/XSI iconv
function family in either the C library or a separate libiconv
library. If found, it sets the am_cv_func_iconv variable to yes; it
defines HAVE_ICONV to 1 in the autoconf generated configuration file
(usually called config.h); it defines ICONV_CONST to const or to
empty, depending on whether the second argument of iconv() is of type
const char ** or char **; it sets the variables LIBICONV and
LTLIBICONV to the linker options for use in a Makefile (LIBICONV for
use without libtool, LTLIBICONV for use with libtool); it adds an -I
option to CPPFLAGS if necessary. If not found, it sets LIBICONV and
LTLIBICONV to empty and doesnt change CPPFLAGS.
The complexities that AM_ICONV deals with are the following:
• Some operating systems have iconv in the C library, for example
glibc. Some have it in a separate library libiconv, for example
OSF/1 or FreeBSD. Regardless of the operating system, GNU
libiconv might have been installed. In that case, it should be
used instead of the operating systems native iconv.
• GNU libiconv, if installed, is not necessarily already in the
search path (CPPFLAGS for the include file search path, LDFLAGS
for the library search path).
• GNU libiconv is binary incompatible with some operating systems
native iconv, for example on FreeBSD. Use of an iconv.h and
libiconv.so that dont fit together would produce program
crashes.
• GNU libiconv, if installed, is not necessarily already in the run
time library search path. To avoid the need for setting an
environment variable like LD_LIBRARY_PATH, the macro adds the
appropriate run time search path options to the LIBICONV
variable. This works on most systems, but not on some operating
systems with limited shared library support, like SCO.
iconv.m4 is distributed with the GNU gettext package because
gettext.m4 relies on it.

File: gettext.info, Node: Version Control Issues, Next: Release Management, Prev: autoconf macros, Up: Maintainers
13.6 Integrating with Version Control Systems
=============================================
Many projects use version control systems for distributed development
and source backup. This section gives some advice how to manage the
uses of gettextize, autopoint and autoconf on version controlled
files.
* Menu:
* Distributed Development:: Avoiding version mismatch in distributed development
* Files under Version Control:: Files to put under version control
* Translations under Version Control:: Put PO Files under Version Control
* autopoint Invocation:: Invoking the autopoint Program

File: gettext.info, Node: Distributed Development, Next: Files under Version Control, Up: Version Control Issues
13.6.1 Avoiding version mismatch in distributed development
-----------------------------------------------------------
In a project development with multiple developers, there should be a
single developer who occasionally - when there is desire to upgrade to a
new gettext version - runs gettextize and performs the changes
listed in *note Adjusting Files::, and then commits his changes to the
repository.
It is highly recommended that all developers on a project use the
same version of GNU gettext in the package. In other words, if a
developer runs gettextize, he should go the whole way, make the
necessary remaining changes and commit his changes to the repository.
Otherwise the following damages will likely occur:
• Apparent version mismatch between developers. Since some gettext
specific portions in configure.ac, configure.in and
Makefile.am, Makefile.in files depend on the gettext version,
the use of infrastructure files belonging to different gettext
versions can easily lead to build errors.
• Hidden version mismatch. Such version mismatch can also lead to
malfunctioning of the package, that may be undiscovered by the
developers. The worst case of hidden version mismatch is that
internationalization of the package doesnt work at all.
• Release risks. All developers implicitly perform constant testing
on a package. This is important in the days and weeks before a
release. If the guy who makes the release tar files uses a
different version of GNU gettext than the other developers, the
distribution will be less well tested than if all had been using
the same gettext version. For example, it is possible that a
platform specific bug goes undiscovered due to this constellation.

File: gettext.info, Node: Files under Version Control, Next: Translations under Version Control, Prev: Distributed Development, Up: Version Control Issues
13.6.2 Files to put under version control
-----------------------------------------
There are basically three ways to deal with generated files in the
context of a version controlled repository, such as configure
generated from configure.ac, PARSER.c generated from PARSER.y, or
po/Makefile.in.in autoinstalled by gettextize or autopoint.
1. All generated files are always committed into the repository.
2. All generated files are committed into the repository occasionally,
for example each time a release is made.
3. Generated files are never committed into the repository.
Each of these three approaches has different advantages and
drawbacks.
1. The advantage is that anyone can check out the source at any moment
and gets a working build. The drawbacks are: 1a. It requires some
frequent "push" actions by the maintainers. 1b. The repository
grows in size quite fast.
2. The advantage is that anyone can check out the source, and the
usual "./configure; make" will work. The drawbacks are: 2a. The
one who checks out the repository needs tools like GNU automake,
GNU autoconf, GNU m4 installed in his PATH; sometimes he even
needs particular versions of them. 2b. When a release is made and
a commit is made on the generated files, the other developers get
conflicts on the generated files when merging the local work back
to the repository. Although these conflicts are easy to resolve,
they are annoying.
3. The advantage is less work for the maintainers. The drawback is
that anyone who checks out the source not only needs tools like GNU
automake, GNU autoconf, GNU m4 installed in his PATH, but
also that he needs to perform a package specific pre-build step
before being able to "./configure; make".
For the first and second approach, all files modified or brought in
by the occasional gettextize invocation and update should be committed
into the repository.
For the third approach, the maintainer can omit from the repository
all the files that gettextize mentions as "copy". Instead, he adds to
the configure.ac or configure.in a line of the form
AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(0.22.4)
and adds to the packages pre-build script an invocation of autopoint.
For everyone who checks out the source, this autopoint invocation will
copy into the right place the gettext infrastructure files that have
been omitted from the repository.
The version number used as argument to AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION is
the version of the gettext infrastructure that the package wants to
use. It is also the minimum version number of the autopoint program.
So, if you write AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(0.11.5) then the developers
can have any version >= 0.11.5 installed; the package will work with the
0.11.5 infrastructure in all developers builds. When the maintainer
then runs gettextize from, say, version 0.12.1 on the package, the
occurrence of AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(0.11.5) will be changed into
AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(0.12.1), and all other developers that use the
CVS will henceforth need to have GNU gettext 0.12.1 or newer
installed.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translations under Version Control, Next: autopoint Invocation, Prev: Files under Version Control, Up: Version Control Issues
13.6.3 Put PO Files under Version Control
-----------------------------------------
Since translations are valuable assets as well as the source code, it
would make sense to put them under version control. The GNU gettext
infrastructure supports two ways to deal with translations in the
context of a version controlled repository.
1. Both POT file and PO files are committed into the repository.
2. Only PO files are committed into the repository.
If a POT file is absent when building, it will be generated by
scanning the source files with xgettext, and then the PO files are
regenerated as a dependency. On the other hand, some maintainers want
to keep the POT file unchanged during the development phase. So, even
if a POT file is present and older than the source code, it wont be
updated automatically. You can manually update it with make
$(DOMAIN).pot-update, and commit it at certain point.
Special advices for particular version control systems:
• Recent version control systems, Git for instance, ignore files
timestamp. In that case, PO files can be accidentally updated even
if a POT file is not updated. To prevent this, you can set
PO_DEPENDS_ON_POT variable to no in the Makevars file and do
make update-po manually.
• Location comments such as #: lib/error.c:116 are sometimes
annoying, since these comments are volatile and may introduce
unwanted change to the working copy when building. To mitigate
this, you can decide to omit those comments from the PO files in
the repository.
This is possible with the --no-location option of the msgmerge
command (1). The drawback is that, if the location information is
needed, translators have to recover the location comments by
running msgmerge again.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) you can also use it through the MSGMERGE_OPTIONS option from
Makevars

File: gettext.info, Node: autopoint Invocation, Prev: Translations under Version Control, Up: Version Control Issues
13.6.4 Invoking the autopoint Program
---------------------------------------
autopoint [OPTION]...
The autopoint program copies standard gettext infrastructure files
into a source package. It extracts from a macro call of the form
AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION(VERSION), found in the packages configure.in
or configure.ac file, the gettext version used by the package, and
copies the infrastructure files belonging to this version into the
package.
To extract the latest available infrastructure which satisfies a
version requirement, then you can use the form
AM_GNU_GETTEXT_REQUIRE_VERSION(VERSION) instead. For example, if
gettext 0.22.4 is installed on your system and 0.19.1 is requested,
then the infrastructure files of version 0.22.4 will be copied into a
source package.
13.6.4.1 Options
................
-f
--force
Force overwriting of files that already exist.
-n
--dry-run
Print modifications but dont perform them. All file copying
actions that autopoint would normally execute are inhibited and
instead only listed on standard output.
13.6.4.2 Informative output
...........................
--help
Display this help and exit.
--version
Output version information and exit.
autopoint supports the GNU gettext versions from 0.10.35 to the
current one, 0.22.4. In order to apply autopoint to a package using a
gettext version newer than 0.22.4, you need to install this same
version of GNU gettext at least.
In packages using GNU automake, an invocation of autopoint should
be followed by invocations of aclocal and then autoconf and
autoheader. The reason is that autopoint installs some autoconf
macro files, which are used by aclocal to create aclocal.m4, and the
latter is used by autoconf to create the packages configure script
and by autoheader to create the packages config.h.in include file
template.
The name autopoint is an abbreviation of auto-po-intl-m4; in
earlier versions, the tool copied or updated mostly files in the po,
intl, m4 directories.

File: gettext.info, Node: Release Management, Prev: Version Control Issues, Up: Maintainers
13.7 Creating a Distribution Tarball
====================================
In projects that use GNU automake, the usual commands for creating
a distribution tarball, make dist or make distcheck, automatically
update the PO files as needed.
If GNU automake is not used, the maintainer needs to perform this
update before making a release:
$ ./configure
$ (cd po; make update-po)
$ make distclean

File: gettext.info, Node: Installers, Next: Programming Languages, Prev: Maintainers, Up: Top
14 The Installers and Distributors View
*****************************************
By default, packages fully using GNU gettext, internally, are
installed in such a way as to allow translation of messages. At
_configuration_ time, those packages should automatically detect whether
the underlying host system already provides the GNU gettext functions.
If not, the GNU gettext library should be automatically prepared and
used. Installers may use special options at configuration time for
changing this behavior. The command ./configure
--with-included-gettext bypasses system gettext to use the included
GNU gettext instead, while ./configure --disable-nls produces
programs totally unable to translate messages.
Internationalized packages have usually many LL.po files. 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.

File: gettext.info, Node: Programming Languages, Next: Data Formats, Prev: Installers, Up: Top
15 Other Programming Languages
******************************
While the presentation of gettext focuses mostly on C and
implicitly applies to C++ as well, its scope is far broader than that:
Many programming languages, scripting languages and other textual data
like GUI resources or package descriptions can make use of the gettext
approach.
* Menu:
* Language Implementors:: The Language Implementors View
* Programmers for other Languages:: The Programmers View
* Translators for other Languages:: The Translators View
* Maintainers for other Languages:: The Maintainers View
* List of Programming Languages:: Individual Programming Languages

File: gettext.info, Node: Language Implementors, Next: Programmers for other Languages, Up: Programming Languages
15.1 The Language Implementors View
====================================
All programming and scripting languages that have the notion of
strings are eligible to supporting gettext. Supporting gettext
means the following:
1. You should add to the language a syntax for translatable strings.
In principle, a function call of gettext would do, but a
shorthand syntax helps keeping the legibility of internationalized
programs. For example, in C we use the syntax _("string"), and
in GNU awk we use the shorthand _"string".
2. You should arrange that evaluation of such a translatable string at
runtime calls the gettext function, or performs equivalent
processing.
3. Similarly, you should make the functions ngettext, dcgettext,
dcngettext available from within the language. These functions
are less often used, but are nevertheless necessary for particular
purposes: ngettext for correct plural handling, and dcgettext
and dcngettext for obeying other locale-related environment
variables than LC_MESSAGES, such as LC_TIME or LC_MONETARY.
For these latter functions, you need to make the LC_* constants,
available in the C header <locale.h>, referenceable from within
the language, usually either as enumeration values or as strings.
4. You should allow the programmer to designate a message domain,
either by making the textdomain function available from within
the language, or by introducing a magic variable called
TEXTDOMAIN. Similarly, you should allow the programmer to
designate where to search for message catalogs, by providing access
to the bindtextdomain function or — on native Windows platforms —
to the wbindtextdomain function.
5. You should either perform a setlocale (LC_ALL, "") call during
the startup of your language runtime, or allow the programmer to do
so. Remember that gettext will act as a no-op if the LC_MESSAGES
and LC_CTYPE locale categories are not both set.
6. A programmer should have a way to extract translatable strings from
a program into a PO file. The GNU xgettext program is being
extended to support very different programming languages. Please
contact the GNU gettext maintainers to help them doing this. The
GNU gettext maintainers will need from you a formal description
of the lexical structure of source files. It should answer the
questions:
• What does a token look like?
• What does a string literal look like? What escape characters
exist inside a string?
• What escape characters exist outside of strings? If Unicode
escapes are supported, are they applied before or after
tokenization?
• What is the syntax for function calls? How are consecutive
arguments in the same function call separated?
• What is the syntax for comments?
Based on this description, the GNU gettext maintainers can add
support to xgettext.
If the string extractor is best integrated into your languages
parser, GNU xgettext can function as a front end to your string
extractor.
7. The languages library should have a string formatting facility.
Additionally:
1. There must be a way, in the format string, to denote the
arguments by a positional number or a name. This is needed
because for some languages and some messages with more than
one substitutable argument, the translation will need to
output the substituted arguments in different order. *Note
c-format Flag::.
2. The syntax of format strings must be documented in a way that
translators can understand. The GNU gettext manual will be
extended to include a pointer to this documentation.
Based on this, the GNU gettext maintainers can add a format
string equivalence checker to msgfmt, so that translators get
told immediately when they have made a mistake during the
translation of a format string.
8. If the language has more than one implementation, and not all of
the implementations use gettext, but the programs should be
portable across implementations, you should provide a no-i18n
emulation, that makes the other implementations accept programs
written for yours, without actually translating the strings.
9. To help the programmer in the task of marking translatable strings,
which is sometimes performed using the Emacs PO mode (*note
Marking::), you are welcome to contact the GNU gettext
maintainers, so they can add support for your language to
po-mode.el.
On the implementation side, two approaches are possible, with
different effects on portability and copyright:
• You may link against GNU gettext functions if they are found in
the C library. For example, an autoconf test for gettext() and
ngettext() will detect this situation. For the moment, this test
will succeed on GNU systems and on Solaris 11 platforms. No severe
copyright restrictions apply, except if you want to distribute
statically linked binaries.
• You may emulate or reimplement the GNU gettext functionality.
This has the advantage of full portability and no copyright
restrictions, but also the drawback that you have to reimplement
the GNU gettext features (such as the LANGUAGE environment
variable, the locale aliases database, the automatic charset
conversion, and plural handling).

File: gettext.info, Node: Programmers for other Languages, Next: Translators for other Languages, Prev: Language Implementors, Up: Programming Languages
15.2 The Programmers View
==========================
For the programmer, the general procedure is the same as for the C
language. The Emacs PO mode marking supports other languages, and the
GNU xgettext string extractor recognizes other languages based on the
file extension or a command-line option. In some languages, setlocale
is not needed because it is already performed by the underlying language
runtime.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translators for other Languages, Next: Maintainers for other Languages, Prev: Programmers for other Languages, Up: Programming Languages
15.3 The Translators View
==========================
The translator works exactly as in the C language case. The only
difference is that when translating format strings, she has to be aware
of the languages particular syntax for positional arguments in format
strings.
* Menu:
* c-format:: C Format Strings
* objc-format:: Objective C Format Strings
* c++-format:: C++ Format Strings
* python-format:: Python Format Strings
* java-format:: Java Format Strings
* csharp-format:: C# Format Strings
* javascript-format:: JavaScript Format Strings
* scheme-format:: Scheme Format Strings
* lisp-format:: Lisp Format Strings
* elisp-format:: Emacs Lisp Format Strings
* librep-format:: librep Format Strings
* ruby-format:: Ruby Format Strings
* sh-format:: Shell Format Strings
* awk-format:: awk Format Strings
* lua-format:: Lua Format Strings
* object-pascal-format:: Object Pascal Format Strings
* smalltalk-format:: Smalltalk Format Strings
* qt-format:: Qt Format Strings
* qt-plural-format:: Qt Plural Format Strings
* kde-format:: KDE Format Strings
* kde-kuit-format:: KUIT Format Strings
* boost-format:: Boost Format Strings
* tcl-format:: Tcl Format Strings
* perl-format:: Perl Format Strings
* php-format:: PHP Format Strings
* gcc-internal-format:: GCC internal Format Strings
* gfc-internal-format:: GFC internal Format Strings
* ycp-format:: YCP Format Strings

File: gettext.info, Node: c-format, Next: objc-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.1 C Format Strings
-----------------------
C format strings are described in POSIX (IEEE P1003.1 2001), section
XSH 3 fprintf(),
<http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/007904975/functions/fprintf.html>.
See also the fprintf() manual page,
<http://www.linuxvalley.it/encyclopedia/ldp/manpage/man3/printf.3.php>,
<http://informatik.fh-wuerzburg.de/student/i510/man/printf.html>.
Although format strings with positions that reorder arguments, such
as
"Only %2$d bytes free on '%1$s'."
which is semantically equivalent to
"'%s' has only %d bytes free."
are a POSIX/XSI feature and not specified by ISO C 99, translators can
rely on this reordering ability: On the few platforms where printf(),
fprintf() etc. dont support this feature natively, libintl.a or
libintl.so provides replacement functions, and GNU <libintl.h>
activates these replacement functions automatically.
As a special feature for Farsi (Persian) and maybe Arabic,
translators can insert an I flag into numeric format directives. For
example, the translation of "%d" can be "%Id". The effect of this
flag, on systems with GNU libc, is that in the output, the ASCII
digits are replaced with the outdigits defined in the LC_CTYPE
locale category. On other systems, the gettext function removes this
flag, so that it has no effect.
Note that the programmer should _not_ put this flag into the
untranslated string. (Putting the I format directive flag into an
MSGID string would lead to undefined behaviour on platforms without
glibc when NLS is disabled.)

File: gettext.info, Node: objc-format, Next: c++-format, Prev: c-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.2 Objective C Format Strings
---------------------------------
Objective C format strings are like C format strings. They support
an additional format directive: "%@", which when executed consumes an
argument of type Object *.

File: gettext.info, Node: c++-format, Next: python-format, Prev: objc-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.3 C++ Format Strings
-------------------------
C++ format strings are described in ISO C++ 20, namely in
<https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2020/n4861.pdf>,
section 20.20.2 Format string [format.string].
An easier-to-read description is found at
<https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/format/format#Parameters> and
<https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/format/formatter#Standard_format_specification>.

File: gettext.info, Node: python-format, Next: java-format, Prev: c++-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.4 Python Format Strings
----------------------------
There are two kinds of format strings in Python: those acceptable to
the Python built-in format operator %, labelled as python-format,
and those acceptable to the format method of the str object.
Python % format strings are described in Python Library reference /
5. Built-in Types / 5.6. Sequence Types /
5.6.2. String Formatting Operations.
<https://docs.python.org/2/library/stdtypes.html#string-formatting-operations>.
Python brace format strings are described in
PEP 3101 Advanced String Formatting,
<https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3101/>.

File: gettext.info, Node: java-format, Next: csharp-format, Prev: python-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.5 Java Format Strings
--------------------------
There are two kinds of format strings in Java: those acceptable to
the MessageFormat.format function, labelled as java-format, and
those acceptable to the String.format and PrintStream.printf
functions, labelled as java-printf-format.
Java format strings are described in the JDK documentation for class
java.text.MessageFormat,
<https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/text/MessageFormat.html>.
See also the ICU documentation
<http://icu-project.org/apiref/icu4j/com/ibm/icu/text/MessageFormat.html>.
Java printf format strings are described in the JDK documentation
for class java.util.Formatter,
<https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/Formatter.html>.

File: gettext.info, Node: csharp-format, Next: javascript-format, Prev: java-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.6 C# Format Strings
------------------------
C# format strings are described in the .NET documentation for class
System.String and in
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpguide/html/cpConFormattingOverview.asp>.

File: gettext.info, Node: javascript-format, Next: scheme-format, Prev: csharp-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.7 JavaScript Format Strings
--------------------------------
Although JavaScript specification itself does not define any format
strings, many JavaScript implementations provide printf-like functions.
xgettext understands a set of common format strings used in popular
JavaScript implementations including Gjs, Seed, and Node.JS. In such a
format string, a directive starts with % and is finished by a
specifier: % denotes a literal percent sign, c denotes a character,
s denotes a string, b, d, o, x, X denote an integer, f
denotes floating-point number, j denotes a JSON object.

File: gettext.info, Node: scheme-format, Next: lisp-format, Prev: javascript-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.8 Scheme Format Strings
----------------------------
Scheme format strings are documented in the SLIB manual, section
Format Specification.

File: gettext.info, Node: lisp-format, Next: elisp-format, Prev: scheme-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.9 Lisp Format Strings
--------------------------
Lisp format strings are described in the Common Lisp HyperSpec,
chapter 22.3 Formatted Output,
<http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/iiip/doc/CommonLISP/HyperSpec/Body/sec_22-3.html>.

File: gettext.info, Node: elisp-format, Next: librep-format, Prev: lisp-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.10 Emacs Lisp Format Strings
---------------------------------
Emacs Lisp format strings are documented in the Emacs Lisp reference,
section Formatting Strings,
<https://www.gnu.org/manual/elisp-manual-21-2.8/html_chapter/elisp_4.html#SEC75>.
Note that as of version 21, XEmacs supports numbered argument
specifications in format strings while FSF Emacs doesnt.

File: gettext.info, Node: librep-format, Next: ruby-format, Prev: elisp-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.11 librep Format Strings
-----------------------------
librep format strings are documented in the librep manual, section
Formatted Output,
<http://librep.sourceforge.net/librep-manual.html#Formatted%20Output>,
<http://www.gwinnup.org/research/docs/librep.html#SEC122>.

File: gettext.info, Node: ruby-format, Next: sh-format, Prev: librep-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.12 Ruby Format Strings
---------------------------
Ruby format strings are described in the documentation of the Ruby
functions format and sprintf, in
<https://ruby-doc.org/core-2.7.1/Kernel.html#method-i-sprintf>.
There are two kinds of format strings in Ruby:
• Those that take a list of arguments without names. They support
argument reordering by use of the %N$ syntax. Note that if one
argument uses this syntax, all must use this syntax.
• Those that take a hash table, containing named arguments. The
syntax is %<NAME>. Note that %{NAME} is equivalent to
%<NAME>s.

File: gettext.info, Node: sh-format, Next: awk-format, Prev: ruby-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.13 Shell Format Strings
----------------------------
Shell format strings, as supported by GNU gettext and the envsubst
program, are strings with references to shell variables in the form
$VARIABLE or ${VARIABLE}. References of the form
${VARIABLE-DEFAULT}, ${VARIABLE:-DEFAULT}, ${VARIABLE=DEFAULT},
${VARIABLE:=DEFAULT}, ${VARIABLE+REPLACEMENT},
${VARIABLE:+REPLACEMENT}, ${VARIABLE?IGNORED},
${VARIABLE:?IGNORED}, that would be valid inside shell scripts, are
not supported. The VARIABLE names must consist solely of alphanumeric
or underscore ASCII characters, not start with a digit and be nonempty;
otherwise such a variable reference is ignored.

File: gettext.info, Node: awk-format, Next: lua-format, Prev: sh-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.14 awk Format Strings
--------------------------
awk format strings are described in the gawk documentation, section
Printf, <https://www.gnu.org/manual/gawk/html_node/Printf.html#Printf>.

File: gettext.info, Node: lua-format, Next: object-pascal-format, Prev: awk-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.15 Lua Format Strings
--------------------------
Lua format strings are described in the Lua reference manual, section
String Manipulation,
<https://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/manual.html#pdf-string.format>.

File: gettext.info, Node: object-pascal-format, Next: smalltalk-format, Prev: lua-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.16 Object Pascal Format Strings
------------------------------------
Object Pascal format strings are described in the documentation of
the Free Pascal runtime library, section Format,
<https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/rtl/sysutils/format.html>.

File: gettext.info, Node: smalltalk-format, Next: qt-format, Prev: object-pascal-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.17 Smalltalk Format Strings
--------------------------------
Smalltalk format strings are described in the GNU Smalltalk
documentation, class CharArray, methods bindWith: and
bindWithArguments:.
<https://www.gnu.org/software/smalltalk/gst-manual/gst_68.html#SEC238>.
In summary, a directive starts with % and is followed by % or a
nonzero digit (1 to 9).

File: gettext.info, Node: qt-format, Next: qt-plural-format, Prev: smalltalk-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.18 Qt Format Strings
-------------------------
Qt format strings are described in the documentation of the QString
class <file:/usr/lib/qt-4.3.0/doc/html/qstring.html>. In summary, a
directive consists of a % followed by a digit. The same directive
cannot occur more than once in a format string.

File: gettext.info, Node: qt-plural-format, Next: kde-format, Prev: qt-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.19 Qt Format Strings
-------------------------
Qt format strings are described in the documentation of the
QObject::tr method <file:/usr/lib/qt-4.3.0/doc/html/qobject.html>. In
summary, the only allowed directive is %n.

File: gettext.info, Node: kde-format, Next: kde-kuit-format, Prev: qt-plural-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.20 KDE Format Strings
--------------------------
KDE 4 format strings are defined as follows: A directive consists of
a % followed by a non-zero decimal number. If a %n occurs in a
format strings, all of %1, ..., %(n-1) must occur as well, except
possibly one of them.

File: gettext.info, Node: kde-kuit-format, Next: boost-format, Prev: kde-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.21 KUIT Format Strings
---------------------------
KUIT (KDE User Interface Text) is compatible with KDE 4 format
strings, while it also allows programmers to add semantic information to
a format string, through XML markup tags. For example, if the first
format directive in a string is a filename, programmers could indicate
that with a filename tag, like <filename>%1</filename>.
KUIT format strings are described in
<https://api.kde.org/frameworks/ki18n/html/prg_guide.html#kuit_markup>.

File: gettext.info, Node: boost-format, Next: tcl-format, Prev: kde-kuit-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.22 Boost Format Strings
----------------------------
Boost format strings are described in the documentation of the
boost::format class, at
<https://www.boost.org/libs/format/doc/format.html>. In summary, a
directive has either the same syntax as in a C format string, such as
%1$+5d, or may be surrounded by vertical bars, such as %|1$+5d| or
%|1$+5|, or consists of just an argument number between percent signs,
such as %1%.

File: gettext.info, Node: tcl-format, Next: perl-format, Prev: boost-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.23 Tcl Format Strings
--------------------------
Tcl format strings are described in the format.n manual page,
<http://www.scriptics.com/man/tcl8.3/TclCmd/format.htm>.

File: gettext.info, Node: perl-format, Next: php-format, Prev: tcl-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.24 Perl Format Strings
---------------------------
There are two kinds of format strings in Perl: those acceptable to
the Perl built-in function printf, labelled as perl-format, and
those acceptable to the libintl-perl function __x, labelled as
perl-brace-format.
Perl printf format strings are described in the sprintf section
of man perlfunc.
Perl brace format strings are described in the
Locale::TextDomain(3pm) manual page of the CPAN package libintl-perl.
In brief, Perl format uses placeholders put between braces ({ and
}). The placeholder must have the syntax of simple identifiers.

File: gettext.info, Node: php-format, Next: gcc-internal-format, Prev: perl-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.25 PHP Format Strings
--------------------------
PHP format strings are described in the documentation of the PHP
function sprintf, in phpdoc/manual/function.sprintf.html or
<http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.sprintf.php>.

File: gettext.info, Node: gcc-internal-format, Next: gfc-internal-format, Prev: php-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.26 GCC internal Format Strings
-----------------------------------
These format strings are used inside the GCC sources. In such a
format string, a directive starts with %, is optionally followed by a
size specifier l, an optional flag +, another optional flag #, and
is finished by a specifier: % denotes a literal percent sign, c
denotes a character, s denotes a string, i and d denote an
integer, o, u, x denote an unsigned integer, .*s denotes a
string preceded by a width specification, H denotes a location_t *
pointer, D denotes a general declaration, F denotes a function
declaration, T denotes a type, A denotes a function argument, C
denotes a tree code, E denotes an expression, L denotes a
programming language, O denotes a binary operator, P denotes a
function parameter, Q denotes an assignment operator, V denotes a
const/volatile qualifier.

File: gettext.info, Node: gfc-internal-format, Next: ycp-format, Prev: gcc-internal-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.27 GFC internal Format Strings
-----------------------------------
These format strings are used inside the GNU Fortran Compiler
sources, that is, the Fortran frontend in the GCC sources. In such a
format string, a directive starts with % and is finished by a
specifier: % denotes a literal percent sign, C denotes the current
source location, L denotes a source location, c denotes a character,
s denotes a string, i and d denote an integer, u denotes an
unsigned integer. i, d, and u may be preceded by a size specifier
l.

File: gettext.info, Node: ycp-format, Prev: gfc-internal-format, Up: Translators for other Languages
15.3.28 YCP Format Strings
--------------------------
YCP sformat strings are described in the libycp documentation
<file:/usr/share/doc/packages/libycp/YCP-builtins.html>. In summary, a
directive starts with % and is followed by % or a nonzero digit (1
to 9).

File: gettext.info, Node: Maintainers for other Languages, Next: List of Programming Languages, Prev: Translators for other Languages, Up: Programming Languages
15.4 The Maintainers View
==========================
For the maintainer, the general procedure differs from the C language
case:
• If only a single programming language is used, the
XGETTEXT_OPTIONS variable in po/Makevars (*note po/Makevars::)
should be adjusted to match the xgettext options for that
particular programming language. If the package uses more than one
programming language with gettext support, it becomes necessary
to change the POT file construction rule in po/Makefile.in.in.
It is recommended to make one xgettext invocation per programming
language, each with the options appropriate for that language, and
to combine the resulting files using msgcat.

File: gettext.info, Node: List of Programming Languages, Prev: Maintainers for other Languages, Up: Programming Languages
15.5 Individual Programming Languages
=====================================
* Menu:
* C:: C, C++, Objective C
* Python:: Python
* Java:: Java
* C#:: C#
* JavaScript:: JavaScript
* Scheme:: GNU guile - Scheme
* Common Lisp:: GNU clisp - Common Lisp
* clisp C:: GNU clisp C sources
* Emacs Lisp:: Emacs Lisp
* librep:: librep
* Ruby:: Ruby
* sh:: sh - Shell Script
* bash:: bash - Bourne-Again Shell Script
* gawk:: GNU awk
* Lua:: Lua
* Pascal:: Pascal - Free Pascal Compiler
* Smalltalk:: GNU Smalltalk
* Vala:: Vala
* wxWidgets:: wxWidgets library
* Tcl:: Tcl - Tks scripting language
* Perl:: Perl
* PHP:: PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
* Pike:: Pike
* GCC-source:: GNU Compiler Collection sources
* YCP:: YCP - YaST2 scripting language

File: gettext.info, Node: C, Next: Python, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.1 C, C++, Objective C
--------------------------
RPMs
gcc, gpp, gobjc, glibc, gettext
Ubuntu packages
gcc, g++, gobjc, libc6-dev, libasprintf-dev
File extension
For C: c, h.
For C++: C, c++, cc, cxx, cpp, hpp.
For Objective C: m.
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext, ngettext, dngettext,
dcngettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain and wbindtextdomain functions
setlocale
Programmer must call setlocale (LC_ALL, "")
Prerequisite
#include <libintl.h>
#include <locale.h>
#define _(string) gettext (string)
Use or emulate GNU gettext
Use
Extractor
xgettext -k_
Formatting with positions
fprintf "%2$d %1$d"
In C++: autosprintf "%2$d %1$d" (*note Introduction:
(autosprintf)Top.)
In C++ 20 or newer: std::vformat "{1} {0}"
Portability
autoconf (gettext.m4) and #if ENABLE_NLS
po-mode marking
yes
The following examples are available in the examples directory:
hello-c, hello-c-gnome, hello-c++, hello-c++-qt,
hello-c++-kde, hello-c++-gnome, hello-c++-wxwidgets, hello-objc,
hello-objc-gnustep, hello-objc-gnome.

File: gettext.info, Node: Python, Next: Java, Prev: C, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.2 Python
-------------
RPMs
python
Ubuntu packages
python
File extension
py
String syntax
'abc', u'abc', r'abc', ur'abc',
"abc", u"abc", r"abc", ur"abc",
'''abc''', u'''abc''', r'''abc''', ur'''abc''',
"""abc""", u"""abc""", r"""abc""", ur"""abc"""
gettext shorthand
_('abc') etc.
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext.gettext, gettext.dgettext, gettext.ngettext,
gettext.dngettext, also ugettext, ungettext
textdomain
gettext.textdomain function, or gettext.install(DOMAIN)
function
bindtextdomain
gettext.bindtextdomain function, or
gettext.install(DOMAIN,LOCALEDIR) function
setlocale
not used by the gettext emulation
Prerequisite
import gettext
Use or emulate GNU gettext
emulate
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
'...%(ident)d...' % { 'ident': value }
'...{ident}...'.format(ident=value) (see PEP 3101)
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-python.
A note about format strings: Python supports format strings with
unnamed arguments, such as '...%d...', and format strings with named
arguments, such as '...%(ident)d...'. The latter are preferable for
internationalized programs, for two reasons:
• When a format string takes more than one argument, the translator
can provide a translation that uses the arguments in a different
order, if the format string uses named arguments. For example, the
translator can reformulate
"'%(volume)s' has only %(freespace)d bytes free."
to
"Only %(freespace)d bytes free on '%(volume)s'."
Additionally, the identifiers also provide some context to the
translator.
• In the context of plural forms, the format string used for the
singular form does not use the numeric argument in many languages.
Even in English, one prefers to write "one hour" instead of "1
hour". Omitting individual arguments from format strings like
this is only possible with the named argument syntax. (With
unnamed arguments, Python unlike C verifies that the format
string uses all supplied arguments.)

File: gettext.info, Node: Java, Next: C#, Prev: Python, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.3 Java
-----------
RPMs
java, java2
Ubuntu packages
default-jdk
File extension
java
String syntax
"abc", """text block"""
gettext shorthand
i18n("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
GettextResource.gettext, GettextResource.ngettext,
GettextResource.pgettext, GettextResource.npgettext
textdomain
—, use ResourceBundle.getResource instead
bindtextdomain
—, use CLASSPATH instead
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
—, uses a Java specific message catalog format
Extractor
xgettext -ki18n
Formatting with positions
MessageFormat.format "{1,number} {0,number}" or String.format
"%2$d %1$d"
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
Before marking strings as internationalizable, uses of the string
concatenation operator need to be converted to MessageFormat
applications. For example, "file "+filename+" not found" becomes
MessageFormat.format("file {0} not found", new Object[] { filename }).
Only after this is done, can the strings be marked and extracted.
GNU gettext uses the native Java internationalization mechanism,
namely ResourceBundles. There are two formats of ResourceBundles:
.properties files and .class files. The .properties format is a
text file which the translators can directly edit, like PO files, but
which doesnt support plural forms. Whereas the .class format is
compiled from .java source code and can support plural forms (provided
it is accessed through an appropriate API, see below).
To convert a PO file to a .properties file, the msgcat program
can be used with the option --properties-output. To convert a
.properties file back to a PO file, the msgcat program can be used
with the option --properties-input. All the tools that manipulate PO
files can work with .properties files as well, if given the
--properties-input and/or --properties-output option.
To convert a PO file to a ResourceBundle class, the msgfmt program
can be used with the option --java or --java2. To convert a
ResourceBundle back to a PO file, the msgunfmt program can be used
with the option --java.
Two different programmatic APIs can be used to access
ResourceBundles. Note that both APIs work with all kinds of
ResourceBundles, whether GNU gettext generated classes, or other
.class or .properties files.
1. The java.util.ResourceBundle API.
In particular, its getString function returns a string
translation. Note that a missing translation yields a
MissingResourceException.
This has the advantage of being the standard API. And it does not
require any additional libraries, only the msgcat generated
.properties files or the msgfmt generated .class files. But
it cannot do plural handling, even if the resource was generated by
msgfmt from a PO file with plural handling.
2. The gnu.gettext.GettextResource API.
Reference documentation in Javadoc 1.1 style format is in the
javadoc2 directory (javadoc2/index.html).
Its gettext function returns a string translation. Note that
when a translation is missing, the MSGID argument is returned
unchanged.
This has the advantage of having the ngettext function for plural
handling and the pgettext and npgettext for strings constraint
to a particular context.
To use this API, one needs the libintl.jar file which is part of
the GNU gettext package and distributed under the LGPL.
Four examples, using the second API, are available in the examples
directory: hello-java, hello-java-awt, hello-java-swing,
hello-java-qtjambi.
Now, to make use of the API and define a shorthand for getString,
there are three idioms that you can choose from:
• (This one assumes Java 1.5 or newer.) In a unique class of your
project, say Util, define a static variable holding the
ResourceBundle instance and the shorthand:
private static ResourceBundle myResources =
ResourceBundle.getBundle("domain-name");
public static String i18n(String s) {
return myResources.getString(s);
}
All classes containing internationalized strings then contain
import static Util.i18n;
and the shorthand is used like this:
System.out.println(i18n("Operation completed."));
• In a unique class of your project, say Util, define a static
variable holding the ResourceBundle instance:
public static ResourceBundle myResources =
ResourceBundle.getBundle("domain-name");
All classes containing internationalized strings then contain
private static ResourceBundle res = Util.myResources;
private static String i18n(String s) { return res.getString(s); }
and the shorthand is used like this:
System.out.println(i18n("Operation completed."));
• You add a class with a very short name, say S, containing just
the definition of the resource bundle and of the shorthand:
public class S {
public static ResourceBundle myResources =
ResourceBundle.getBundle("domain-name");
public static String i18n(String s) {
return myResources.getString(s);
}
}
and the shorthand is used like this:
System.out.println(S.i18n("Operation completed."));
Which of the three idioms you choose, will depend on whether your
project requires portability to Java versions prior to Java 1.5 and, if
so, whether copying two lines of codes into every class is more
acceptable in your project than a class with a single-letter name.

File: gettext.info, Node: C#, Next: JavaScript, Prev: Java, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.4 C#
---------
RPMs
mono
Ubuntu packages
mono-mcs
File extension
cs
String syntax
"abc", @"abc"
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
GettextResourceManager.GetString,
GettextResourceManager.GetPluralString
GettextResourceManager.GetParticularString
GettextResourceManager.GetParticularPluralString
textdomain
new GettextResourceManager(domain)
bindtextdomain
—, compiled message catalogs are located in subdirectories of the
directory containing the executable
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
—, uses a C# specific message catalog format
Extractor
xgettext -k_
Formatting with positions
String.Format "{1} {0}"
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
Before marking strings as internationalizable, uses of the string
concatenation operator need to be converted to String.Format
invocations. For example, "file "+filename+" not found" becomes
String.Format("file {0} not found", filename). Only after this is
done, can the strings be marked and extracted.
GNU gettext uses the native C#/.NET internationalization mechanism,
namely the classes ResourceManager and ResourceSet. Applications
use the ResourceManager methods to retrieve the native language
translation of strings. An instance of ResourceSet is the in-memory
representation of a message catalog file. The ResourceManager loads
and accesses ResourceSet instances as needed to look up the
translations.
There are two formats of ResourceSets that can be directly loaded
by the C# runtime: .resources files and .dll files.
• The .resources format is a binary file usually generated through
the resgen or monoresgen utility, but which doesnt support
plural forms. .resources files can also be embedded in .NET
.exe files. This only affects whether a file system access is
performed to load the message catalog; it doesnt affect the
contents of the message catalog.
• On the other hand, the .dll format is a binary file that is
compiled from .cs source code and can support plural forms
(provided it is accessed through the GNU gettext API, see below).
Note that these .NET .dll and .exe files are not tied to a
particular platform; their file format and GNU gettext for C# can be
used on any platform.
To convert a PO file to a .resources file, the msgfmt program can
be used with the option --csharp-resources. To convert a .resources
file back to a PO file, the msgunfmt program can be used with the
option --csharp-resources. You can also, in some cases, use the
monoresgen program (from the mono/mcs package). This program can
also convert a .resources file back to a PO file. But beware: as of
this writing (January 2004), the monoresgen converter is quite buggy.
To convert a PO file to a .dll file, the msgfmt program can be
used with the option --csharp. The result will be a .dll file
containing a subclass of GettextResourceSet, which itself is a
subclass of ResourceSet. To convert a .dll file containing a
GettextResourceSet subclass back to a PO file, the msgunfmt program
can be used with the option --csharp.
The advantages of the .dll format over the .resources format are:
1. Freedom to localize: Users can add their own translations to an
application after it has been built and distributed. Whereas when
the programmer uses a ResourceManager constructor provided by the
system, the set of .resources files for an application must be
specified when the application is built and cannot be extended
afterwards.
2. Plural handling: A message catalog in .dll format supports the
plural handling function GetPluralString. Whereas .resources
files can only contain data and only support lookups that depend on
a single string.
3. Context handling: A message catalog in .dll format supports the
query-with-context functions GetParticularString and
GetParticularPluralString. Whereas .resources files can only
contain data and only support lookups that depend on a single
string.
4. The GettextResourceManager that loads the message catalogs in
.dll format also provides for inheritance on a per-message basis.
For example, in Austrian (de_AT) locale, translations from the
German (de) message catalog will be used for messages not found
in the Austrian message catalog. This has the consequence that the
Austrian translators need only translate those few messages for
which the translation into Austrian differs from the German one.
Whereas when working with .resources files, each message catalog
must provide the translations of all messages by itself.
5. The GettextResourceManager that loads the message catalogs in
.dll format also provides for a fallback: The English MSGID is
returned when no translation can be found. Whereas when working
with .resources files, a language-neutral .resources file must
explicitly be provided as a fallback.
On the side of the programmatic APIs, the programmer can use either
the standard ResourceManager API and the GNU GettextResourceManager
API. The latter is an extension of the former, because
GettextResourceManager is a subclass of ResourceManager.
1. The System.Resources.ResourceManager API.
This API works with resources in .resources format.
The creation of the ResourceManager is done through
new ResourceManager(domainname, Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())
The GetString function returns a strings translation. Note that
this function returns null when a translation is missing (i.e. not
even found in the fallback resource file).
2. The GNU.Gettext.GettextResourceManager API.
This API works with resources in .dll format.
Reference documentation is in the csharpdoc directory
(csharpdoc/index.html).
The creation of the ResourceManager is done through
new GettextResourceManager(domainname)
The GetString function returns a strings translation. Note that
when a translation is missing, the MSGID argument is returned
unchanged.
The GetPluralString function returns a string translation with
plural handling, like the ngettext function in C.
The GetParticularString function returns a strings translation,
specific to a particular context, like the pgettext function in
C. Note that when a translation is missing, the MSGID argument is
returned unchanged.
The GetParticularPluralString function returns a string
translation, specific to a particular context, with plural
handling, like the npgettext function in C.
To use this API, one needs the GNU.Gettext.dll file which is part
of the GNU gettext package and distributed under the LGPL.
You can also mix both approaches: use the
GNU.Gettext.GettextResourceManager constructor, but otherwise use only
the ResourceManager type and only the GetString method. This is
appropriate when you want to profit from the tools for PO files, but
dont want to change an existing source code that uses ResourceManager
and dont (yet) need the GetPluralString method.
Two examples, using the second API, are available in the examples
directory: hello-csharp, hello-csharp-forms.
Now, to make use of the API and define a shorthand for GetString,
there are two idioms that you can choose from:
• In a unique class of your project, say Util, define a static
variable holding the ResourceManager instance:
public static GettextResourceManager MyResourceManager =
new GettextResourceManager("domain-name");
All classes containing internationalized strings then contain
private static GettextResourceManager Res = Util.MyResourceManager;
private static String _(String s) { return Res.GetString(s); }
and the shorthand is used like this:
Console.WriteLine(_("Operation completed."));
• You add a class with a very short name, say S, containing just
the definition of the resource manager and of the shorthand:
public class S {
public static GettextResourceManager MyResourceManager =
new GettextResourceManager("domain-name");
public static String _(String s) {
return MyResourceManager.GetString(s);
}
}
and the shorthand is used like this:
Console.WriteLine(S._("Operation completed."));
Which of the two idioms you choose, will depend on whether copying
two lines of codes into every class is more acceptable in your project
than a class with a single-letter name.

File: gettext.info, Node: JavaScript, Next: Scheme, Prev: C#, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.5 JavaScript
-----------------
RPMs
js
Ubuntu packages
gjs
File extension
js
String syntax
"abc"
'abc'
`abc`
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext, ngettext, dngettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use, or emulate
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
Portability
On platforms without gettext, the functions are not available.
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: Scheme, Next: Common Lisp, Prev: JavaScript, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.6 GNU guile - Scheme
-------------------------
RPMs
guile
Ubuntu packages
guile-2.0
File extension
scm
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
(_ "abc"), _"abc" (GIMP script-fu extension)
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, ngettext
textdomain
textdomain
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain
setlocale
(catch #t (lambda () (setlocale LC_ALL "")) (lambda args #f))
Prerequisite
(use-modules (ice-9 format))
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext -k_
Formatting with positions
Portability
On platforms without gettext, no translation.
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-guile.

File: gettext.info, Node: Common Lisp, Next: clisp C, Prev: Scheme, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.7 GNU clisp - Common Lisp
------------------------------
RPMs
clisp 2.28 or newer
Ubuntu packages
clisp
File extension
lisp
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
(_ "abc"), (ENGLISH "abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
i18n:gettext, i18n:ngettext
textdomain
i18n:textdomain
bindtextdomain
i18n:textdomaindir
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext -k_ -kENGLISH
Formatting with positions
format "~1@*~D ~0@*~D"
Portability
On platforms without gettext, no translation.
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-clisp.

File: gettext.info, Node: clisp C, Next: Emacs Lisp, Prev: Common Lisp, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.8 GNU clisp C sources
--------------------------
RPMs
clisp
Ubuntu packages
clisp
File extension
d
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
ENGLISH ? "abc" : ""
GETTEXT("abc")
GETTEXTL("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
clgettext, clgettextl
textdomain
bindtextdomain
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
#include "lispbibl.c"
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
clisp-xgettext
Formatting with positions
fprintf "%2$d %1$d"
Portability
On platforms without gettext, no translation.
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: Emacs Lisp, Next: librep, Prev: clisp C, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.9 Emacs Lisp
-----------------
RPMs
emacs, xemacs
Ubuntu packages
emacs, xemacs21
File extension
el
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
(_"abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext (xemacs only)
textdomain
domain special form (xemacs only)
bindtextdomain
bind-text-domain function (xemacs only)
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
format "%2$d %1$d"
Portability
Only XEmacs. Without I18N3 defined at build time, no
translation.
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: librep, Next: Ruby, Prev: Emacs Lisp, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.10 librep
--------------
RPMs
librep 0.15.3 or newer
Ubuntu packages
librep16
File extension
jl
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
(_"abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
Prerequisite
(require 'rep.i18n.gettext)
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
format "%2$d %1$d"
Portability
On platforms without gettext, no translation.
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-librep.

File: gettext.info, Node: Ruby, Next: sh, Prev: librep, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.11 Ruby
------------
RPMs
ruby, ruby-gettext
Ubuntu packages
ruby, ruby-gettext
File extension
rb
String syntax
"abc", 'abc', %q/abc/ etc., %q(abc), %q[abc], %q{abc}
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, ngettext
textdomain
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
Prerequisite
require 'gettext' include GetText
Use or emulate GNU gettext
emulate
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
sprintf("%2$d %1$d", x, y)
"%{new} replaces %{old}" % {:old => oldvalue, :new => newvalue}
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: sh, Next: bash, Prev: Ruby, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.12 sh - Shell Script
-------------------------
RPMs
bash, gettext
Ubuntu packages
bash, gettext-base
File extension
sh
String syntax
"abc", 'abc', abc
gettext shorthand
"`gettext \"abc\"`"
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, ngettext programs
eval_gettext, eval_ngettext, eval_pgettext, eval_npgettext
shell functions
textdomain
environment variable TEXTDOMAIN
bindtextdomain
environment variable TEXTDOMAINDIR
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
. gettext.sh
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-sh.
* Menu:
* Preparing Shell Scripts:: Preparing Shell Scripts for Internationalization
* gettext.sh:: Contents of gettext.sh
* gettext Invocation:: Invoking the gettext program
* ngettext Invocation:: Invoking the ngettext program
* envsubst Invocation:: Invoking the envsubst program
* eval_gettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_gettext function
* eval_ngettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_ngettext function
* eval_pgettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_pgettext function
* eval_npgettext Invocation:: Invoking the eval_npgettext function

File: gettext.info, Node: Preparing Shell Scripts, Next: gettext.sh, Up: sh
15.5.12.1 Preparing Shell Scripts for Internationalization
..........................................................
Preparing a shell script for internationalization is conceptually
similar to the steps described in *note Sources::. The concrete steps
for shell scripts are as follows.
1. Insert the line
. gettext.sh
near the top of the script. gettext.sh is a shell function
library that provides the functions eval_gettext (see *note
eval_gettext Invocation::), eval_ngettext (see *note
eval_ngettext Invocation::), eval_pgettext (see *note
eval_pgettext Invocation::), and eval_npgettext (see *note
eval_npgettext Invocation::). You have to ensure that gettext.sh
can be found in the PATH.
2. Set and export the TEXTDOMAIN and TEXTDOMAINDIR environment
variables. Usually TEXTDOMAIN is the package or program name,
and TEXTDOMAINDIR is the absolute pathname corresponding to
$prefix/share/locale, where $prefix is the installation
location.
TEXTDOMAIN=@PACKAGE@
export TEXTDOMAIN
TEXTDOMAINDIR=@LOCALEDIR@
export TEXTDOMAINDIR
3. Prepare the strings for translation, as described in *note
Preparing Strings::.
4. Simplify translatable strings so that they dont contain command
substitution ("`...`" or "$(...)"), variable access with
defaulting (like ${VARIABLE-DEFAULT}), access to positional
arguments (like $0, $1, ...) or highly volatile shell
variables (like $?). This can always be done through simple
local code restructuring. For example,
echo "Usage: $0 [OPTION] FILE..."
becomes
program_name=$0
echo "Usage: $program_name [OPTION] FILE..."
Similarly,
echo "Remaining files: `ls | wc -l`"
becomes
filecount="`ls | wc -l`"
echo "Remaining files: $filecount"
5. For each translatable string, change the output command echo or
$echo to gettext (if the string contains no references to shell
variables) or to eval_gettext (if it refers to shell variables),
followed by a no-argument echo command (to account for the
terminating newline). Similarly, for cases with plural handling,
replace a conditional echo command with an invocation of
ngettext or eval_ngettext, followed by a no-argument echo
command.
When doing this, you also need to add an extra backslash before the
dollar sign in references to shell variables, so that the
eval_gettext function receives the translatable string before the
variable values are substituted into it. For example,
echo "Remaining files: $filecount"
becomes
eval_gettext "Remaining files: \$filecount"; echo
If the output command is not echo, you can make it use echo
nevertheless, through the use of backquotes. However, note that
inside backquotes, backslashes must be doubled to be effective
(because the backquoting eats one level of backslashes). For
example, assuming that error is a shell function that signals an
error,
error "file not found: $filename"
is first transformed into
error "`echo \"file not found: \$filename\"`"
which then becomes
error "`eval_gettext \"file not found: \\\$filename\"`"

File: gettext.info, Node: gettext.sh, Next: gettext Invocation, Prev: Preparing Shell Scripts, Up: sh
15.5.12.2 Contents of gettext.sh
..................................
gettext.sh, contained in the run-time package of GNU gettext,
provides the following:
• $echo The variable echo is set to a command that outputs its
first argument and a newline, without interpreting backslashes in
the argument string.
• eval_gettext See *note eval_gettext Invocation::.
• eval_ngettext See *note eval_ngettext Invocation::.
• eval_pgettext See *note eval_pgettext Invocation::.
• eval_npgettext See *note eval_npgettext Invocation::.

File: gettext.info, Node: gettext Invocation, Next: ngettext Invocation, Prev: gettext.sh, Up: sh
15.5.12.3 Invoking the gettext program
........................................
gettext [OPTION] [[TEXTDOMAIN] MSGID]
gettext [OPTION] -s [MSGID]...
The gettext program displays the native language translation of a
textual message.
*Arguments*
-c CONTEXT
--context=CONTEXT
Specify the context for the messages to be translated. See *note
Contexts:: for details.
-d TEXTDOMAIN
--domain=TEXTDOMAIN
Retrieve translated messages from TEXTDOMAIN. Usually a TEXTDOMAIN
corresponds to a package, a program, or a module of a program.
-e
Enable expansion of some escape sequences. This option is for
compatibility with the echo program or shell built-in. The
escape sequences \a, \b, \c, \f, \n, \r, \t, \v,
\\, and \ followed by one to three octal digits, are
interpreted like the System V echo program did.
-E
This option is only for compatibility with the echo program or
shell built-in. It has no effect.
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-n
This option has only an effect if the -s option is given. It
suppresses the additional newline at the end.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
[TEXTDOMAIN] MSGID
Retrieve translated message corresponding to MSGID from TEXTDOMAIN.
If the TEXTDOMAIN parameter is not given, the domain is determined
from the environment variable TEXTDOMAIN. If the message catalog is
not found in the regular directory, another location can be specified
with the environment variable TEXTDOMAINDIR.
When used with the -s option the program behaves like the echo
command. But it does not simply copy its arguments to stdout. Instead
those messages found in the selected catalog are translated. Also, a
newline is added at the end, unless either the option -n is specified
or the option -e is specified and some of the argument strings
contains a \c escape sequence.
Note: xgettext supports only the one-argument form of the gettext
invocation, where no options are present and the TEXTDOMAIN is implicit,
from the environment.

File: gettext.info, Node: ngettext Invocation, Next: envsubst Invocation, Prev: gettext Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.4 Invoking the ngettext program
.........................................
ngettext [OPTION] [TEXTDOMAIN] MSGID MSGID-PLURAL COUNT
The ngettext program displays the native language translation of a
textual message whose grammatical form depends on a number.
*Arguments*
-c CONTEXT
--context=CONTEXT
Specify the context for the messages to be translated. See *note
Contexts:: for details.
-d TEXTDOMAIN
--domain=TEXTDOMAIN
Retrieve translated messages from TEXTDOMAIN. Usually a TEXTDOMAIN
corresponds to a package, a program, or a module of a program.
-e
Enable expansion of some escape sequences. This option is for
compatibility with the gettext program. The escape sequences
\a, \b, \f, \n, \r, \t, \v, \\, and \ followed by
one to three octal digits, are interpreted like the System V echo
program did.
-E
This option is only for compatibility with the gettext program.
It has no effect.
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
TEXTDOMAIN
Retrieve translated message from TEXTDOMAIN.
MSGID MSGID-PLURAL
Translate MSGID (English singular) / MSGID-PLURAL (English plural).
COUNT
Choose singular/plural form based on this value.
If the TEXTDOMAIN parameter is not given, the domain is determined
from the environment variable TEXTDOMAIN. If the message catalog is
not found in the regular directory, another location can be specified
with the environment variable TEXTDOMAINDIR.
Note: xgettext supports only the three-arguments form of the
ngettext invocation, where no options are present and the TEXTDOMAIN
is implicit, from the environment.

File: gettext.info, Node: envsubst Invocation, Next: eval_gettext Invocation, Prev: ngettext Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.5 Invoking the envsubst program
.........................................
envsubst [OPTION] [SHELL-FORMAT]
The envsubst program substitutes the values of environment
variables.
*Operation mode*
-v
--variables
Output the variables occurring in SHELL-FORMAT.
*Informative output*
-h
--help
Display this help and exit.
-V
--version
Output version information and exit.
In normal operation mode, standard input is copied to standard
output, with references to environment variables of the form $VARIABLE
or ${VARIABLE} being replaced with the corresponding values. If a
SHELL-FORMAT is given, only those environment variables that are
referenced in SHELL-FORMAT are substituted; otherwise all environment
variables references occurring in standard input are substituted.
These substitutions are a subset of the substitutions that a shell
performs on unquoted and double-quoted strings. Other kinds of
substitutions done by a shell, such as ${VARIABLE-DEFAULT} or
$(COMMAND-LIST) or `COMMAND-LIST`, are not performed by the
envsubst program, due to security reasons.
When --variables is used, standard input is ignored, and the output
consists of the environment variables that are referenced in
SHELL-FORMAT, one per line.

File: gettext.info, Node: eval_gettext Invocation, Next: eval_ngettext Invocation, Prev: envsubst Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.6 Invoking the eval_gettext function
..............................................
eval_gettext MSGID
This function outputs the native language translation of a textual
message, performing dollar-substitution on the result. Note that only
shell variables mentioned in MSGID will be dollar-substituted in the
result.

File: gettext.info, Node: eval_ngettext Invocation, Next: eval_pgettext Invocation, Prev: eval_gettext Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.7 Invoking the eval_ngettext function
...............................................
eval_ngettext MSGID MSGID-PLURAL COUNT
This function outputs the native language translation of a textual
message whose grammatical form depends on a number, performing
dollar-substitution on the result. Note that only shell variables
mentioned in MSGID or MSGID-PLURAL will be dollar-substituted in the
result.

File: gettext.info, Node: eval_pgettext Invocation, Next: eval_npgettext Invocation, Prev: eval_ngettext Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.8 Invoking the eval_pgettext function
...............................................
eval_pgettext MSGCTXT MSGID
This function outputs the native language translation of a textual
message in the given context MSGCTXT (see *note Contexts::), performing
dollar-substitution on the result. Note that only shell variables
mentioned in MSGID will be dollar-substituted in the result.

File: gettext.info, Node: eval_npgettext Invocation, Prev: eval_pgettext Invocation, Up: sh
15.5.12.9 Invoking the eval_npgettext function
................................................
eval_npgettext MSGCTXT MSGID MSGID-PLURAL COUNT
This function outputs the native language translation of a textual
message whose grammatical form depends on a number in the given context
MSGCTXT (see *note Contexts::), performing dollar-substitution on the
result. Note that only shell variables mentioned in MSGID or
MSGID-PLURAL will be dollar-substituted in the result.

File: gettext.info, Node: bash, Next: gawk, Prev: sh, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.13 bash - Bourne-Again Shell Script
----------------------------------------
GNU bash 2.0 or newer has a special shorthand for translating a
string and substituting variable values in it: $"msgid". But the use
of this construct is *discouraged*, due to the security holes it opens
and due to its portability problems.
The security holes of $"..." come from the fact that after looking
up the translation of the string, bash processes it like it processes
any double-quoted string: dollar and backquote processing, like eval
does.
1. In a locale whose encoding is one of BIG5, BIG5-HKSCS, GBK,
GB18030, SHIFT_JIS, JOHAB, some double-byte characters have a
second byte whose value is 0x60. For example, the byte sequence
\xe0\x60 is a single character in these locales. Many versions
of bash (all versions up to bash-2.05, and newer versions on
platforms without mbsrtowcs() function) dont know about
character boundaries and see a backquote character where there is
only a particular Chinese character. Thus it can start executing
part of the translation as a command list. This situation can
occur even without the translator being aware of it: if the
translator provides translations in the UTF-8 encoding, it is the
gettext() function which will, during its conversion from the
translators encoding to the users locales encoding, produce the
dangerous \x60 bytes.
2. A translator could - voluntarily or inadvertently - use backquotes
"`...`" or dollar-parentheses "$(...)" in her translations.
The enclosed strings would be executed as command lists by the
shell.
The portability problem is that bash must be built with
internationalization support; this is normally not the case on systems
that dont have the gettext() function in libc.

File: gettext.info, Node: gawk, Next: Lua, Prev: bash, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.14 GNU awk
---------------
RPMs
gawk 3.1 or newer
Ubuntu packages
gawk
File extension
awk, gawk, twjr. The file extension twjr is used by
TexiWeb Jr (<https://github.com/arnoldrobbins/texiwebjr>).
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
_"abc"
gettext/ngettext functions
dcgettext, missing dcngettext in gawk-3.1.0
textdomain
TEXTDOMAIN variable
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
automatic, but missing setlocale (LC_MESSAGES, "") in gawk-3.1.0
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
printf "%2$d %1$d" (GNU awk only)
Portability
On platforms without gettext, no translation. On non-GNU awks, you
must define dcgettext, dcngettext and bindtextdomain
yourself.
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-gawk.

File: gettext.info, Node: Lua, Next: Pascal, Prev: gawk, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.15 Lua
-----------
RPMs
lua
Ubuntu packages
lua, lua-gettext
You need to install the lua-gettext package from
<https://gitlab.com/sukhichev/lua-gettext/blob/master/README.us.md>.
Debian and Ubuntu packages of it are available. Download the
appropriate one, and install it through sudo dpkg -i
lua-gettext_0.0_amd64.deb.
File extension
lua
String syntax
"abc"
'abc'
[[abc]]
[=[abc]=]
[==[abc]==]
• ...
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext.gettext, gettext.dgettext, gettext.dcgettext,
gettext.ngettext, gettext.dngettext, gettext.dcngettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
automatic
Prerequisite
require 'gettext' or running lua interpreter with -l gettext
option
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
Portability
On platforms without gettext, the functions are not available.
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: Pascal, Next: Smalltalk, Prev: Lua, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.16 Pascal - Free Pascal Compiler
-------------------------------------
RPMs
fpk
Ubuntu packages
fp-compiler, fp-units-fcl
File extension
pp, pas
String syntax
'abc'
gettext shorthand
automatic
gettext/ngettext functions
—, use ResourceString data type instead
textdomain
—, use TranslateResourceStrings function instead
bindtextdomain
—, use TranslateResourceStrings function instead
setlocale
automatic, but uses only LANG, not LC_MESSAGES or LC_ALL
Prerequisite
{$mode delphi} or {$mode objfpc}
uses gettext;
Use or emulate GNU gettext
emulate partially
Extractor
ppc386 followed by xgettext or rstconv
Formatting with positions
uses sysutils;
format "%1:d %0:d"
Portability
?
po-mode marking
The Pascal compiler has special support for the ResourceString data
type. It generates a .rst file. This is then converted to a .pot
file by use of xgettext or rstconv. At runtime, a .mo file
corresponding to translations of this .pot file can be loaded using
the TranslateResourceStrings function in the gettext unit.
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-pascal.

File: gettext.info, Node: Smalltalk, Next: Vala, Prev: Pascal, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.17 GNU Smalltalk
---------------------
RPMs
smalltalk
Ubuntu packages
gnu-smalltalk
File extension
st
String syntax
'abc'
gettext shorthand
NLS ? 'abc'
gettext/ngettext functions
LcMessagesDomain>>#at:, LcMessagesDomain>>#at:plural:with:
textdomain
LcMessages>>#domain:localeDirectory: (returns a
LcMessagesDomain object).
Example: I18N Locale default messages domain: 'gettext'
localeDirectory: /usr/local/share/locale'
bindtextdomain
LcMessages>>#domain:localeDirectory:, see above.
setlocale
Automatic if you use I18N Locale default.
Prerequisite
PackageLoader fileInPackage: 'I18N'!
Use or emulate GNU gettext
emulate
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
'%1 %2' bindWith: 'Hello' with: 'world'
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory:
hello-smalltalk.

File: gettext.info, Node: Vala, Next: wxWidgets, Prev: Smalltalk, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.18 Vala
------------
RPMs
vala
Ubuntu packages
valac
File extension
vala
String syntax
"abc"
"""abc"""
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext, ngettext, dngettext,
dpgettext, dpgettext2
textdomain
textdomain function, defined under the Intl namespace
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function, defined under the Intl namespace
setlocale
Programmer must call Intl.setlocale (LocaleCategory.ALL, "")
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
Use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
Same as for the C language.
Portability
autoconf (gettext.m4) and #if ENABLE_NLS
po-mode marking
yes

File: gettext.info, Node: wxWidgets, Next: Tcl, Prev: Vala, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.19 wxWidgets library
-------------------------
RPMs
wxGTK, gettext
Ubuntu packages
libwxgtk3.0-dev
File extension
cpp
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
wxLocale::GetString, wxGetTranslation
textdomain
wxLocale::AddCatalog
bindtextdomain
wxLocale::AddCatalogLookupPathPrefix
setlocale
wxLocale::Init, wxSetLocale
Prerequisite
#include <wx/intl.h>
Use or emulate GNU gettext
emulate, see include/wx/intl.h and src/common/intl.cpp
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
wxString::Format supports positions if and only if the system has
wprintf(), vswprintf() functions and they support positions
according to POSIX.
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
yes

File: gettext.info, Node: Tcl, Next: Perl, Prev: wxWidgets, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.20 Tcl - Tks scripting language
-------------------------------------
RPMs
tcl
Ubuntu packages
tcl
File extension
tcl
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
[_ "abc"]
gettext/ngettext functions
::msgcat::mc
textdomain
bindtextdomain
—, use ::msgcat::mcload instead
setlocale
automatic, uses LANG, but ignores LC_MESSAGES and LC_ALL
Prerequisite
package require msgcat
proc _ {s} {return [::msgcat::mc $s]}
Use or emulate GNU gettext
—, uses a Tcl specific message catalog format
Extractor
xgettext -k_
Formatting with positions
format "%2\$d %1\$d"
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
Two examples are available in the examples directory: hello-tcl,
hello-tcl-tk.
Before marking strings as internationalizable, substitutions of
variables into the string need to be converted to format applications.
For example, "file $filename not found" becomes [format "file %s not
found" $filename]. Only after this is done, can the strings be marked
and extracted. After marking, this example becomes [format [_ "file %s
not found"] $filename] or [msgcat::mc "file %s not found" $filename].
Note that the msgcat::mc function implicitly calls format when more
than one argument is given.

File: gettext.info, Node: Perl, Next: PHP, Prev: Tcl, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.21 Perl
------------
RPMs
perl
Ubuntu packages
perl, libintl-perl
File extension
pl, PL, pm, perl, cgi
String syntax
"abc"
'abc'
qq (abc)
q (abc)
qr /abc/
qx (/bin/date)
/pattern match/
?pattern match?
s/substitution/operators/
$tied_hash{"message"}
$tied_hash_reference->{"message"}
• etc., issue the command man perlsyn for details
gettext shorthand
__ (double underscore)
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext, ngettext, dngettext,
dcngettext, pgettext, dpgettext, dcpgettext, npgettext,
dnpgettext, dcnpgettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
bind_textdomain_codeset
bind_textdomain_codeset function
setlocale
Use setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
Prerequisite
use POSIX;
use Locale::TextDomain; (included in the package libintl-perl
which is available on the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network CPAN,
https://www.cpan.org/).
Use or emulate GNU gettext
platform dependent: gettext_pp emulates, gettext_xs uses GNU
gettext
Extractor
xgettext -k__ -k\$__ -k%__ -k__x -k__n:1,2 -k__nx:1,2 -k__xn:1,2
-kN__ -kN__n:1,2 -k__p:1c,2 -k__np:1c,2,3 -kN__p:1c,2
-kN__np:1c,2,3
Formatting with positions
Both kinds of format strings support formatting with positions.
printf "%2\$d %1\$d", ... (requires Perl 5.8.0 or newer)
__expand("[new] replaces [old]", old => $oldvalue, new =>
$newvalue)
Portability
The libintl-perl package is platform independent but is not part
of the Perl core. The programmer is responsible for providing a
dummy implementation of the required functions if the package is
not installed on the target system.
po-mode marking
Documentation
Included in libintl-perl, available on CPAN
(https://www.cpan.org/).
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-perl.
The xgettext parser backend for Perl differs significantly from the
parser backends for other programming languages, just as Perl itself
differs significantly from other programming languages. The Perl parser
backend offers many more string marking facilities than the other
backends but it also has some Perl specific limitations, the worst
probably being its imperfectness.
* Menu:
* General Problems:: General Problems Parsing Perl Code
* Default Keywords:: Which Keywords Will xgettext Look For?
* Special Keywords:: How to Extract Hash Keys
* Quote-like Expressions:: What are Strings And Quote-like Expressions?
* Interpolation I:: Invalid String Interpolation
* Interpolation II:: Valid String Interpolation
* Parentheses:: When To Use Parentheses
* Long Lines:: How To Grok with Long Lines
* Perl Pitfalls:: Bugs, Pitfalls, and Things That Do Not Work

File: gettext.info, Node: General Problems, Next: Default Keywords, Up: Perl
15.5.21.1 General Problems Parsing Perl Code
............................................
It is often heard that only Perl can parse Perl. This is not true.
Perl cannot be _parsed_ at all, it can only be _executed_. Perl has
various built-in ambiguities that can only be resolved at runtime.
The following example may illustrate one common problem:
print gettext "Hello World!";
Although this example looks like a bullet-proof case of a function
invocation, it is not:
open gettext, ">testfile" or die;
print gettext "Hello world!"
In this context, the string gettext looks more like a file handle.
But not necessarily:
use Locale::Messages qw (:libintl_h);
open gettext ">testfile" or die;
print gettext "Hello world!";
Now, the file is probably syntactically incorrect, provided that the
module Locale::Messages found first in the Perl include path exports a
function gettext. But what if the module Locale::Messages really
looks like this?
use vars qw (*gettext);
1;
In this case, the string gettext will be interpreted as a file
handle again, and the above example will create a file testfile and
write the string “Hello world!” into it. Even advanced control flow
analysis will not really help:
if (0.5 < rand) {
eval "use Sane";
} else {
eval "use InSane";
}
print gettext "Hello world!";
If the module Sane exports a function gettext that does what we
expect, and the module InSane opens a file for writing and associates
the _handle_ gettext with this output stream, we are clueless again
about what will happen at runtime. It is completely unpredictable. The
truth is that Perl has so many ways to fill its symbol table at runtime
that it is impossible to interpret a particular piece of code without
executing it.
Of course, xgettext will not execute your Perl sources while
scanning for translatable strings, but rather use heuristics in order to
guess what you meant.
Another problem is the ambiguity of the slash and the question mark.
Their interpretation depends on the context:
# A pattern match.
print "OK\n" if /foobar/;
# A division.
print 1 / 2;
# Another pattern match.
print "OK\n" if ?foobar?;
# Conditional.
print $x ? "foo" : "bar";
The slash may either act as the division operator or introduce a
pattern match, whereas the question mark may act as the ternary
conditional operator or as a pattern match, too. Other programming
languages like awk present similar problems, but the consequences of a
misinterpretation are particularly nasty with Perl sources. In awk
for instance, a statement can never exceed one line and the parser can
recover from a parsing error at the next newline and interpret the rest
of the input stream correctly. Perl is different, as a pattern match is
terminated by the next appearance of the delimiter (the slash or the
question mark) in the input stream, regardless of the semantic context.
If a slash is really a division sign but mis-interpreted as a pattern
match, the rest of the input file is most probably parsed incorrectly.
There are certain cases, where the ambiguity cannot be resolved at
all:
$x = wantarray ? 1 : 0;
The Perl built-in function wantarray does not accept any arguments.
The Perl parser therefore knows that the question mark does not start a
regular expression but is the ternary conditional operator.
sub wantarrays {}
$x = wantarrays ? 1 : 0;
Now the situation is different. The function wantarrays takes a
variable number of arguments (like any non-prototyped Perl function).
The question mark is now the delimiter of a pattern match, and hence the
piece of code does not compile.
sub wantarrays() {}
$x = wantarrays ? 1 : 0;
Now the function is prototyped, Perl knows that it does not accept
any arguments, and the question mark is therefore interpreted as the
ternaray operator again. But that unfortunately outsmarts xgettext.
The Perl parser in xgettext cannot know whether a function has a
prototype and what that prototype would look like. It therefore makes
an educated guess. If a function is known to be a Perl built-in and
this function does not accept any arguments, a following question mark
or slash is treated as an operator, otherwise as the delimiter of a
following regular expression. The Perl built-ins that do not accept
arguments are wantarray, fork, time, times, getlogin,
getppid, getpwent, getgrent, gethostent, getnetent,
getprotoent, getservent, setpwent, setgrent, endpwent,
endgrent, endhostent, endnetent, endprotoent, and endservent.
If you find that xgettext fails to extract strings from portions of
your sources, you should therefore look out for slashes and/or question
marks preceding these sections. You may have come across a bug in
xgettext’’s Perl parser (and of course you should report that bug). In
the meantime you should consider to reformulate your code in a manner
less challenging to xgettext.
In particular, if the parser is too dumb to see that a function does
not accept arguments, use parentheses:
$x = somefunc() ? 1 : 0;
$y = (somefunc) ? 1 : 0;
In fact the Perl parser itself has similar problems and warns you
about such constructs.

File: gettext.info, Node: Default Keywords, Next: Special Keywords, Prev: General Problems, Up: Perl
15.5.21.2 Which keywords will xgettext look for?
................................................
Unless you instruct xgettext otherwise by invoking it with one of
the options --keyword or -k, it will recognize the following
keywords in your Perl sources:
gettext
dgettext:2
The second argument will be extracted.
dcgettext:2
The second argument will be extracted.
ngettext:1,2
The first (singular) and the second (plural) argument will be
extracted.
dngettext:2,3
The second (singular) and the third (plural) argument will be
extracted.
dcngettext:2,3
The second (singular) and the third (plural) argument will be
extracted.
pgettext:1c,2
The first (message context) and the second argument will be
extracted.
dpgettext:2c,3
The second (message context) and the third argument will be
extracted.
dcpgettext:2c,3
The second (message context) and the third argument will be
extracted.
npgettext:1c,2,3
The first (message context), second (singular), and third (plural)
argument will be extracted.
dnpgettext:2c,3,4
The second (message context), third (singular), and fourth (plural)
argument will be extracted.
dcnpgettext:2c,3,4
The second (message context), third (singular), and fourth (plural)
argument will be extracted.
gettext_noop
%gettext
The keys of lookups into the hash %gettext will be extracted.
$gettext
The keys of lookups into the hash reference $gettext will be
extracted.

File: gettext.info, Node: Special Keywords, Next: Quote-like Expressions, Prev: Default Keywords, Up: Perl
15.5.21.3 How to Extract Hash Keys
..................................
Translating messages at runtime is normally performed by looking up
the original string in the translation database and returning the
translated version. The “natural” Perl implementation is a hash lookup,
and, of course, xgettext supports such practice.
print __"Hello world!";
print $__{"Hello world!"};
print $__->{"Hello world!"};
print $$__{"Hello world!"};
The above four lines all do the same thing. The Perl module
Locale::TextDomain exports by default a hash %__ that is tied to the
function __(). It also exports a reference $__ to %__.
If an argument to the xgettext option --keyword, resp. -k
starts with a percent sign, the rest of the keyword is interpreted as
the name of a hash. If it starts with a dollar sign, the rest of the
keyword is interpreted as a reference to a hash.
Note that you can omit the quotation marks (single or double) around
the hash key (almost) whenever Perl itself allows it:
print $gettext{Error};
The exact rule is: You can omit the surrounding quotes, when the hash
key is a valid C (!) identifier, i.e. when it starts with an underscore
or an ASCII letter and is followed by an arbitrary number of
underscores, ASCII letters or digits. Other Unicode characters are
_not_ allowed, regardless of the use utf8 pragma.

File: gettext.info, Node: Quote-like Expressions, Next: Interpolation I, Prev: Special Keywords, Up: Perl
15.5.21.4 What are Strings And Quote-like Expressions?
......................................................
Perl offers a plethora of different string constructs. Those that
can be used either as arguments to functions or inside braces for hash
lookups are generally supported by xgettext.
• *double-quoted strings*
print gettext "Hello World!";
• *single-quoted strings*
print gettext 'Hello World!';
• *the operator qq*
print gettext qq |Hello World!|;
print gettext qq <E-mail: <guido\@imperia.net>>;
The operator qq is fully supported. You can use arbitrary
delimiters, including the four bracketing delimiters (round, angle,
square, curly) that nest.
• *the operator q*
print gettext q |Hello World!|;
print gettext q <E-mail: <guido@imperia.net>>;
The operator q is fully supported. You can use arbitrary
delimiters, including the four bracketing delimiters (round, angle,
square, curly) that nest.
• *the operator qx*
print gettext qx ;LANGUAGE=C /bin/date;
print gettext qx [/usr/bin/ls | grep '^[A-Z]*'];
The operator qx is fully supported. You can use arbitrary
delimiters, including the four bracketing delimiters (round, angle,
square, curly) that nest.
The example is actually a useless use of gettext. It will invoke
the gettext function on the output of the command specified with
the qx operator. The feature was included in order to make the
interface consistent (the parser will extract all strings and
quote-like expressions).
• *here documents*
print gettext <<'EOF';
program not found in $PATH
EOF
print ngettext <<EOF, <<"EOF";
one file deleted
EOF
several files deleted
EOF
Here-documents are recognized. If the delimiter is enclosed in
single quotes, the string is not interpolated. If it is enclosed
in double quotes or has no quotes at all, the string is
interpolated.
Delimiters that start with a digit are not supported!

File: gettext.info, Node: Interpolation I, Next: Interpolation II, Prev: Quote-like Expressions, Up: Perl
15.5.21.5 Invalid Uses Of String Interpolation
..............................................
Perl is capable of interpolating variables into strings. This offers
some nice features in localized programs but can also lead to problems.
A common error is a construct like the following:
print gettext "This is the program $0!\n";
Perl will interpolate at runtime the value of the variable $0 into
the argument of the gettext() function. Hence, this argument is not a
string constant but a variable argument ($0 is a global variable that
holds the name of the Perl script being executed). The interpolation is
performed by Perl before the string argument is passed to gettext()
and will therefore depend on the name of the script which can only be
determined at runtime. Consequently, it is almost impossible that a
translation can be looked up at runtime (except if, by accident, the
interpolated string is found in the message catalog).
The xgettext program will therefore terminate parsing with a fatal
error if it encounters a variable inside of an extracted string. In
general, this will happen for all kinds of string interpolations that
cannot be safely performed at compile time. If you absolutely know what
you are doing, you can always circumvent this behavior:
my $know_what_i_am_doing = "This is program $0!\n";
print gettext $know_what_i_am_doing;
Since the parser only recognizes strings and quote-like expressions,
but not variables or other terms, the above construct will be accepted.
You will have to find another way, however, to let your original string
make it into your message catalog.
If invoked with the option --extract-all, resp. -a, variable
interpolation will be accepted. Rationale: You will generally use this
option in order to prepare your sources for internationalization.
Please see the manual page man perlop for details of strings and
quote-like expressions that are subject to interpolation and those that
are not. Safe interpolations (that will not lead to a fatal error) are:
• the escape sequences \t (tab, HT, TAB), \n (newline, NL), \r
(return, CR), \f (form feed, FF), \b (backspace, BS), \a
(alarm, bell, BEL), and \e (escape, ESC).
• octal chars, like \033
Note that octal escapes in the range of 400-777 are translated into
a UTF-8 representation, regardless of the presence of the use
utf8 pragma.
• hex chars, like \x1b
• wide hex chars, like \x{263a}
Note that this escape is translated into a UTF-8 representation,
regardless of the presence of the use utf8 pragma.
• control chars, like \c[ (CTRL-[)
• named Unicode chars, like \N{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA}
Note that this escape is translated into a UTF-8 representation,
regardless of the presence of the use utf8 pragma.
The following escapes are considered partially safe:
\l lowercase next char
\u uppercase next char
\L lowercase till \E
\U uppercase till \E
\E end case modification
\Q quote non-word characters till \E
These escapes are only considered safe if the string consists of
ASCII characters only. Translation of characters outside the range
defined by ASCII is locale-dependent and can actually only be performed
at runtime; xgettext doesnt do these locale-dependent translations at
extraction time.
Except for the modifier \Q, these translations, albeit valid, are
generally useless and only obfuscate your sources. If a translation can
be safely performed at compile time you can just as well write what you
mean.

File: gettext.info, Node: Interpolation II, Next: Parentheses, Prev: Interpolation I, Up: Perl
15.5.21.6 Valid Uses Of String Interpolation
............................................
Perl is often used to generate sources for other programming
languages or arbitrary file formats. Web applications that output HTML
code make a prominent example for such usage.
You will often come across situations where you want to intersperse
code written in the target (programming) language with translatable
messages, like in the following HTML example:
print gettext <<EOF;
<h1>My Homepage</h1>
<script language="JavaScript"><!--
for (i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
alert ("Thank you so much for visiting my homepage!");
}
//--></script>
EOF
The parser will extract the entire here document, and it will appear
entirely in the resulting PO file, including the JavaScript snippet
embedded in the HTML code. If you exaggerate with constructs like the
above, you will run the risk that the translators of your package will
look out for a less challenging project. You should consider an
alternative expression here:
print <<EOF;
<h1>$gettext{"My Homepage"}</h1>
<script language="JavaScript"><!--
for (i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
alert ("$gettext{'Thank you so much for visiting my homepage!'}");
}
//--></script>
EOF
Only the translatable portions of the code will be extracted here,
and the resulting PO file will begrudgingly improve in terms of
readability.
You can interpolate hash lookups in all strings or quote-like
expressions that are subject to interpolation (see the manual page man
perlop for details). Double interpolation is invalid, however:
# TRANSLATORS: Replace "the earth" with the name of your planet.
print gettext qq{Welcome to $gettext->{"the earth"}};
The qq-quoted string is recognized as an argument to xgettext in
the first place, and checked for invalid variable interpolation. The
dollar sign of hash-dereferencing will therefore terminate the parser
with an “invalid interpolation” error.
It is valid to interpolate hash lookups in regular expressions:
if ($var =~ /$gettext{"the earth"}/) {
print gettext "Match!\n";
}
s/$gettext{"U. S. A."}/$gettext{"U. S. A."} $gettext{"(dial +0)"}/g;

File: gettext.info, Node: Parentheses, Next: Long Lines, Prev: Interpolation II, Up: Perl
15.5.21.7 When To Use Parentheses
.................................
In Perl, parentheses around function arguments are mostly optional.
xgettext will always assume that all recognized keywords (except for
hashes and hash references) are names of properly prototyped functions,
and will (hopefully) only require parentheses where Perl itself requires
them. All constructs in the following example are therefore ok to use:
print gettext ("Hello World!\n");
print gettext "Hello World!\n";
print dgettext ($package => "Hello World!\n");
print dgettext $package, "Hello World!\n";
# The "fat comma" => turns the left-hand side argument into a
# single-quoted string!
print dgettext smellovision => "Hello World!\n";
# The following assignment only works with prototyped functions.
# Otherwise, the functions will act as "greedy" list operators and
# eat up all following arguments.
my $anonymous_hash = {
planet => gettext "earth",
cakes => ngettext "one cake", "several cakes", $n,
still => $works,
};
# The same without fat comma:
my $other_hash = {
'planet', gettext "earth",
'cakes', ngettext "one cake", "several cakes", $n,
'still', $works,
};
# Parentheses are only significant for the first argument.
print dngettext 'package', ("one cake", "several cakes", $n), $discarded;

File: gettext.info, Node: Long Lines, Next: Perl Pitfalls, Prev: Parentheses, Up: Perl
15.5.21.8 How To Grok with Long Lines
.....................................
The necessity of long messages can often lead to a cumbersome or
unreadable coding style. Perl has several options that may prevent you
from writing unreadable code, and xgettext does its best to do
likewise. This is where the dot operator (the string concatenation
operator) may come in handy:
print gettext ("This is a very long"
. " message that is still"
. " readable, because"
. " it is split into"
. " multiple lines.\n");
Perl is smart enough to concatenate these constant string fragments
into one long string at compile time, and so is xgettext. You will
only find one long message in the resulting POT file.
Note that the future Perl 6 will probably use the underscore (_) as
the string concatenation operator, and the dot (.) for dereferencing.
This new syntax is not yet supported by xgettext.
If embedded newline characters are not an issue, or even desired, you
may also insert newline characters inside quoted strings wherever you
feel like it:
print gettext ("<em>In HTML output
embedded newlines are generally no
problem, since adjacent whitespace
is always rendered into a single
space character.</em>");
You may also consider to use here documents:
print gettext <<EOF;
<em>In HTML output
embedded newlines are generally no
problem, since adjacent whitespace
is always rendered into a single
space character.</em>
EOF
Please do not forget that the line breaks are real, i.e. they
translate into newline characters that will consequently show up in the
resulting POT file.

File: gettext.info, Node: Perl Pitfalls, Prev: Long Lines, Up: Perl
15.5.21.9 Bugs, Pitfalls, And Things That Do Not Work
.....................................................
The foregoing sections should have proven that xgettext is quite
smart in extracting translatable strings from Perl sources. Yet, some
more or less exotic constructs that could be expected to work, actually
do not work.
One of the more relevant limitations can be found in the
implementation of variable interpolation inside quoted strings. Only
simple hash lookups can be used there:
print <<EOF;
$gettext{"The dot operator"
. " does not work"
. "here!"}
Likewise, you cannot @{[ gettext ("interpolate function calls") ]}
inside quoted strings or quote-like expressions.
EOF
This is valid Perl code and will actually trigger invocations of the
gettext function at runtime. Yet, the Perl parser in xgettext will
fail to recognize the strings. A less obvious example can be found in
the interpolation of regular expressions:
s/<!--START_OF_WEEK-->/gettext ("Sunday")/e;
The modifier e will cause the substitution to be interpreted as an
evaluable statement. Consequently, at runtime the function gettext()
is called, but again, the parser fails to extract the string “Sunday”.
Use a temporary variable as a simple workaround if you really happen to
need this feature:
my $sunday = gettext "Sunday";
s/<!--START_OF_WEEK-->/$sunday/;
Hash slices would also be handy but are not recognized:
my @weekdays = @gettext{'Sunday', 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday',
'Thursday', 'Friday', 'Saturday'};
# Or even:
@weekdays = @gettext{qw (Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Friday Saturday) };
This is perfectly valid usage of the tied hash %gettext but the
strings are not recognized and therefore will not be extracted.
Another caveat of the current version is its rudimentary support for
non-ASCII characters in identifiers. You may encounter serious problems
if you use identifiers with characters outside the range of A-Z,
a-z, 0-9 and the underscore _.
Maybe some of these missing features will be implemented in future
versions, but since you can always make do without them at minimal
effort, these todos have very low priority.
A nasty problem are brace format strings that already contain braces
as part of the normal text, for example the usage strings typically
encountered in programs:
die "usage: $0 {OPTIONS} FILENAME...\n";
If you want to internationalize this code with Perl brace format
strings, you will run into a problem:
die __x ("usage: {program} {OPTIONS} FILENAME...\n", program => $0);
Whereas {program} is a placeholder, {OPTIONS} is not and should
probably be translated. Yet, there is no way to teach the Perl parser
in xgettext to recognize the first one, and leave the other one alone.
There are two possible work-arounds for this problem. If you are
sure that your program will run under Perl 5.8.0 or newer (these Perl
versions handle positional parameters in printf()) or if you are sure
that the translator will not have to reorder the arguments in her
translation for example if you have only one brace placeholder in your
string, or if it describes a syntax, like in this one , you can mark
the string as no-perl-brace-format and use printf():
# xgettext: no-perl-brace-format
die sprintf ("usage: %s {OPTIONS} FILENAME...\n", $0);
If you want to use the more portable Perl brace format, you will have
to do put placeholders in place of the literal braces:
die __x ("usage: {program} {[}OPTIONS{]} FILENAME...\n",
program => $0, '[' => '{', ']' => '}');
Perl brace format strings know no escaping mechanism. No matter how
this escaping mechanism looked like, it would either give the programmer
a hard time, make translating Perl brace format strings heavy-going, or
result in a performance penalty at runtime, when the format directives
get executed. Most of the time you will happily get along with
printf() for this special case.

File: gettext.info, Node: PHP, Next: Pike, Prev: Perl, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.22 PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
----------------------------------
RPMs
mod_php4, mod_php4-core, phpdoc
Ubuntu packages
php
File extension
php, php3, php4
String syntax
"abc", 'abc'
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext; starting with PHP 4.2.0 also
ngettext, dngettext, dcngettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
Programmer must call setlocale (LC_ALL, "")
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
printf "%2\$d %1\$d"
Portability
On platforms without gettext, the functions are not available.
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-php.

File: gettext.info, Node: Pike, Next: GCC-source, Prev: PHP, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.23 Pike
------------
RPMs
roxen
Ubuntu packages
pike8.0 or pike7.8
File extension
pike
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
setlocale function
Prerequisite
import Locale.Gettext;
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
Formatting with positions
Portability
On platforms without gettext, the functions are not available.
po-mode marking

File: gettext.info, Node: GCC-source, Next: YCP, Prev: Pike, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.24 GNU Compiler Collection sources
---------------------------------------
RPMs
gcc
Ubuntu packages
gcc
File extension
c, h.
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
gettext, dgettext, dcgettext, ngettext, dngettext,
dcngettext
textdomain
textdomain function
bindtextdomain
bindtextdomain function
setlocale
Programmer must call setlocale (LC_ALL, "")
Prerequisite
#include "intl.h"
Use or emulate GNU gettext
Use
Extractor
xgettext -k_
Formatting with positions
Portability
Uses autoconf macros
po-mode marking
yes

File: gettext.info, Node: YCP, Prev: GCC-source, Up: List of Programming Languages
15.5.25 YCP - YaST2 scripting language
--------------------------------------
RPMs
libycp, libycp-devel, yast2-core, yast2-core-devel
Ubuntu packages
File extension
ycp
String syntax
"abc"
gettext shorthand
_("abc")
gettext/ngettext functions
_() with 1 or 3 arguments
textdomain
textdomain statement
bindtextdomain
setlocale
Prerequisite
Use or emulate GNU gettext
use
Extractor
xgettext
Formatting with positions
sformat "%2 %1"
Portability
fully portable
po-mode marking
An example is available in the examples directory: hello-ycp.

File: gettext.info, Node: Data Formats, Next: Conclusion, Prev: Programming Languages, Up: Top
16 Other Data Formats
*********************
While the GNU gettext tools deal mainly with POT and PO files, they
can also manipulate a couple of other data formats.
* Menu:
* Internationalizable Data:: Internationalizable Data Formats
* Localized Data:: Localized Data Formats

File: gettext.info, Node: Internationalizable Data, Next: Localized Data, Up: Data Formats
16.1 Internationalizable Data Formats
=====================================
Here is a list of other data formats which can be internationalized
using GNU gettext.
* Menu:
* POT:: POT - Portable Object Template
* RST:: Resource String Table
* Glade:: Glade - GNOME user interface description
* GSettings:: GSettings - GNOME user configuration schema
* AppData:: AppData - freedesktop.org application description
* Preparing ITS Rules:: Preparing Rules for XML Internationalization

File: gettext.info, Node: POT, Next: RST, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.1 POT - Portable Object Template
-------------------------------------
RPMs
gettext
Ubuntu packages
gettext
File extension
pot, po
Extractor
xgettext

File: gettext.info, Node: RST, Next: Glade, Prev: POT, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.2 Resource String Table
----------------------------
RST is the format of resource string table files of the Free Pascal
compiler versions older than 3.0.0. RSJ is the new format of resource
string table files, created by the Free Pascal compiler version 3.0.0 or
newer.
RPMs
fpk
Ubuntu packages
fp-compiler
File extension
rst, rsj
Extractor
xgettext, rstconv

File: gettext.info, Node: Glade, Next: GSettings, Prev: RST, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.3 Glade - GNOME user interface description
-----------------------------------------------
RPMs
glade, libglade, glade2, libglade2, intltool
Ubuntu packages
glade, libglade2-dev, intltool
File extension
glade, glade2, ui
Extractor
xgettext, libglade-xgettext, xml-i18n-extract,
intltool-extract

File: gettext.info, Node: GSettings, Next: AppData, Prev: Glade, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.4 GSettings - GNOME user configuration schema
--------------------------------------------------
RPMs
glib2
Ubuntu packages
libglib2.0-dev
File extension
gschema.xml
Extractor
xgettext, intltool-extract

File: gettext.info, Node: AppData, Next: Preparing ITS Rules, Prev: GSettings, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.5 AppData - freedesktop.org application description
--------------------------------------------------------
This file format is specified in
<https://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/>.
RPMs
appdata-tools, appstream, libappstream-glib,
libappstream-glib-builder
Ubuntu packages
appdata-tools, appstream, libappstream-glib-dev
File extension
appdata.xml, metainfo.xml
Extractor
xgettext, intltool-extract, itstool

File: gettext.info, Node: Preparing ITS Rules, Prev: AppData, Up: Internationalizable Data
16.1.6 Preparing Rules for XML Internationalization
---------------------------------------------------
Marking translatable strings in an XML file is done through a
separate "rule" file, making use of the Internationalization Tag Set
standard (ITS, <https://www.w3.org/TR/its20/>). The currently supported
ITS data categories are: Translate, Localization Note, Elements
Within Text, and Preserve Space. In addition to them, xgettext
also recognizes the following extended data categories:
Context
This data category associates msgctxt to the extracted text. In
the global rule, the contextRule element contains the following:
• A required selector attribute. It contains an absolute
selector that selects the nodes to which this rule applies.
• A required contextPointer attribute that contains a relative
selector pointing to a node that holds the msgctxt value.
• An optional textPointer attribute that contains a relative
selector pointing to a node that holds the msgid value.
Escape Special Characters
This data category indicates whether the special XML characters
(<, >, &, ") are escaped with entity reference. In the
global rule, the escapeRule element contains the following:
• A required selector attribute. It contains an absolute
selector that selects the nodes to which this rule applies.
• A required escape attribute with the value yes or no.
Extended Preserve Space
This data category extends the standard Preserve Space data
category with the additional values trim and paragraph. trim
means to remove the leading and trailing whitespaces of the
content, but not to normalize whitespaces in the middle.
paragraph means to normalize the content but keep the paragraph
boundaries. In the global rule, the preserveSpaceRule element
contains the following:
• A required selector attribute. It contains an absolute
selector that selects the nodes to which this rule applies.
• A required space attribute with the value default,
preserve, trim, or paragraph.
All those extended data categories can only be expressed with global
rules, and the rule elements have to have the
https://www.gnu.org/s/gettext/ns/its/extensions/1.0 namespace.
Given the following XML document in a file messages.xml:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<messages>
<message>
<p>A translatable string</p>
</message>
<message>
<p translatable="no">A non-translatable string</p>
</message>
</messages>
To extract the first text content ("A translatable string"), but not
the second ("A non-translatable string"), the following ITS rules can be
used:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<its:rules xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its" version="1.0">
<its:translateRule selector="/messages" translate="no"/>
<its:translateRule selector="//message/p" translate="yes"/>
<!-- If 'p' has an attribute 'translatable' with the value 'no', then
the content is not translatable. -->
<its:translateRule selector="//message/p[@translatable = 'no']"
translate="no"/>
</its:rules>
xgettext needs another file called "locating rule" to associate an
ITS rule with an XML file. If the above ITS file is saved as
messages.its, the locating rule would look like:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<locatingRules>
<locatingRule name="Messages" pattern="*.xml">
<documentRule localName="messages" target="messages.its"/>
</locatingRule>
<locatingRule name="Messages" pattern="*.msg" target="messages.its"/>
</locatingRules>
The locatingRule element must have a pattern attribute, which
denotes either a literal file name or a wildcard pattern of the XML
file(1). The locatingRule element can have child documentRule
element, which adds checks on the content of the XML file.
The first rule matches any file with the .xml file extension, but
it only applies to XML files whose root element is <messages>.
The second rule indicates that the same ITS rule file are also
applicable to any file with the .msg file extension. The optional
name attribute of locatingRule allows to choose rules by name,
typically with xgettext’’s -L option.
The associated ITS rule file is indicated by the target attribute
of locatingRule or documentRule. If it is specified in a
documentRule element, the parent locatingRule shouldnt have the
target attribute.
Locating rule files must have the .loc file extension. Both ITS
rule files and locating rule files must be installed in the
$prefix/share/gettext/its directory. Once those files are properly
installed, xgettext can extract translatable strings from the matching
XML files.
16.1.6.1 Two Use-cases of Translated Strings in XML
...................................................
For XML, there are two use-cases of translated strings. One is the
case where the translated strings are directly consumed by programs, and
the other is the case where the translated strings are merged back to
the original XML document. In the former case, special characters in
the extracted strings shouldnt be escaped, while they should in the
latter case. To control wheter to escape special characters, the
Escape Special Characters data category can be used.
To merge the translations, the msgfmt program can be used with the
option --xml. *Note msgfmt Invocation::, for more details about how
one calls the msgfmt program. msgfmt’’s --xml option doesnt
perform character escaping, so translated strings can have arbitrary XML
constructs, such as elements for markup.
---------- Footnotes ----------
(1) Note that the file name matching is done after removing any .in
suffix from the input file name. Thus the pattern attribute must not
include a pattern matching .in. For example, if the input file name
is foo.msg.in, the pattern should be either *.msg or just *,
rather than *.in.

File: gettext.info, Node: Localized Data, Prev: Internationalizable Data, Up: Data Formats
16.2 Localized Data Formats
===========================
Here is a list of file formats that contain localized data and that
the GNU gettext tools can manipulate.
* Menu:
* Editable Message Catalogs:: Editable Message Catalogs
* Compiled Message Catalogs:: Compiled Message Catalogs
* Desktop Entry:: Desktop Entry files
* XML:: XML files

File: gettext.info, Node: Editable Message Catalogs, Next: Compiled Message Catalogs, Up: Localized Data
16.2.1 Editable Message Catalogs
--------------------------------
These file formats can be used with all of the msg* tools and with
the xgettext program.
If you just want to convert among these formats, you can use the
msgcat program (with the appropriate option) or the xgettext
program.
* Menu:
* PO:: PO - Portable Object
* Java .properties:: Java .properties
* GNUstep .strings:: NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings

File: gettext.info, Node: PO, Next: Java .properties, Up: Editable Message Catalogs
16.2.1.1 PO - Portable Object
.............................
File extension
po

File: gettext.info, Node: Java .properties, Next: GNUstep .strings, Prev: PO, Up: Editable Message Catalogs
16.2.1.2 Java .properties
.........................
File extension
properties

File: gettext.info, Node: GNUstep .strings, Prev: Java .properties, Up: Editable Message Catalogs
16.2.1.3 NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings
..................................
File extension
strings

File: gettext.info, Node: Compiled Message Catalogs, Next: Desktop Entry, Prev: Editable Message Catalogs, Up: Localized Data
16.2.2 Compiled Message Catalogs
--------------------------------
These file formats can be created through msgfmt and converted back
to PO format through msgunfmt.
* Menu:
* MO:: MO - Machine Object
* Java ResourceBundle:: Java ResourceBundle
* C# Satellite Assembly:: C# Satellite Assembly
* C# Resource:: C# Resource
* Tcl message catalog:: Tcl message catalog
* Qt message catalog:: Qt message catalog

File: gettext.info, Node: MO, Next: Java ResourceBundle, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.1 MO - Machine Object
............................
File extension
mo
See section *note MO Files:: for details.

File: gettext.info, Node: Java ResourceBundle, Next: C# Satellite Assembly, Prev: MO, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.2 Java ResourceBundle
............................
File extension
class
For more information, see the section *note Java:: and the examples
hello-java, hello-java-awt, hello-java-swing.

File: gettext.info, Node: C# Satellite Assembly, Next: C# Resource, Prev: Java ResourceBundle, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.3 C# Satellite Assembly
..............................
File extension
dll
For more information, see the section *note C#::.

File: gettext.info, Node: C# Resource, Next: Tcl message catalog, Prev: C# Satellite Assembly, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.4 C# Resource
....................
File extension
resources
For more information, see the section *note C#::.

File: gettext.info, Node: Tcl message catalog, Next: Qt message catalog, Prev: C# Resource, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.5 Tcl message catalog
............................
File extension
msg
For more information, see the section *note Tcl:: and the examples
hello-tcl, hello-tcl-tk.

File: gettext.info, Node: Qt message catalog, Prev: Tcl message catalog, Up: Compiled Message Catalogs
16.2.2.6 Qt message catalog
...........................
File extension
qm
For more information, see the examples hello-c++-qt and
hello-c++-kde.

File: gettext.info, Node: Desktop Entry, Next: XML, Prev: Compiled Message Catalogs, Up: Localized Data
16.2.3 Desktop Entry files
--------------------------
The programmer produces a desktop entry file template with only the
English strings. These strings get included in the POT file, by way of
xgettext (usually by listing the template in po/POTFILES.in). The
translators produce PO files, one for each language. Finally, an
msgfmt --desktop invocation collects all the translations in the
desktop entry file.
For more information, see the example hello-c-gnome3.
* Menu:
* Icons:: Handling icons

File: gettext.info, Node: Icons, Up: Desktop Entry
16.2.3.1 How to handle icons in Desktop Entry files
...................................................
Icons are generally locale dependent, for the following reasons:
• Icons may contain signs that are considered rude in some cultures.
For example, the high-five sign, in some cultures, is perceived as
an unfriendly “stop” sign.
• Icons may contain metaphors that are culture specific. For
example, a mailbox in the U.S. looks different than mailboxes all
around the world.
• Icons may need to be mirrored for right-to-left locales.
• Icons may contain text strings (a bad practice, but anyway).
However, icons are not covered by GNU gettext localization, because
• Icons cannot be easily embedded in PO files,
• The need to localize an icon is rare, and the ability to do so in a
PO file would introduce translator mistakes.
Desktop Entry files may contain an Icon property, and this property
is localizable. If a translator wishes to localize an icon, she should
do so by bypassing the normal workflow with PO files:
1. The translator contacts the package developers directly, sending
them the icon appropriate for her locale, with a request to change
the template file.
2. The package developers add the icon file to their repository, and a
line
Icon[LOCALE]=ICON_FILE_NAME
to the template file.
This line remains in place when this template file is merged with the
translators PO files, through msgfmt.

File: gettext.info, Node: XML, Prev: Desktop Entry, Up: Localized Data
16.2.4 XML files
----------------
See the section *note Preparing ITS Rules:: and *note msgfmt
Invocation::, subsection “XML mode operations”.

File: gettext.info, Node: Conclusion, Next: Language Codes, Prev: Data Formats, Up: Top
17 Concluding Remarks
*********************
We would like to conclude this GNU gettext manual by presenting an
history of the Translation Project so far. We finally give a few
pointers for those who want to do further research or readings about
Native Language Support matters.
* Menu:
* History:: History of GNU gettext
* The original ABOUT-NLS:: Historical introduction
* References:: Related Readings

File: gettext.info, Node: History, Next: The original ABOUT-NLS, Up: Conclusion
17.1 History of GNU gettext
=============================
Internationalization concerns and algorithms have been informally and
casually discussed for years in GNU, sometimes around GNU libc, maybe
around the incoming Hurd, or otherwise (nobody clearly remembers).
And even then, when the work started for real, this was somewhat
independently of these previous discussions.
This all began in July 1994, when Patrick DCruze had the idea and
initiative of internationalizing version 3.9.2 of GNU fileutils. He
then asked Jim Meyering, the maintainer, how to get those changes folded
into an official release. That first draft was full of #ifdefs and
somewhat disconcerting, and Jim wanted to find nicer ways. Patrick and
Jim shared some tries and experimentations in this area. Then, feeling
that this might eventually have a deeper impact on GNU, Jim wanted to
know what standards were, and contacted Richard Stallman, who very
quickly and verbally described an overall design for what was meant to
become glocale, at that time.
Jim implemented glocale and got a lot of exhausting feedback from
Patrick and Richard, of course, but also from Mitchum DSouza (who wrote
a catgets-like package), Roland McGrath, maybe David MacKenzie,
François Pinard, and Paul Eggert, all pushing and pulling in various
directions, not always compatible, to the extent that after a couple of
test releases, glocale was torn apart. In particular, Paul Eggert
always keeping an eye on developments in Solaris advocated the use of
the gettext API over glocale’’s catgets-based API.
While Jim took some distance and time and became dad for a second
time, Roland wanted to get GNU libc internationalized, and got Ulrich
Drepper involved in that project. Instead of starting from glocale,
Ulrich rewrote something from scratch, but more conforming to the set of
guidelines who emerged out of the glocale effort. Then, Ulrich got
people from the previous forum to involve themselves into this new
project, and the switch from glocale to what was first named
msgutils, renamed nlsutils, and later gettext, became officially
accepted by Richard in May 1995 or so.
Lets summarize by saying that Ulrich Drepper wrote GNU gettext in
April 1995. The first official release of the package, including PO
mode, occurred in July 1995, and was numbered 0.7. Other people
contributed to the effort by providing a discussion forum around Ulrich,
writing little pieces of code, or testing. These are quoted in the
THANKS file which comes with the GNU gettext distribution.
While this was being done, François adapted half a dozen of GNU
packages to glocale first, then later to gettext, putting them in
pretest, so providing along the way an effective user environment for
fine tuning the evolving tools. He also took the responsibility of
organizing and coordinating the Translation Project. After nearly a
year of informal exchanges between people from many countries,
translator teams started to exist in May 1995, through the creation and
support by Patrick DCruze of twenty unmoderated mailing lists for that
many native languages, and two moderated lists: one for reaching all
teams at once, the other for reaching all willing maintainers of
internationalized free software packages.
François also wrote PO mode in June 1995 with the collaboration of
Greg McGary, as a kind of contribution to Ulrichs package. He also
gave a hand with the GNU gettext Texinfo manual.
In 1997, Ulrich Drepper released the GNU libc 2.0, which included the
gettext, textdomain and bindtextdomain functions.
In 2000, Ulrich Drepper added plural form handling (the ngettext
function) to GNU libc. Later, in 2001, he released GNU libc 2.2.x,
which is the first free C library with full internationalization
support.
Ulrich being quite busy in his role of General Maintainer of GNU
libc, he handed over the GNU gettext maintenance to Bruno Haible in
2000. Bruno added the plural form handling to the tools as well, added
support for UTF-8 and CJK locales, and wrote a few new tools for
manipulating PO files.

File: gettext.info, Node: The original ABOUT-NLS, Next: References, Prev: History, Up: Conclusion
17.2 Notes on the Free Translation Project
==========================================
This section contains the text that was, for a long time, distributed
as a file named ABOUT-NLS.
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated. It it included
here for historical purposes only.
Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project
is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all
together, so that free software will gradually become able to speak many
languages. A few packages already provide translations for their
messages.
If you found this ABOUT-NLS file inside a 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 on translations can contact the appropriate team.
* Menu:
* INSTALL Matters::
* Using This Package::
* Translating Teams::
* Available Packages::
* Using gettext in own code::

File: gettext.info, Node: INSTALL Matters, Next: Using This Package, Up: The original ABOUT-NLS
17.2.1 INSTALL Matters
----------------------
Some 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 already
provides the GNU gettext functions. Installers may use special
options at configuration time for changing the default behaviour. The
command:
./configure --disable-nls
will _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 library and
will decide to use it. If not, you may have to to use the
--with-libintl-prefix option to tell configure where to look for it.
Internationalized packages usually have many po/LL.po files, where
LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless
translations have been forbidden at configure time by using the
--disable-nls switch, all available translations 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.

File: gettext.info, Node: Using This Package, Next: Translating Teams, Prev: INSTALL Matters, Up: The original ABOUT-NLS
17.2.2 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
LL_CC combination. If you happen to have the LC_ALL or some other
LC_xxx environment variables set, you should unset them before setting
LANG, otherwise the setting of LANG will not have the desired
effect. Here LL is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, and CC is
an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, lets suppose that
you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell prompt, merely
execute setenv LANG de_DE (in csh), export LANG; LANG=de_DE (in
sh) or export LANG=de_DE (in bash). This can be done from your
.login or .profile file, once and for all.
You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For
example, de_AT is used for Austria, and pt_BR for Brazil. The
country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
The locale naming convention of LL_CC, with LL denoting the
language and CC denoting the country, is the one use on systems based
on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are used,
such as LL or LL_CC.ENCODING. You can get the list of locales
supported by your system for your language by running the command
locale -a | grep '^LL'.
Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
This is done through a different environment variable, called
LANGUAGE. GNU gettext gives preference to LANGUAGE over LANG
for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have LANG
set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the
system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather read
translations in German than English for when Swedish is not available,
set LANGUAGE to sv:de while leaving LANG to sv_SE.
Special advice for Norwegian users: The language code for Norwegian
bokmål changed from no to nb recently (in 2003). During the
transition period, while some message catalogs for this language are
installed under nb and some older ones under no, its recommended
for Norwegian users to set LANGUAGE to nb:no so that both newer and
older translations are used.
In the LANGUAGE environment variable, but not in the LANG
environment variable, LL_CC combinations can be abbreviated as LL to
denote the languages main dialect. For example, de is equivalent to
de_DE (German as spoken in Germany), and pt to pt_PT (Portuguese
as spoken in Portugal) in this context.

File: gettext.info, Node: Translating Teams, Next: Available Packages, Prev: Using This Package, Up: The original ABOUT-NLS
17.2.3 Translating Teams
------------------------
For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need 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 translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of
teams can be found at the Free Translation Projects homepage,
https://translationproject.org/, in the "Teams" area.
If youd 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, speakers of Swedish can send a
message to sv-request@li.org, having this message body:
subscribe
Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate _actively_
in translations, or at solving translational difficulties, rather than
merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and you want to
start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to get started,
please write to coordinator@translationproject.org to reach the
coordinator for all translator teams.
The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skills are praised more than
programming skills, here.

File: gettext.info, Node: Available Packages, Next: Using gettext in own code, Prev: Translating Teams, Up: The original ABOUT-NLS
17.2.4 Available Packages
-------------------------
Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following
matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of June 2023.
The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages PO
files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
translation percentage of at least 50%.
Ready PO files ab af an ar ast be bg bn bn_IN ca ckb crh cs da
+--------------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] |
anubis | [] |
aspell | [] [] [] [] |
bash | [] [] [] |
beebase | |
bfd | |
binutils | |
bison | [] |
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] |
buzztrax | [] [] |
ccd2cue | [] |
ccide | [] |
cflow | |
clisp | [] |
coreutils | [] [] [] [] |
cpio | [] |
cppi | [] |
cpplib | [] [] |
cryptsetup | [] [] |
datamash | [] |
denemo | [] [] [] |
dfarc | [] [] |
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] |
dico | [] |
diffutils | [] [] [] |
dink | [] [] |
direvent | [] |
doodle | [] [] |
dos2unix | [] [] |
dos2unix-man | |
e2fsprogs | [] [] [] |
enscript | [] [] |
exif | [] [] [] |
fetchmail | [] [] [] |
findutils | [] [] [] [] |
flex | [] [] [] |
freedink | [] [] [] |
fusionforge | |
gas | |
gawk | [] [] |
gcal | [] [] |
gcc | |
gdbm | [] |
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-tools | [] [] [] |
gnubik | [] [] |
gnuchess | [] |
gnucobol | |
gnulib | [] [] [] |
gnunet | |
gnunet-gtk | |
gnutls | [] |
gold | |
gphoto2 | [] [] |
gprof | [] [] |
grep | [] [] [] [] [] |
grip | [] [] [] [] |
grub | [] [] [] |
gsasl | [] |
gss | [] |
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] |
gstreamer | [] [] [] [] [] |
gtick | [] [] |
gtkam | [] [] [] |
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gutenprint | [] [] |
hello | [] |
help2man | [] |
help2man-texi | |
idutils | [] |
kbd | [] |
klavaro | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
ld | |
libc | [] [] [] [] |
libexif | [] |
libextractor | [] |
libgphoto2 | [] [] |
libgphoto2_port | [] [] |
libiconv | [] [] [] [] |
libidn | [] [] |
libidn2 | [] [] |
lilypond | [] [] [] |
lordsawar | [] [] |
lynx | [] [] [] |
m4 | [] |
mailfromd | [] |
mailutils | |
make | [] [] [] |
man-db | [] [] [] [] |
man-db-manpages | |
meritous | [] |
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] |
minicom | [] [] |
mpop | |
msmtp | |
nano | [] [] [] |
opcodes | |
parted | [] [] |
pies | |
pnmixer | [] |
procps-ng | |
procps-ng-man | |
psmisc | [] [] |
psmisc-man | |
pspp | [] [] |
pyspread | [] |
radius | [] |
recode | [] [] [] [] |
recutils | |
rush | [] |
sarg | [] |
savane | |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sharutils | [] |
shepherd | |
shishi | |
skribilo | [] |
solfege | [] [] [] |
solfege-manual | [] |
spotmachine | [] |
sudo | [] [] [] [] |
sudoers | [] [] |
sysstat | [] [] |
tar | [] [] [] [] |
texinfo | [] [] [] |
texinfo_document | [] [] |
tigervnc | [] [] |
tin | [] |
tin-man | |
trader | [] |
util-linux | [] [] |
util-linux-man | |
ve | |
vmm | |
vorbis-tools | [] [] |
wastesedge | [] |
wcd | [] |
wcd-man | |
wdiff | [] [] [] |
wget | [] [] |
wget2 | |
wyslij-po | [] |
xboard | [] |
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xkeyboard-config | [] [] [] [] [] |
xz | [] [] |
xz-man | |
+--------------------------------------------------+
ab af an ar ast be bg bn bn_IN ca ckb crh cs da
1 3 2 6 15 11 30 1 1 52 1 1 64 100
de el en en_GB eo es et eu fa fi fr fur ga gd
+--------------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] [] [] |
anubis | [] [] [] [] |
aspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
bash | [] [] [] [] [] |
beebase | [] [] [] |
bfd | [] |
binutils | [] |
bison | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
buzztrax | [] [] [] [] |
ccd2cue | [] [] [] [] |
ccide | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
cflow | [] [] [] |
clisp | [] [] [] [] |
coreutils | [] [] [] [] |
cpio | [] [] [] [] [] |
cppi | [] [] [] [] [] |
cpplib | [] [] [] [] [] |
cryptsetup | [] [] [] |
datamash | [] [] [] [] |
denemo | |
dfarc | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dico | [] [] [] [] |
diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dink | [] [] [] [] [] |
direvent | [] [] [] [] |
doodle | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dos2unix | [] [] [] [] [] |
dos2unix-man | [] [] [] |
e2fsprogs | [] [] [] |
enscript | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
exif | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
fetchmail | () [] [] [] [] [] |
findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
flex | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
freedink | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
fusionforge | [] [] [] |
gas | [] [] [] |
gawk | [] [] [] [] |
gcal | [] [] [] |
gcc | [] [] |
gdbm | [] [] [] [] |
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-tools | [] [] [] [] |
gnubik | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gnuchess | [] [] [] [] |
gnucobol | [] |
gnulib | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gnunet | [] |
gnunet-gtk | [] [] |
gnutls | [] [] [] [] [] |
gold | [] [] [] |
gphoto2 | () [] [] |
gprof | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
grip | [] [] [] [] [] |
grub | [] [] [] [] |
gsasl | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gss | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gstreamer | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gtick | () [] [] [] [] [] |
gtkam | () [] [] [] [] |
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gutenprint | [] [] [] |
hello | [] [] [] [] |
help2man | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
help2man-texi | [] [] [] |
idutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
kbd | [] [] [] [] [] |
klavaro | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
ld | [] [] |
libc | [] [] [] [] |
libexif | [] [] [] |
libextractor | [] [] [] |
libgphoto2 | () [] [] |
libgphoto2_port | () [] [] [] [] [] |
libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn | [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn2 | [] [] [] [] [] |
lilypond | [] [] [] [] |
lordsawar | [] [] |
lynx | [] [] [] [] [] |
m4 | [] [] [] |
mailfromd | [] |
mailutils | [] [] [] [] |
make | [] [] [] [] [] |
man-db | [] [] [] [] |
man-db-manpages | [] [] [] |
meritous | [] |
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
minicom | [] [] [] [] |
mpop | [] [] [] [] |
msmtp | [] [] [] |
nano | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
opcodes | [] [] [] |
parted | [] [] [] [] |
pies | [] [] [] |
pnmixer | [] [] |
procps-ng | [] [] [] |
procps-ng-man | [] |
psmisc | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
psmisc-man | [] [] |
pspp | [] [] [] [] |
pyspread | [] [] |
radius | [] [] |
recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
recutils | [] [] [] |
rush | [] [] [] |
sarg | [] [] [] |
savane | [] [] |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sharutils | [] [] [] [] |
shepherd | [] |
shishi | [] [] [] |
skribilo | [] [] [] [] |
solfege | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
solfege-manual | [] [] [] [] [] |
spotmachine | [] [] [] [] |
sudo | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sudoers | [] [] [] [] |
sysstat | [] [] [] [] [] |
tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
texinfo | [] [] [] [] |
texinfo_document | [] [] [] [] [] |
tigervnc | [] [] [] [] [] |
tin | [] [] [] |
tin-man | [] [] |
trader | [] [] [] [] [] |
util-linux | [] [] [] |
util-linux-man | [] [] |
ve | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
vmm | |
vorbis-tools | [] [] [] [] |
wastesedge | [] |
wcd | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wcd-man | [] [] |
wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wget2 | [] [] [] |
wyslij-po | [] [] [] [] [] |
xboard | [] [] [] |
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xkeyboard-config | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xz | [] [] [] [] [] |
xz-man | [] [] |
+--------------------------------------------------+
de el en en_GB eo es et eu fa fi fr fur ga gd
130 22 1 5 83 119 19 8 5 78 141 26 26 2
gl gu he hi hr hu hy id is it ja ka kk kn ko ku
+-------------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] [] |
anubis | [] [] [] [] |
aspell | [] [] [] [] |
bash | [] [] [] [] [] |
beebase | () |
bfd | |
binutils | |
bison | [] |
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
buzztrax | |
ccd2cue | [] |
ccide | [] [] [] |
cflow | |
clisp | |
coreutils | [] [] [] [] |
cpio | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
cppi | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
cpplib | [] [] |
cryptsetup | [] [] |
datamash | |
denemo | |
dfarc | [] [] [] |
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dico | |
diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dink | [] |
direvent | [] |
doodle | [] |
dos2unix | [] [] [] [] |
dos2unix-man | [] |
e2fsprogs | [] |
enscript | [] [] |
exif | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
fetchmail | [] [] [] |
findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
flex | |
freedink | [] [] [] [] |
fusionforge | |
gas | [] |
gawk | [] () [] |
gcal | |
gcc | |
gdbm | |
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-tools | [] [] [] [] [] |
gnubik | [] [] [] |
gnuchess | [] |
gnucobol | |
gnulib | [] [] [] [] |
gnunet | |
gnunet-gtk | |
gnutls | [] [] |
gold | |
gphoto2 | [] [] [] [] [] |
gprof | [] [] [] [] |
grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
grip | [] [] [] [] |
grub | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gsasl | [] [] [] [] |
gss | [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gstreamer | [] [] [] [] [] |
gtick | [] [] [] [] |
gtkam | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gutenprint | [] [] [] [] [] |
hello | [] [] |
help2man | [] [] [] [] |
help2man-texi | |
idutils | [] [] [] |
kbd | |
klavaro | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
ld | |
libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libexif | [] |
libextractor | |
libgphoto2 | |
libgphoto2_port | [] [] [] |
libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn | [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn2 | [] [] [] [] |
lilypond | [] [] |
lordsawar | [] |
lynx | [] [] [] [] |
m4 | [] [] |
mailfromd | |
mailutils | |
make | [] [] [] [] [] |
man-db | [] [] [] |
man-db-manpages | [] [] |
meritous | |
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
minicom | [] [] [] [] [] |
mpop | |
msmtp | |
nano | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
opcodes | |
parted | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
pies | |
pnmixer | [] [] |
procps-ng | [] |
procps-ng-man | |
psmisc | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
psmisc-man | [] [] |
pspp | [] [] |
pyspread | |
radius | [] |
recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
recutils | |
rush | |
sarg | |
savane | [] |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sharutils | |
shepherd | |
shishi | |
skribilo | [] |
solfege | [] [] |
solfege-manual | |
spotmachine | |
sudo | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sudoers | [] [] [] [] |
sysstat | [] [] [] [] [] |
tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
texinfo | [] [] [] |
texinfo_document | [] [] [] |
tigervnc | [] [] [] [] |
tin | |
tin-man | |
trader | [] [] |
util-linux | [] [] [] |
util-linux-man | |
ve | [] [] |
vmm | |
vorbis-tools | [] [] [] |
wastesedge | [] |
wcd | |
wcd-man | |
wdiff | [] [] [] |
wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wget2 | [] [] |
wyslij-po | [] [] [] [] |
xboard | |
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xkeyboard-config | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xz | [] [] [] [] |
xz-man | [] |
+-------------------------------------------------+
gl gu he hi hr hu hy id is it ja ka kk kn ko ku
30 1 8 1 59 62 2 57 7 67 48 39 2 1 43 3
ky lg lt lv mk ml mn mr ms mt nb ne nl nn or pa
+-------------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] [] [] |
anubis | [] [] [] |
aspell | [] [] |
bash | [] [] |
beebase | [] |
bfd | |
binutils | |
bison | [] |
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
buzztrax | |
ccd2cue | |
ccide | [] [] |
cflow | |
clisp | [] |
coreutils | [] [] |
cpio | [] |
cppi | |
cpplib | [] |
cryptsetup | |
datamash | [] [] |
denemo | [] |
dfarc | [] [] |
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] |
dico | |
diffutils | [] [] [] [] |
dink | [] |
direvent | [] |
doodle | [] |
dos2unix | [] [] |
dos2unix-man | [] |
e2fsprogs | [] |
enscript | [] |
exif | [] [] [] |
fetchmail | [] |
findutils | [] [] |
flex | [] |
freedink | [] [] |
fusionforge | |
gas | |
gawk | [] |
gcal | |
gcc | |
gdbm | |
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] |
gettext-tools | |
gnubik | [] [] |
gnuchess | [] [] |
gnucobol | |
gnulib | [] |
gnunet | |
gnunet-gtk | |
gnutls | [] [] |
gold | |
gphoto2 | [] |
gprof | [] [] |
grep | [] [] |
grip | [] [] |
grub | [] [] [] |
gsasl | [] |
gss | |
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] |
gstreamer | [] [] [] |
gtick | [] [] |
gtkam | [] [] [] |
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gutenprint | [] |
hello | [] [] |
help2man | [] |
help2man-texi | |
idutils | [] [] |
kbd | |
klavaro | [] [] [] |
ld | |
libc | [] |
libexif | [] |
libextractor | [] |
libgphoto2 | [] |
libgphoto2_port | [] |
libiconv | [] [] |
libidn | [] |
libidn2 | [] |
lilypond | [] |
lordsawar | |
lynx | [] |
m4 | [] |
mailfromd | |
mailutils | |
make | [] |
man-db | [] |
man-db-manpages | |
meritous | |
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] [] |
minicom | [] |
mpop | |
msmtp | |
nano | [] [] [] |
opcodes | |
parted | [] |
pies | |
pnmixer | [] |
procps-ng | |
procps-ng-man | |
psmisc | [] |
psmisc-man | |
pspp | [] |
pyspread | [] |
radius | [] |
recode | [] [] |
recutils | [] |
rush | [] |
sarg | |
savane | |
sed | [] [] |
sharutils | [] |
shepherd | |
shishi | |
skribilo | |
solfege | [] [] |
solfege-manual | [] |
spotmachine | [] |
sudo | [] [] |
sudoers | [] |
sysstat | [] [] |
tar | [] [] [] |
texinfo | [] [] |
texinfo_document | [] |
tigervnc | |
tin | |
tin-man | |
trader | [] |
util-linux | [] |
util-linux-man | |
ve | [] |
vmm | |
vorbis-tools | [] |
wastesedge | [] |
wcd | [] |
wcd-man | [] |
wdiff | [] [] [] |
wget | [] [] |
wget2 | |
wyslij-po | [] [] |
xboard | [] |
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xkeyboard-config | [] [] |
xz | |
xz-man | |
+-------------------------------------------------+
ky lg lt lv mk ml mn mr ms mt nb ne nl nn or pa
5 1 9 12 2 1 3 1 15 2 44 1 98 5 1 3
pl pt pt_BR ro ru rw sk sl sq sr sv sw ta te
+-------------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] [] [] [] [] |
anubis | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
aspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
bash | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
beebase | [] |
bfd | [] [] [] [] |
binutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
bison | [] [] [] [] [] |
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
buzztrax | [] [] [] |
ccd2cue | [] [] [] [] |
ccide | [] [] [] [] [] |
cflow | [] [] [] [] [] |
clisp | [] [] [] |
coreutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
cpio | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
cppi | [] [] [] [] [] |
cpplib | [] [] [] [] [] |
cryptsetup | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
datamash | [] [] [] [] |
denemo | |
dfarc | [] [] [] [] [] |
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dico | [] [] [] [] |
diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dink | [] |
direvent | [] [] [] [] [] |
doodle | [] [] [] [] [] |
dos2unix | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
dos2unix-man | [] [] [] [] [] |
e2fsprogs | [] [] [] [] |
enscript | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
exif | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
fetchmail | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
flex | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
freedink | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
fusionforge | |
gas | [] [] |
gawk | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gcal | [] [] |
gcc | [] [] |
gdbm | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gettext-tools | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gnubik | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gnuchess | [] [] [] [] |
gnucobol | [] |
gnulib | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gnunet | [] |
gnunet-gtk | [] |
gnutls | [] [] [] [] [] |
gold | [] [] |
gphoto2 | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gprof | [] [] [] [] [] |
grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
grip | [] [] [] [] [] |
grub | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gsasl | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gss | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gstreamer | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gtick | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gtkam | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
gutenprint | [] [] [] [] |
hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
help2man | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
help2man-texi | [] [] [] [] [] |
idutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
kbd | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
klavaro | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
ld | [] [] [] |
libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libexif | [] [] [] [] |
libextractor | [] [] [] [] |
libgphoto2 | [] [] |
libgphoto2_port | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn | [] [] [] [] [] |
libidn2 | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
lilypond | [] |
lordsawar | [] [] |
lynx | [] [] [] |
m4 | [] [] [] [] |
mailfromd | [] [] [] |
mailutils | [] [] [] [] |
make | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
man-db | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
man-db-manpages | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
meritous | [] [] [] |
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
minicom | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
mpop | [] [] [] [] |
msmtp | [] [] [] [] |
nano | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
opcodes | [] [] [] [] |
parted | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
pies | [] [] [] |
pnmixer | [] [] () [] [] |
procps-ng | [] [] [] [] |
procps-ng-man | [] [] |
psmisc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
psmisc-man | [] [] [] [] [] |
pspp | [] |
pyspread | [] [] |
radius | [] [] [] |
recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
recutils | [] [] [] |
rush | [] [] [] [] |
sarg | [] [] [] |
savane | [] () |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
shepherd | [] [] [] |
shishi | [] [] [] |
skribilo | [] [] [] |
solfege | [] [] [] [] [] |
solfege-manual | [] [] |
spotmachine | [] [] [] [] |
sudo | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sudoers | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
sysstat | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
texinfo_document | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
tigervnc | [] [] [] [] |
tin | [] |
tin-man | |
trader | [] [] [] [] |
util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] |
util-linux-man | [] |
ve | [] [] [] [] [] |
vmm | [] |
vorbis-tools | [] [] [] [] [] |
wastesedge | [] [] |
wcd | [] [] [] [] |
wcd-man | [] [] [] [] |
wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
wget2 | [] [] [] [] [] |
wyslij-po | [] [] [] [] [] |
xboard | [] [] [] [] |
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xkeyboard-config | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xz | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
xz-man | [] [] |
+-------------------------------------------------+
pl pt pt_BR ro ru rw sk sl sq sr sv sw ta te
99 45 113 105 87 0 34 30 11 131 126 1 7 1
tg th tr uk ur vi wa wo zh_CN zh_HK zh_TW
+--------------------------------------------+
a2ps | [] | 15
anubis | [] [] [] | 21
aspell | [] [] [] [] | 32
bash | [] [] [] [] [] | 26
beebase | [] | 6
bfd | [] | 6
binutils | [] | 7
bison | [] [] | 17
bison-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 41
buzztrax | [] [] | 11
ccd2cue | [] [] [] [] | 14
ccide | [] [] [] | 20
cflow | [] | 9
clisp | | 12
coreutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 27
cpio | [] [] [] [] | 24
cppi | [] [] [] | 20
cpplib | [] [] [] [] [] | 20
cryptsetup | [] | 14
datamash | [] | 12
denemo | [] [] [] | 7
dfarc | [] | 19
dialog | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 48
dico | [] | 10
diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 32
dink | [] | 11
direvent | [] [] | 14
doodle | [] [] [] | 18
dos2unix | [] [] [] [] | 23
dos2unix-man | [] [] | 12
e2fsprogs | [] [] [] | 15
enscript | [] [] [] | 22
exif | [] [] [] [] | 33
fetchmail | [] [] [] | 21
findutils | [] [] [] [] | 31
flex | [] [] [] [] [] | 22
freedink | [] [] | 26
fusionforge | | 3
gas | [] | 7
gawk | [] [] [] | 18
gcal | [] [] | 9
gcc | | 4
gdbm | [] [] | 13
gettext-examples | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 44
gettext-runtime | [] [] [] [] [] | 34
gettext-tools | [] [] [] [] [] | 26
gnubik | [] [] [] | 22
gnuchess | [] [] [] | 15
gnucobol | | 2
gnulib | [] [] [] [] | 26
gnunet | | 2
gnunet-gtk | | 3
gnutls | [] [] [] | 18
gold | [] | 6
gphoto2 | [] [] [] [] | 20
gprof | [] [] [] | 22
grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 38
grip | [] [] [] [] [] | 25
grub | [] [] [] [] | 28
gsasl | [] [] [] | 21
gss | [] [] | 20
gst-plugins-bad | [] [] [] [] [] | 29
gst-plugins-base | [] [] [] [] | 32
gst-plugins-good | [] [] [] [] [] | 34
gst-plugins-ugly | [] [] [] [] [] | 40
gstreamer | [] [] [] [] [] | 34
gtick | [] [] [] | 23
gtkam | [] [] [] | 26
gtkspell | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 51
gutenprint | [] [] [] | 18
hello | [] [] | 18
help2man | [] [] [] | 21
help2man-texi | [] | 9
idutils | [] [] [] | 21
kbd | [] [] | 15
klavaro | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 35
ld | [] | 6
libc | [] [] [] [] [] | 28
libexif | [] [] | 12
libextractor | [] [] | 11
libgphoto2 | [] [] | 9
libgphoto2_port | [] [] [] [] | 22
libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] | 34
libidn | [] [] [] | 21
libidn2 | [] [] | 20
lilypond | [] | 12
lordsawar | [] | 8
lynx | [] [] [] | 19
m4 | [] [] | 13
mailfromd | [] [] | 7
mailutils | [] [] | 10
make | [] [] [] [] | 25
man-db | [] [] [] [] | 23
man-db-manpages | [] [] | 14
meritous | | 5
midi-instruments | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 44
minicom | [] [] | 20
mpop | [] | 9
msmtp | [] | 8
nano | [] [] [] [] [] | 33
opcodes | [] | 8
parted | [] [] [] [] [] | 26
pies | [] [] | 8
pnmixer | [] [] () | 14
procps-ng | [] [] | 10
procps-ng-man | [] | 4
psmisc | [] [] [] [] | 26
psmisc-man | [] | 10
pspp | [] [] | 12
pyspread | [] | 7
radius | [] [] | 10
recode | [] [] [] [] | 31
recutils | [] [] | 9
rush | [] [] [] | 12
sarg | | 7
savane | | 4
sed | [] [] [] [] [] | 38
sharutils | [] [] [] | 14
shepherd | [] | 5
shishi | [] [] | 8
skribilo | [] | 10
solfege | [] [] [] | 22
solfege-manual | [] | 10
spotmachine | [] [] | 12
sudo | [] [] [] [] [] | 31
sudoers | [] [] [] | 21
sysstat | [] [] [] [] | 26
tar | [] [] [] [] [] | 33
texinfo | [] [] [] | 23
texinfo_document | [] | 19
tigervnc | [] [] | 17
tin | [] [] [] | 8
tin-man | | 2
trader | | 13
util-linux | [] [] [] [] | 18
util-linux-man | [] | 4
ve | [] [] [] | 17
vmm | [] | 2
vorbis-tools | [] | 16
wastesedge | [] | 7
wcd | [] [] [] | 15
wcd-man | [] | 8
wdiff | [] [] [] [] | 27
wget | [] [] [] [] [] | 30
wget2 | [] | 11
wyslij-po | [] [] [] | 20
xboard | [] [] [] | 12
xdg-user-dirs | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 72
xkeyboard-config | [] [] [] | 32
xz | [] [] [] [] [] | 22
xz-man | [] | 6
+--------------------------------------------+
85 teams tg th tr uk ur vi wa wo zh_CN zh_HK zh_TW
151 domains 0 8 54 120 1 93 5 1 87 5 42 2792
Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are
used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
dialects.
For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
which it applies should also have been internationalized and distributed
as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable lag between the
mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a distribution.
If June 2023 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of
this ABOUT-NLS file on most GNU archive sites. The most up-to-date
matrix with full percentage details can be found at
https://translationproject.org/extra/matrix.html.

File: gettext.info, Node: Using gettext in own code, Prev: Available Packages, Up: The original ABOUT-NLS
17.2.5 Using gettext in new packages
--------------------------------------
If you are writing a freely available program and want to
internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU gettext in your
package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Lesser General Public
License which covers the use of the GNU gettext library. This means
in particular that even non-free programs can use libintl as a shared
library, whereas only free software can use libintl as a static
library or use modified versions of libintl.
Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
the use of gettext the only thing missing are the translations. The
Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not
developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above
applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact
coordinator@translationproject.org to make the .pot files available
to the translation teams.

File: gettext.info, Node: References, Prev: The original ABOUT-NLS, Up: Conclusion
17.3 Related Readings
=====================
* NOTE: * This documentation section is outdated and needs to be
revised.
Eugene H. Dorr (dorre@well.com) maintains an interesting
bibliography on internationalization matters, called
Internationalization Reference List, which is available as:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/examples/nutshell/ujip/doc/i18n-books.txt
Michael Gschwind (mike@vlsivie.tuwien.ac.at) maintains a Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) list, entitled Programming for
Internationalisation. This FAQ discusses writing programs which can
handle different language conventions, character sets, etc.; and is
applicable to all character set encodings, with particular emphasis on
ISO 8859-1. It is regularly published in Usenet groups
comp.unix.questions, comp.std.internat,
comp.software.international, comp.lang.c, comp.windows.x,
comp.std.c, comp.answers and news.answers. The home location of
this document is:
ftp://ftp.vlsivie.tuwien.ac.at/pub/8bit/ISO-programming
Patrick DCruze (pdcruze@li.org) wrote a tutorial about NLS
matters, and Jochen Hein (Hein@student.tu-clausthal.de) took over the
responsibility of maintaining it. It may be found as:
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/utils/nls/catalogs/Incoming/...
...locale-tutorial-0.8.txt.gz
This site is mirrored in:
ftp://ftp.ibp.fr/pub/linux/sunsite/
A French version of the same tutorial should be findable at:
ftp://ftp.ibp.fr/pub/linux/french/docs/
together with French translations of many Linux-related documents.

File: gettext.info, Node: Language Codes, Next: Country Codes, Prev: Conclusion, Up: Top
Appendix A Language Codes
*************************
The ISO 639 standard defines two-letter codes for many languages, and
three-letter codes for more rarely used languages. All abbreviations
for languages used in the Translation Project should come from this
standard.
* Menu:
* Usual Language Codes:: Two-letter ISO 639 language codes
* Rare Language Codes:: Three-letter ISO 639 language codes

File: gettext.info, Node: Usual Language Codes, Next: Rare Language Codes, Up: Language Codes
A.1 Usual Language Codes
========================
For the commonly used languages, the ISO 639-1 standard defines
two-letter codes.
aa
Afar.
ab
Abkhazian.
ae
Avestan.
af
Afrikaans.
ak
Akan.
am
Amharic.
an
Aragonese.
ar
Arabic.
as
Assamese.
av
Avaric.
ay
Aymara.
az
Azerbaijani.
ba
Bashkir.
be
Belarusian.
bg
Bulgarian.
bh
Bihari languages.
bi
Bislama.
bm
Bambara.
bn
Bengali.
bo
Tibetan.
br
Breton.
bs
Bosnian.
ca
Catalan; Valencian.
ce
Chechen.
ch
Chamorro.
co
Corsican.
cr
Cree.
cs
Czech.
cu
Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian; Old
Church Slavonic.
cv
Chuvash.
cy
Welsh.
da
Danish.
de
German.
dv
Divehi; Dhivehi; Maldivian.
dz
Dzongkha.
ee
Ewe.
el
Greek, Modern (1453-).
en
English.
eo
Esperanto.
es
Spanish; Castilian.
et
Estonian.
eu
Basque.
fa
Persian.
ff
Fulah.
fi
Finnish.
fj
Fijian.
fo
Faroese.
fr
French.
fy
Western Frisian.
ga
Irish.
gd
Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic.
gl
Galician.
gn
Guarani.
gu
Gujarati.
gv
Manx.
ha
Hausa.
he
Hebrew.
hi
Hindi.
ho
Hiri Motu.
hr
Croatian.
ht
Haitian; Haitian Creole.
hu
Hungarian.
hy
Armenian.
hz
Herero.
ia
Interlingua (International Auxiliary Language Association).
id
Indonesian.
ie
Interlingue; Occidental.
ig
Igbo.
ii
Sichuan Yi; Nuosu.
ik
Inupiak.
io
Ido.
is
Icelandic.
it
Italian.
iu
Inuktitut.
ja
Japanese.
jv
Javanese.
ka
Georgian.
kg
Kongo.
ki
Kikuyu; Gikuyu.
kj
Kuanyama; Kwanyama.
kk
Kazakh.
kl
Kalaallisut; Greenlandic.
km
Central Khmer.
kn
Kannada.
ko
Korean.
kr
Kanuri.
ks
Kashmiri.
ku
Kurdish.
kv
Komi.
kw
Cornish.
ky
Kirghiz; Kyrgyz.
la
Latin.
lb
Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch.
lg
Ganda.
li
Limburgan; Limburger; Limburgish.
ln
Lingala.
lo
Lao.
lt
Lithuanian.
lu
Luba-Katanga.
lv
Latvian.
mg
Malagasy.
mh
Marshallese.
mi
Maori.
mk
Macedonian.
ml
Malayalam.
mn
Mongolian.
mr
Marathi.
ms
Malay.
mt
Maltese.
my
Burmese.
na
Nauru.
nb
Bokmål, Norwegian; Norwegian Bokmål.
nd
Ndebele, North; North Ndebele.
ne
Nepali.
ng
Ndonga.
nl
Dutch; Flemish.
nn
Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian.
no
Norwegian.
nr
Ndebele, South; South Ndebele.
nv
Navajo; Navaho.
ny
Chichewa; Nyanja.
oc
Occitan (post 1500); Provençal.
oj
Ojibwa.
om
Oromo.
or
Oriya.
os
Ossetian; Ossetic.
pa
Panjabi; Punjabi.
pi
Pali.
pl
Polish.
ps
Pushto; Pashto.
pt
Portuguese.
qu
Quechua.
rm
Romansh.
rn
Rundi.
ro
Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan.
ru
Russian.
rw
Kinyarwanda.
sa
Sanskrit.
sc
Sardinian.
sd
Sindhi.
se
Northern Sami.
sg
Sango.
si
Sinhala; Sinhalese.
sk
Slovak.
sl
Slovenian.
sm
Samoan.
sn
Shona.
so
Somali.
sq
Albanian.
sr
Serbian.
ss
Swati.
st
Sotho, Southern.
su
Sundanese.
sv
Swedish.
sw
Swahili.
ta
Tamil.
te
Telugu.
tg
Tajik.
th
Thai.
ti
Tigrinya.
tk
Turkmen.
tl
Tagalog.
tn
Tswana.
to
Tonga (Tonga Islands).
tr
Turkish.
ts
Tsonga.
tt
Tatar.
tw
Twi.
ty
Tahitian.
ug
Uighur; Uyghur.
uk
Ukrainian.
ur
Urdu.
uz
Uzbek.
ve
Venda.
vi
Vietnamese.
vo
Volapük.
wa
Walloon.
wo
Wolof.
xh
Xhosa.
yi
Yiddish.
yo
Yoruba.
za
Zhuang; Chuang.
zh
Chinese.
zu
Zulu.

File: gettext.info, Node: Rare Language Codes, Prev: Usual Language Codes, Up: Language Codes
A.2 Rare Language Codes
=======================
For rarely used languages, the ISO 639-2 standard defines
three-letter codes. Here is the current list, reduced to only living
languages with at least one million of speakers.
ace
Achinese.
awa
Awadhi.
bal
Baluchi.
ban
Balinese.
bej
Beja; Bedawiyet.
bem
Bemba.
bho
Bhojpuri.
bik
Bikol.
bin
Bini; Edo.
bug
Buginese.
ceb
Cebuano.
din
Dinka.
doi
Dogri.
fil
Filipino; Pilipino.
fon
Fon.
gon
Gondi.
gsw
Swiss German; Alemannic; Alsatian.
hil
Hiligaynon.
hmn
Hmong.
ilo
Iloko.
kab
Kabyle.
kam
Kamba.
kbd
Kabardian.
kmb
Kimbundu.
kok
Konkani.
kru
Kurukh.
lua
Luba-Lulua.
luo
Luo (Kenya and Tanzania).
mad
Madurese.
mag
Magahi.
mai
Maithili.
mak
Makasar.
man
Mandingo.
men
Mende.
min
Minangkabau.
mni
Manipuri.
mos
Mossi.
mwr
Marwari.
nap
Neapolitan.
nso
Pedi; Sepedi; Northern Sotho.
nym
Nyamwezi.
nyn
Nyankole.
pag
Pangasinan.
pam
Pampanga; Kapampangan.
raj
Rajasthani.
sas
Sasak.
sat
Santali.
scn
Sicilian.
shn
Shan.
sid
Sidamo.
srr
Serer.
suk
Sukuma.
sus
Susu.
tem
Timne.
tiv
Tiv.
tum
Tumbuka.
umb
Umbundu.
wal
Walamo.
war
Waray.
yao
Yao.

File: gettext.info, Node: Country Codes, Next: Licenses, Prev: Language Codes, Up: Top
Appendix B Country Codes
************************
The ISO 3166 standard defines two character codes for many countries
and territories. All abbreviations for countries used in the
Translation Project should come from this standard.
AD
Andorra.
AE
United Arab Emirates.
AF
Afghanistan.
AG
Antigua and Barbuda.
AI
Anguilla.
AL
Albania.
AM
Armenia.
AO
Angola.
AQ
Antarctica.
AR
Argentina.
AS
American Samoa.
AT
Austria.
AU
Australia.
AW
Aruba.
AX
Aaland Islands.
AZ
Azerbaijan.
BA
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BB
Barbados.
BD
Bangladesh.
BE
Belgium.
BF
Burkina Faso.
BG
Bulgaria.
BH
Bahrain.
BI
Burundi.
BJ
Benin.
BL
Saint Barthelemy.
BM
Bermuda.
BN
Brunei Darussalam.
BO
Bolivia, Plurinational State of.
BQ
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
BR
Brazil.
BS
Bahamas.
BT
Bhutan.
BV
Bouvet Island.
BW
Botswana.
BY
Belarus.
BZ
Belize.
CA
Canada.
CC
Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
CD
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the.
CF
Central African Republic.
CG
Congo.
CH
Switzerland.
CI
Côte dIvoire.
CK
Cook Islands.
CL
Chile.
CM
Cameroon.
CN
China.
CO
Colombia.
CR
Costa Rica.
CU
Cuba.
CV
Cape Verde.
CW
Curaçao.
CX
Christmas Island.
CY
Cyprus.
CZ
Czech Republic.
DE
Germany.
DJ
Djibouti.
DK
Denmark.
DM
Dominica.
DO
Dominican Republic.
DZ
Algeria.
EC
Ecuador.
EE
Estonia.
EG
Egypt.
EH
Western Sahara.
ER
Eritrea.
ES
Spain.
ET
Ethiopia.
FI
Finland.
FJ
Fiji.
FK
Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
FM
Micronesia, Federated States of.
FO
Faroe Islands.
FR
France.
GA
Gabon.
GB
United Kingdom.
GD
Grenada.
GE
Georgia.
GF
French Guiana.
GG
Guernsey.
GH
Ghana.
GI
Gibraltar.
GL
Greenland.
GM
Gambia.
GN
Guinea.
GP
Guadeloupe.
GQ
Equatorial Guinea.
GR
Greece.
GS
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
GT
Guatemala.
GU
Guam.
GW
Guinea-Bissau.
GY
Guyana.
HK
Hong Kong.
HM
Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
HN
Honduras.
HR
Croatia.
HT
Haiti.
HU
Hungary.
ID
Indonesia.
IE
Ireland.
IL
Israel.
IM
Isle of Man.
IN
India.
IO
British Indian Ocean Territory.
IQ
Iraq.
IR
Iran, Islamic Republic of.
IS
Iceland.
IT
Italy.
JE
Jersey.
JM
Jamaica.
JO
Jordan.
JP
Japan.
KE
Kenya.
KG
Kyrgyzstan.
KH
Cambodia.
KI
Kiribati.
KM
Comoros.
KN
Saint Kitts and Nevis.
KP
Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic of.
KR
Korea, Republic of.
KW
Kuwait.
KY
Cayman Islands.
KZ
Kazakhstan.
LA
Lao Peoples Democratic Republic.
LB
Lebanon.
LC
Saint Lucia.
LI
Liechtenstein.
LK
Sri Lanka.
LR
Liberia.
LS
Lesotho.
LT
Lithuania.
LU
Luxembourg.
LV
Latvia.
LY
Libya.
MA
Morocco.
MC
Monaco.
MD
Moldova, Republic of.
ME
Montenegro.
MF
Saint Martin (French part).
MG
Madagascar.
MH
Marshall Islands.
MK
North Macedonia.
ML
Mali.
MM
Myanmar.
MN
Mongolia.
MO
Macao.
MP
Northern Mariana Islands.
MQ
Martinique.
MR
Mauritania.
MS
Montserrat.
MT
Malta.
MU
Mauritius.
MV
Maldives.
MW
Malawi.
MX
Mexico.
MY
Malaysia.
MZ
Mozambique.
NA
Namibia.
NC
New Caledonia.
NE
Niger.
NF
Norfolk Island.
NG
Nigeria.
NI
Nicaragua.
NL
Netherlands.
NO
Norway.
NP
Nepal.
NR
Nauru.
NU
Niue.
NZ
New Zealand.
OM
Oman.
PA
Panama.
PE
Peru.
PF
French Polynesia.
PG
Papua New Guinea.
PH
Philippines.
PK
Pakistan.
PL
Poland.
PM
Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
PN
Pitcairn.
PR
Puerto Rico.
PS
Palestine, State of.
PT
Portugal.
PW
Palau.
PY
Paraguay.
QA
Qatar.
RE
Reunion.
RO
Romania.
RS
Serbia.
RU
Russian Federation.
RW
Rwanda.
SA
Saudi Arabia.
SB
Solomon Islands.
SC
Seychelles.
SD
Sudan.
SE
Sweden.
SG
Singapore.
SH
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
SI
Slovenia.
SJ
Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
SK
Slovakia.
SL
Sierra Leone.
SM
San Marino.
SN
Senegal.
SO
Somalia.
SR
Suriname.
SS
South Sudan.
ST
Sao Tome and Principe.
SV
El Salvador.
SX
Sint Maarten (Dutch part).
SY
Syrian Arab Republic.
SZ
Swaziland.
TC
Turks and Caicos Islands.
TD
Chad.
TF
French Southern Territories.
TG
Togo.
TH
Thailand.
TJ
Tajikistan.
TK
Tokelau.
TL
Timor-Leste.
TM
Turkmenistan.
TN
Tunisia.
TO
Tonga.
TR
Türkiye.
TT
Trinidad and Tobago.
TV
Tuvalu.
TW
Taiwan, Province of China.
TZ
Tanzania, United Republic of.
UA
Ukraine.
UG
Uganda.
UM
United States Minor Outlying Islands.
US
United States.
UY
Uruguay.
UZ
Uzbekistan.
VA
Holy See (Vatican City State).
VC
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
VE
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of.
VG
Virgin Islands, British.
VI
Virgin Islands, U.S..
VN
Viet Nam.
VU
Vanuatu.
WF
Wallis and Futuna.
WS
Samoa.
YE
Yemen.
YT
Mayotte.
ZA
South Africa.
ZM
Zambia.
ZW
Zimbabwe.

File: gettext.info, Node: Licenses, Next: Program Index, Prev: Country Codes, Up: Top
Appendix C Licenses
*******************
The files of this package are covered by the licenses indicated in
each particular file or directory. Here is a summary:
• The libintl and libasprintf libraries are covered by the GNU
Lesser General Public License (LGPL). A copy of the license is
included in *note GNU LGPL::.
• The executable programs of this package and the libgettextpo
library are covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL). A copy
of the license is included in *note GNU GPL::.
• This manual is free documentation. It is dually licensed under the
GNU FDL and the GNU GPL. This means that you can redistribute this
manual under either of these two licenses, at your choice.
This manual is covered by the GNU FDL. Permission is granted to
copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation License (FDL), either version 1.2 of the
License, or (at your option) any later version published by the
Free Software Foundation (FSF); with no Invariant Sections, with no
Front-Cover Text, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the
license is included in *note GNU FDL::.
This manual is covered by the GNU GPL. You can redistribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
(GPL), either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any
later version published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). A
copy of the license is included in *note GNU GPL::.
* Menu:
* GNU GPL:: GNU General Public License
* GNU LGPL:: GNU Lesser General Public License
* GNU FDL:: GNU Free Documentation License

File: gettext.info, Node: GNU GPL, Next: GNU LGPL, Up: Licenses
C.1 GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
==============================
Version 2, June 1991
Copyright © 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
Preamble
========
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom
to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is
intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software—to
make sure the software is free for all its users. This General Public
License applies to most of the Free Software Foundations software and
to any other program whose authors commit to using it. (Some other Free
Software Foundation software is covered by the GNU Lesser General Public
License instead.) You can apply it to your programs, too.
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if
you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new
free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their
rights.
We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software,
and (2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
distribute and/or modify the software.
Also, for each authors protection and ours, we want to make certain
that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we
want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so
that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original
authors reputations.
Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
patents. We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free
program will individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the
program proprietary. To prevent this, we have made it clear that any
patent must be licensed for everyones free use or not licensed at all.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
modification follow.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
===============================================================
0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains a
notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed
under the terms of this General Public License. The “Program”,
below, refers to any such program or work, and a “work based on the
Program” means either the Program or any derivative work under
copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Program or a
portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or
translated into another language. (Hereinafter, translation is
included without limitation in the term “modification”.) Each
licensee is addressed as “you”.
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are
not covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act
of running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the
Program is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on
the Program (independent of having been made by running the
Program). Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.
1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Programs source
code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you
conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any
warranty; and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of
this License along with the Program.
You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy,
and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange
for a fee.
2. You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion of
it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and
distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1
above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:
a. You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.
b. You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that
in whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or
any part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to
all third parties under the terms of this License.
c. If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
when run, you must cause it, when started running for such
interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display
an announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and
a notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you
provide a warranty) and that users may redistribute the
program under these conditions, and telling the user how to
view a copy of this License. (Exception: if the Program
itself is interactive but does not normally print such an
announcement, your work based on the Program is not required
to print an announcement.)
These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the
Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate
works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply
to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But
when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a
work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on
the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees
extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part
regardless of who wrote it.
Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or
contest your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the
intent is to exercise the right to control the distribution of
derivative or collective works based on the Program.
In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the
Program with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a
volume of a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other
work under the scope of this License.
3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms
of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the
following:
a. Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, which must be distributed under the terms of
Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for
software interchange; or,
b. Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a
medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
c. Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is
allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you
received the program in object code or executable form with
such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete
source code means all the source code for all modules it contains,
plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts
used to control compilation and installation of the executable.
However, as a special exception, the source code distributed need
not include anything that is normally distributed (in either source
or binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so
on) of the operating system on which the executable runs, unless
that component itself accompanies the executable.
If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering
access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent
access to copy the source code from the same place counts as
distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not
compelled to copy the source along with the object code.
4. You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program
except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt
otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is
void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this
License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights,
from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated
so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify
or distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions
are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License.
Therefore, by modifying or distributing the Program (or any work
based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License
to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying,
distributing or modifying the Program or works based on it.
6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject
to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
restrictions on the recipients exercise of the rights granted
herein. You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third
parties to this License.
7. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent
issues), conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order,
agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this
License, they do not excuse you from the conditions of this
License. If you cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously
your obligations under this License and any other pertinent
obligations, then as a consequence you may not distribute the
Program at all. For example, if a patent license would not permit
royalty-free redistribution of the Program by all those who receive
copies directly or indirectly through you, then the only way you
could satisfy both it and this License would be to refrain entirely
from distribution of the Program.
If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable
under any particular circumstance, the balance of the section is
intended to apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply
in other circumstances.
It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any
patents or other property right claims or to contest validity of
any such claims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting
the integrity of the free software distribution system, which is
implemented by public license practices. Many people have made
generous contributions to the wide range of software distributed
through that system in reliance on consistent application of that
system; it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is
willing to distribute software through any other system and a
licensee cannot impose that choice.
This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed
to be a consequence of the rest of this License.
8. If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in
certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces,
the original copyright holder who places the Program under this
License may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation
excluding those countries, so that distribution is permitted only
in or among countries not thus excluded. In such case, this
License incorporates the limitation as if written in the body of
this License.
9. The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new
versions of the General Public License from time to time. Such new
versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.
Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the
Program specifies a version number of this License which applies to
it and “any later version”, you have the option of following the
terms and conditions either of that version or of any later version
published by the Free Software Foundation. If the Program does not
specify a version number of this License, you may choose any
version ever published by the Free Software Foundation.
10. If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free
programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the
author to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted by
the Free Software Foundation, write to the Free Software
Foundation; we sometimes make exceptions for this. Our decision
will be guided by the two goals of preserving the free status of
all derivatives of our free software and of promoting the sharing
and reuse of software generally.
NO WARRANTY
11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO
WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE
LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY
OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE
DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR
OR CORRECTION.
12. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN
WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY
MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR
INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF
DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU
OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY
OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
=======================================================
If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it
free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these
terms.
To do so, attach the following notices to the program. It is safest
to attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively
convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least the
“copyright” line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.
ONE LINE TO GIVE THE PROGRAM'S NAME AND A BRIEF IDEA OF WHAT IT DOES.
Copyright (C) YYYY NAME OF AUTHOR
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper
mail.
If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like
this when it starts in an interactive mode:
Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) YEAR NAME OF AUTHOR
Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type `show w'.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; type `show c' for details.
The hypothetical commands show w and show c should show the
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C.2 GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
=====================================
Version 2.1, February 1999
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File: gettext.info, Node: GNU FDL, Prev: GNU LGPL, Up: Licenses
C.3 GNU Free Documentation License
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Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly
and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The
front cover must present the full title with all words of the title
equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the
covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as
long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these
conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
adjacent pages.
If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document
numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable
Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with
each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general
network-using public has access to download using public-standard
network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free
of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take
reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque
copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will
remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one
year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or
through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies,
to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the
Document.
4. MODIFICATIONS
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you
release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the
Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing
distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever
possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in
the Modified Version:
A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous
versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the
History section of the Document). You may use the same title
as a previous version if the original publisher of that
version gives permission.
B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
the Modified Version, together with at least five of the
principal authors of the Document (all of its principal
authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you
from this requirement.
C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
Modified Version, as the publisher.
D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
adjacent to the other copyright notices.
F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in
the Addendum below.
G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Documents
license notice.
H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
I. Preserve the section Entitled “History”, Preserve its Title,
and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new
authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the
Title Page. If there is no section Entitled “History” in the
Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and
publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add
an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the
previous sentence.
J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document
for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
likewise the network locations given in the Document for
previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the
“History” section. You may omit a network location for a work
that was published at least four years before the Document
itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers
to gives permission.
K. For any section Entitled “Acknowledgements” or “Dedications”,
Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section
all the substance and tone of each of the contributor
acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered
in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the
equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
M. Delete any section Entitled “Endorsements”. Such a section
may not be included in the Modified Version.
N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled
“Endorsements” or to conflict in title with any Invariant
Section.
O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate
some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their
titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Versions
license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other
section titles.
You may add a section Entitled “Endorsements”, provided it contains
nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various
parties—for example, statements of peer review or that the text has
been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of
a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of
the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage
of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or
through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document
already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added
by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on
behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old
one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added
the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released under
this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for
modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all
of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents,
unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your
combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all
their Warranty Disclaimers.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single
copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name
but different contents, make the title of each such section unique
by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the
original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a
unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in
the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the
combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled
“History” in the various original documents, forming one section
Entitled “History”; likewise combine any sections Entitled
“Acknowledgements”, and any sections Entitled “Dedications”. You
must delete all sections Entitled “Endorsements.”
6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
documents released under this License, and replace the individual
copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the
rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents
in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert
a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this
License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that
document.
7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a
storage or distribution medium, is called an “aggregate” if the
copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the
legal rights of the compilations users beyond what the individual
works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this
License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which
are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half
of the entire aggregate, the Documents Cover Texts may be placed
on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the
electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic
form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket
the whole aggregate.
8. TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section
4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
permission from their copyright holders, but you may include
translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a
translation of this License, and all the license notices in the
Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also
include the original English version of this License and the
original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a
disagreement between the translation and the original version of
this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will
prevail.
If a section in the Document is Entitled “Acknowledgements”,
“Dedications”, or “History”, the requirement (section 4) to
Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the
actual title.
9. TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other
attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this
License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights,
from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated
so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new
versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See
<https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/>.
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered
version of this License “or any later version” applies to it, you
have the option of following the terms and conditions either of
that specified version or of any later version that has been
published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the
Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may
choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free
Software Foundation.
ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
====================================================
To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
notices just after the title page:
Copyright (C) YEAR YOUR NAME.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
Free Documentation License''.
If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover
Texts, replace the “with...Texts.” line with this:
with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with
the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts
being LIST.
If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other
combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the
situation.
If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free
software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit
their use in free software.

File: gettext.info, Node: Program Index, Next: Option Index, Prev: Licenses, Up: Top
Program Index
*************
[index]
* Menu:
* autopoint: autopoint Invocation.
(line 6)
* boldquot: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 111)
* envsubst: envsubst Invocation. (line 6)
* gettext: sh. (line 22)
* gettext <1>: gettext Invocation. (line 6)
* gettextize: gettextize Invocation.
(line 34)
* msgattrib: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 6)
* msgcat: msgcat Invocation. (line 6)
* msgcmp: msgcmp Invocation. (line 6)
* msgcomm: msgcomm Invocation. (line 6)
* msgconv: msgconv Invocation. (line 6)
* msgen: msgen Invocation. (line 6)
* msgexec: msgexec Invocation. (line 6)
* msgfilter: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 6)
* msgfmt: msgfmt Invocation. (line 6)
* msggrep: msggrep Invocation. (line 6)
* msginit: msginit Invocation. (line 6)
* msgmerge: msgmerge Invocation. (line 6)
* msgunfmt: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 6)
* msguniq: msguniq Invocation. (line 6)
* ngettext: sh. (line 22)
* ngettext <1>: ngettext Invocation. (line 6)
* quot: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 107)
* recode-sr-latin: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 101)
* xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 6)

File: gettext.info, Node: Option Index, Next: Variable Index, Prev: Program Index, Up: Top
Option Index
************
[index]
* Menu:
* --add-comments, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 94)
* --add-location, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 138)
* --add-location, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 118)
* --add-location, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 100)
* --add-location, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 80)
* --add-location, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 83)
* --add-location, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 161)
* --add-location, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 152)
* --add-location, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 157)
* --add-location, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 97)
* --add-location, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 379)
* --alignment, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 305)
* --backup, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 62)
* --boost, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 337)
* --c++, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 63)
* --check, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 226)
* --check, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 124)
* --check-accelerators, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 267)
* --check-compatibility, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 263)
* --check-domain, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 258)
* --check-format, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 230)
* --check-header, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 253)
* --clear-fuzzy, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 68)
* --clear-obsolete, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 74)
* --clear-previous, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 81)
* --color, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 119)
* --color, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 99)
* --color, msgcat option <1>: The --color option. (line 6)
* --color, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 81)
* --color, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 61)
* --color, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 64)
* --color, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 138)
* --color, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 134)
* --color, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 96)
* --color, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 138)
* --color, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 103)
* --color, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 78)
* --color, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 358)
* --comment, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 86)
* --compendium, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 36)
* --context, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 16)
* --context, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 15)
* --copyright-holder, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 444)
* --csharp, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 36)
* --csharp, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 19)
* --csharp-resources, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 40)
* --csharp-resources, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 23)
* --debug, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 341)
* --default-domain, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 35)
* --desktop, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 49)
* --directory, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 19)
* --directory, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 35)
* --directory, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 27)
* --directory, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 30)
* --directory, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 19)
* --directory, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 25)
* --directory, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 54)
* --directory, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 34)
* --directory, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 18)
* --directory, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 19)
* --directory, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 30)
* --directory, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 26)
* --directory, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 24)
* --domain, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 21)
* --domain, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 70)
* --domain, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 20)
* --dry-run, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 31)
* --dry-run, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 64)
* --empty, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 84)
* --endianness, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 308)
* --exclude-file, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 89)
* --expression, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 87)
* --extended-regexp, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 94)
* --extract-all, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 173)
* --extracted-comment, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 90)
* --file, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 91)
* --file, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 106)
* --files-from, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 30)
* --files-from, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 25)
* --files-from, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 19)
* --fixed-strings, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 98)
* --flag, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 284)
* --for-msgfmt, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 99)
* --force, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 27)
* --force, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 40)
* --force-po, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 127)
* --force-po, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 107)
* --force-po, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 89)
* --force-po, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 69)
* --force-po, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 72)
* --force-po, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 146)
* --force-po, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 142)
* --force-po, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 146)
* --force-po, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 111)
* --force-po, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 86)
* --force-po, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 366)
* --foreign-user, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 459)
* --from-code, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 72)
* --fuzzy, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 95)
* --help, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 39)
* --help, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 21)
* --help, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 37)
* --help, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 69)
* --help, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 188)
* --help, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 168)
* --help, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 69)
* --help, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 153)
* --help, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 130)
* --help, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 133)
* --help, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 77)
* --help, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 211)
* --help, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 328)
* --help, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 200)
* --help, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 131)
* --help, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 207)
* --help, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 155)
* --help, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 147)
* --help, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 36)
* --help, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 506)
* --ignore-case, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 110)
* --ignore-file, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 91)
* --indent, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 131)
* --indent, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 111)
* --indent, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 93)
* --indent, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 73)
* --indent, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 76)
* --indent, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 149)
* --indent, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 145)
* --indent, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 150)
* --indent, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 115)
* --indent, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 90)
* --indent, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 370)
* --input, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 50)
* --input, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 30)
* --input, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 51)
* --invert-match, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 114)
* --its, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 402)
* --itstool, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 406)
* --java, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 30)
* --java, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 16)
* --java2, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 33)
* --join-existing, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 85)
* --kde, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 333)
* --keep-header, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 152)
* --keyword, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 140)
* --keyword, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 182)
* --lang, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 93)
* --lang, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 57)
* --lang, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 130)
* --language, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 180)
* --language, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 54)
* --less-than, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 56)
* --less-than, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 51)
* --locale, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 83)
* --locale, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 106)
* --locale, msgfmt option <2>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 122)
* --locale, msgfmt option <3>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 146)
* --locale, msgfmt option <4>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 184)
* --locale, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 84)
* --locale, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 45)
* --locale, msgunfmt option <1>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 62)
* --locale, msgunfmt option <2>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 78)
* --location, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 65)
* --more-than, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 61)
* --more-than, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 56)
* --msgctxt, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 74)
* --msgid, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 78)
* --msgid-bugs-address, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 472)
* --msgstr, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 82)
* --msgstr-prefix, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 495)
* --msgstr-suffix, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 499)
* --multi-domain, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 35)
* --multi-domain, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 96)
* --newline, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 59)
* --newline, msgfilter option <1>: msgexec Invocation. (line 19)
* --no-changelog, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 50)
* --no-convert, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 287)
* --no-fuzzy, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 45)
* --no-fuzzy-matching, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 39)
* --no-fuzzy-matching, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 107)
* --no-hash, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 320)
* --no-location, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 134)
* --no-location, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 114)
* --no-location, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 96)
* --no-location, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 76)
* --no-location, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 79)
* --no-location, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 157)
* --no-location, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 148)
* --no-location, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 153)
* --no-location, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 93)
* --no-location, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 373)
* --no-obsolete, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 51)
* --no-redundancy, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 293)
* --no-translator, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 91)
* --no-wrap, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 169)
* --no-wrap, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 149)
* --no-wrap, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 131)
* --no-wrap, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 111)
* --no-wrap, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 114)
* --no-wrap, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 192)
* --no-wrap, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 183)
* --no-wrap, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 121)
* --no-wrap, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 188)
* --no-wrap, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 140)
* --no-wrap, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 128)
* --no-wrap, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 417)
* --obsolete, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 99)
* --omit-header, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 146)
* --omit-header, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 433)
* --only-file, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 87)
* --only-fuzzy, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 48)
* --only-obsolete, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 54)
* --output, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 39)
* --output-dir, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 44)
* --output-file, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 30)
* --output-file, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 46)
* --output-file, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 41)
* --output-file, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 30)
* --output-file, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 36)
* --output-file, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 45)
* --output-file, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 59)
* --output-file, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 30)
* --output-file, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 61)
* --output-file, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 51)
* --output-file, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 93)
* --output-file, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 37)
* --package-name, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 465)
* --package-version, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 468)
* --po-dir, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 43)
* --previous, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 77)
* --previous, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 111)
* --properties-input, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 107)
* --properties-input, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 74)
* --properties-input, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 57)
* --properties-input, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 69)
* --properties-input, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 49)
* --properties-input, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 46)
* --properties-input, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 65)
* --properties-input, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 126)
* --properties-input, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 214)
* --properties-input, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 122)
* --properties-input, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 72)
* --properties-input, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 119)
* --properties-input, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 58)
* --properties-output, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 153)
* --properties-output, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 133)
* --properties-output, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 115)
* --properties-output, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 95)
* --properties-output, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 98)
* --properties-output, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 176)
* --properties-output, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 167)
* --properties-output, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 105)
* --properties-output, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 172)
* --properties-output, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 124)
* --properties-output, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 112)
* --properties-output, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 393)
* --qt, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 46)
* --qt, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 329)
* --quiet, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 96)
* --quiet, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 220)
* --regexp=, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 102)
* --repeated, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 47)
* --resource, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 79)
* --resource, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 102)
* --resource, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 41)
* --resource, msgunfmt option <1>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 58)
* --sentence-end, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 160)
* --set-fuzzy, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 65)
* --set-obsolete, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 71)
* --silent, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 96)
* --silent, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 220)
* --sort-by-file, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 181)
* --sort-by-file, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 161)
* --sort-by-file, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 143)
* --sort-by-file, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 123)
* --sort-by-file, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 126)
* --sort-by-file, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 204)
* --sort-by-file, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 193)
* --sort-by-file, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 200)
* --sort-by-file, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 140)
* --sort-by-file, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 430)
* --sort-output, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 176)
* --sort-output, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 156)
* --sort-output, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 138)
* --sort-output, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 118)
* --sort-output, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 121)
* --sort-output, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 199)
* --sort-output, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 189)
* --sort-output, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 195)
* --sort-output, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 147)
* --sort-output, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 135)
* --sort-output, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 424)
* --source, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 91)
* --statistics, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 335)
* --strict, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 147)
* --strict, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 127)
* --strict, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 109)
* --strict, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 89)
* --strict, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 92)
* --strict, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 170)
* --strict, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 62)
* --strict, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 161)
* --strict, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 166)
* --strict, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 118)
* --strict, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 106)
* --strict, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 388)
* --stringtable-input, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 111)
* --stringtable-input, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 78)
* --stringtable-input, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 61)
* --stringtable-input, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 73)
* --stringtable-input, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 50)
* --stringtable-input, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 69)
* --stringtable-input, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 130)
* --stringtable-input, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 218)
* --stringtable-input, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 126)
* --stringtable-input, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 76)
* --stringtable-input, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 123)
* --stringtable-input, msgonv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 53)
* --stringtable-input, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 62)
* --stringtable-output, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 158)
* --stringtable-output, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 138)
* --stringtable-output, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 120)
* --stringtable-output, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 100)
* --stringtable-output, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 103)
* --stringtable-output, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 181)
* --stringtable-output, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 172)
* --stringtable-output, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 110)
* --stringtable-output, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 177)
* --stringtable-output, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 129)
* --stringtable-output, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 117)
* --stringtable-output, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 398)
* --style, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 123)
* --style, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 103)
* --style, msgcat option <1>: The --style option. (line 6)
* --style, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 85)
* --style, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 65)
* --style, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 68)
* --style, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 142)
* --style, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 138)
* --style, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 100)
* --style, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 142)
* --style, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 107)
* --style, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 82)
* --style, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 362)
* --suffix, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 65)
* --symlink, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 55)
* --tcl, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 43)
* --tcl, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 26)
* --template, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 136)
* --template, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 176)
* --to-code, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 86)
* --to-code, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 40)
* --to-code, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 70)
* --translated, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 39)
* --trigraphs, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 324)
* --unique, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 66)
* --unique, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 61)
* --unique, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 51)
* --untranslated, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 42)
* --update, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 44)
* --use-first, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 89)
* --use-first, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 73)
* --use-fuzzy, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 43)
* --use-fuzzy, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 279)
* --use-untranslated, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 49)
* --variables, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 15)
* --verbose, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 341)
* --verbose, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 215)
* --verbose, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 163)
* --verbose, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 514)
* --version, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 42)
* --version, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 25)
* --version, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 45)
* --version, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 72)
* --version, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 192)
* --version, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 172)
* --version, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 73)
* --version, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 157)
* --version, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 134)
* --version, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 137)
* --version, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 81)
* --version, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 215)
* --version, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 332)
* --version, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 204)
* --version, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 135)
* --version, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 211)
* --version, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 159)
* --version, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 151)
* --version, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 40)
* --version, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 510)
* --width, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 163)
* --width, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 143)
* --width, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 125)
* --width, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 105)
* --width, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 108)
* --width, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 186)
* --width, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 177)
* --width, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 115)
* --width, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 182)
* --width, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 134)
* --width, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 122)
* --width, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 411)
* --xml, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 52)
* -<, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 56)
* -<, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 51)
* ->, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 61)
* ->, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 56)
* -a, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 305)
* -a, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 173)
* -c, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 16)
* -c, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 226)
* -C, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 263)
* -C, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 86)
* -C, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 36)
* -c, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 15)
* -C, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 63)
* -c, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 94)
* -d, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 31)
* -d, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 21)
* -d, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 64)
* -D, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 19)
* -D, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 35)
* -D, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 27)
* -D, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 30)
* -D, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 19)
* -D, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 25)
* -D, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 54)
* -D, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 34)
* -D, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 18)
* -d, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 88)
* -d, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 111)
* -d, msgfmt option <2>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 127)
* -d, msgfmt option <3>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 151)
* -d, msgfmt option <4>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 189)
* -D, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 19)
* -D, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 30)
* -d, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 67)
* -d, msgunfmt option <1>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 83)
* -D, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 26)
* -d, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 47)
* -d, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 20)
* -D, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 24)
* -d, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 35)
* -e, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 25)
* -E, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 32)
* -e, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 87)
* -E, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 94)
* -e, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 102)
* -e, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 24)
* -E, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 31)
* -f, autopoint option: autopoint Invocation.
(line 27)
* -f, gettextize option: gettextize Invocation.
(line 40)
* -F, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 181)
* -f, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 30)
* -F, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 161)
* -f, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 25)
* -F, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 143)
* -F, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 123)
* -F, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 126)
* -f, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 91)
* -F, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 204)
* -f, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 279)
* -F, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 98)
* -f, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 106)
* -F, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 200)
* -F, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 140)
* -f, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 19)
* -F, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 430)
* -h, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 21)
* -h, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 37)
* -h, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 188)
* -h, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 168)
* -h, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 69)
* -h, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 153)
* -h, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 130)
* -h, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 133)
* -h, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 77)
* -h, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 211)
* -h, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 328)
* -h, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 200)
* -h, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 131)
* -h, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 207)
* -h, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 155)
* -h, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 147)
* -h, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 36)
* -h, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 506)
* -i, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 131)
* -i, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 111)
* -i, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 93)
* -i, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 73)
* -i, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 76)
* -i, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 50)
* -i, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 30)
* -i, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 110)
* -i, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 51)
* -i, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 150)
* -i, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 115)
* -i, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 90)
* -i, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 370)
* -j, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 30)
* -J, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 74)
* -j, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 16)
* -j, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 85)
* -k, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 140)
* -K, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 78)
* -k, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 182)
* -l, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 83)
* -l, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 106)
* -l, msgfmt option <2>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 122)
* -l, msgfmt option <3>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 146)
* -L, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 180)
* -l, msgfmt option <4>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 184)
* -l, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 84)
* -l, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 45)
* -l, msgunfmt option <1>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 62)
* -l, msgunfmt option <2>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 78)
* -L, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 54)
* -m, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 35)
* -M, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 70)
* -m, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 96)
* -m, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 495)
* -M, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 499)
* -n, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 40)
* -n, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 138)
* -n, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 118)
* -N, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 39)
* -n, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 100)
* -n, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 96)
* -N, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 65)
* -N, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 107)
* -n, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 97)
* -n, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 379)
* -o, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 30)
* -o, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 46)
* -o, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 41)
* -o, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 30)
* -o, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 36)
* -o, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 45)
* -o, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 59)
* -o, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 30)
* -o, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 61)
* -o, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 51)
* -o, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 93)
* -o, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 37)
* -o, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 39)
* -P, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 107)
* -p, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 153)
* -P, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 74)
* -p, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 133)
* -P, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 57)
* -P, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 69)
* -p, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 115)
* -P, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 49)
* -p, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 95)
* -P, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 46)
* -p, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 98)
* -P, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 65)
* -P, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 126)
* -p, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 176)
* -P, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 214)
* -P, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 122)
* -p, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 167)
* -P, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 72)
* -p, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 105)
* -P, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 119)
* -p, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 172)
* -p, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 124)
* -P, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 58)
* -p, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 112)
* -p, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 44)
* -q, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 220)
* -r, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 79)
* -r, msgfmt option <1>: msgfmt Invocation. (line 102)
* -r, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 41)
* -r, msgunfmt option <1>: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 58)
* -s, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 176)
* -s, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 156)
* -s, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 138)
* -s, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 118)
* -s, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 121)
* -s, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 199)
* -s, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 195)
* -s, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 147)
* -s, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 135)
* -s, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 424)
* -t, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 86)
* -t, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 40)
* -T, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 82)
* -t, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 70)
* -T, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 324)
* -u, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 66)
* -u, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 61)
* -U, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 44)
* -u, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 51)
* -v, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 15)
* -V, envsubst option: envsubst Invocation. (line 25)
* -V, gettext option: gettext Invocation. (line 45)
* -V, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 192)
* -V, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 172)
* -V, msgcmp option: msgcmp Invocation. (line 73)
* -V, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 157)
* -V, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 134)
* -V, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 137)
* -V, msgexec option: msgexec Invocation. (line 81)
* -V, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 215)
* -V, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 332)
* -v, msgfmt option: msgfmt Invocation. (line 341)
* -v, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 114)
* -V, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 204)
* -V, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 135)
* -V, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 211)
* -v, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 215)
* -V, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 159)
* -v, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 163)
* -V, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 151)
* -V, ngettext option: ngettext Invocation. (line 40)
* -V, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 510)
* -v, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 514)
* -w, msgattrib option: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 163)
* -w, msgcat option: msgcat Invocation. (line 143)
* -w, msgcomm option: msgcomm Invocation. (line 125)
* -w, msgconv option: msgconv Invocation. (line 105)
* -w, msgen option: msgen Invocation. (line 108)
* -w, msgfilter option: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 186)
* -w, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 177)
* -w, msginit option: msginit Invocation. (line 115)
* -w, msgmerge option: msgmerge Invocation. (line 182)
* -w, msgunfmt option: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 134)
* -w, msguniq option: msguniq Invocation. (line 122)
* -w, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 411)
* -X, msggrep option: msggrep Invocation. (line 90)
* -x, xgettext option: xgettext Invocation. (line 89)

File: gettext.info, Node: Variable Index, Next: PO Mode Index, Prev: Option Index, Up: Top
Variable Index
**************
[index]
* Menu:
* GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED, environment variable: Prioritizing messages.
(line 22)
* LANG, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 15)
* LANG, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 30)
* LANGUAGE, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 11)
* LANGUAGE, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 28)
* LANGUAGE, environment variable <2>: po/Rules-*. (line 11)
* LC_ALL, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 11)
* LC_ALL, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 28)
* LC_COLLATE, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_COLLATE, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LC_CTYPE, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_CTYPE, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LC_MESSAGES, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_MESSAGES, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LC_MONETARY, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_MONETARY, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LC_NUMERIC, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_NUMERIC, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LC_TIME, environment variable: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 12)
* LC_TIME, environment variable <1>: gettext grok. (line 29)
* LINGUAS, environment variable: Installers. (line 17)
* MSGEXEC_LOCATION, environment variable: msgexec Invocation. (line 21)
* MSGEXEC_MSGCTXT, environment variable: msgexec Invocation. (line 21)
* MSGEXEC_MSGID, environment variable: msgexec Invocation. (line 21)
* MSGEXEC_MSGID_PLURAL, environment variable: msgexec Invocation.
(line 21)
* MSGEXEC_PLURAL_FORM, environment variable: msgexec Invocation.
(line 21)
* MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGCTXT, environment variable: msgexec Invocation.
(line 21)
* MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID, environment variable: msgexec Invocation.
(line 21)
* MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL, environment variable: msgexec Invocation.
(line 21)
* MSGFILTER_LOCATION, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_MSGCTXT, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_MSGID, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation. (line 11)
* MSGFILTER_MSGID_PLURAL, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_PLURAL_FORM, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGCTXT, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL, environment variable: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 11)
* OUTPUT_CHARSET, environment variable: Working in a Windows console.
(line 6)
* PO_STYLE, environment variable: The --style option. (line 10)
* TERM, environment variable: The TERM variable. (line 6)
* TEXTDOMAIN, environment variable: sh. (line 27)
* TEXTDOMAINDIR, environment variable: sh. (line 30)

File: gettext.info, Node: PO Mode Index, Next: Autoconf Macro Index, Prev: Variable Index, Up: Top
PO Mode Index
*************
[index]
* Menu:
* #, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 24)
* #, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Comments. (line 45)
* ,, PO Mode command: Marking. (line 43)
* ., PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 20)
* ., PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 45)
* .emacs customizations: Installation. (line 13)
* 0, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 40)
* 0, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 71)
* <, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 29)
* <, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 73)
* =, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 47)
* =, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 86)
* >, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 32)
* >, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 73)
* ?, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 44)
* ?, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 82)
* _, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 30)
* _, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 52)
* a, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 21)
* A, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 28)
* A, PO Mode command <1>: Auxiliary. (line 35)
* a, PO Mode command <1>: Auxiliary. (line 39)
* auxiliary PO file: Auxiliary. (line 13)
* C-c C-a, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 17)
* C-c C-a, PO Mode command <1>: Subedit. (line 34)
* C-c C-a, PO Mode command <2>: Auxiliary. (line 25)
* C-c C-a, PO Mode command <3>: Auxiliary. (line 48)
* C-c C-c, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 11)
* C-c C-c, PO Mode command <1>: Subedit. (line 19)
* C-c C-k, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 14)
* C-c C-k, PO Mode command <1>: Subedit. (line 26)
* C-j, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 26)
* C-j, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 51)
* commands: Main PO Commands. (line 6)
* comment out PO file entry: Obsolete Entries. (line 46)
* consulting program sources: C Sources Context. (line 6)
* consulting translations to other languages: Auxiliary. (line 6)
* current entry of a PO file: Entry Positioning. (line 6)
* cut and paste for translated strings: Modifying Translations.
(line 73)
* DEL, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 58)
* DEL, PO Mode command <1>: Obsolete Entries. (line 32)
* DEL, PO Mode command <2>: Obsolete Entries. (line 46)
* editing comments: Modifying Comments. (line 6)
* editing multiple entries: Subedit. (line 61)
* editing translations: Modifying Translations.
(line 6)
* etags, using for marking strings: Marking. (line 17)
* exiting PO subedit: Subedit. (line 19)
* f, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 29)
* F, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 32)
* f, PO Mode command <1>: Fuzzy Entries. (line 37)
* F, PO Mode command <1>: Fuzzy Entries. (line 37)
* find source fragment for a PO file entry: C Sources Context.
(line 33)
* h, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 44)
* h, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 82)
* installing PO mode: Installation. (line 13)
* k, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 32)
* k, PO Mode command <1>: Untranslated Entries.
(line 39)
* k, PO Mode command <2>: Modifying Translations.
(line 30)
* k, PO Mode command <3>: Modifying Translations.
(line 73)
* K, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 27)
* K, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Comments. (line 59)
* LFD, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 26)
* LFD, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 51)
* looking at the source to aid translation: C Sources Context.
(line 6)
* m, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 35)
* m, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 91)
* M-,, PO Mode command: Marking. (line 47)
* M-., PO Mode command: Marking. (line 50)
* M-A, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 32)
* M-A, PO Mode command <1>: Auxiliary. (line 35)
* M-s, PO Mode command: C Sources Context. (line 41)
* M-S, PO Mode command: C Sources Context. (line 49)
* M-s, PO Mode command <1>: C Sources Context. (line 52)
* M-S, PO Mode command <1>: C Sources Context. (line 88)
* marking strings for translation: Marking. (line 6)
* moving by fuzzy entries: Fuzzy Entries. (line 23)
* moving by obsolete entries: Obsolete Entries. (line 22)
* moving by translated entries: Translated Entries. (line 12)
* moving by untranslated entries: Untranslated Entries.
(line 18)
* moving through a PO file: Entry Positioning. (line 14)
* n, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 23)
* n, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 68)
* next-error, stepping through PO file validation results: Main PO Commands.
(line 98)
* normalize, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 63)
* o, PO Mode command: Obsolete Entries. (line 26)
* O, PO Mode command: Obsolete Entries. (line 29)
* o, PO Mode command <1>: Obsolete Entries. (line 35)
* O, PO Mode command <1>: Obsolete Entries. (line 35)
* obsolete active entry: Obsolete Entries. (line 46)
* p, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 26)
* p, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 68)
* pending subedits: Subedit. (line 72)
* po-auto-edit-with-msgid, PO Mode variable: Modifying Translations.
(line 56)
* po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit, PO Mode variable: Translated Entries.
(line 27)
* po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy, PO Mode variable: Fuzzy Entries. (line 42)
* po-confirm-and-quit, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 61)
* po-consider-as-auxiliary, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 35)
* po-consider-source-path, PO Mode command: C Sources Context.
(line 88)
* po-current-entry, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 45)
* po-cycle-auxiliary, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 39)
* po-cycle-source-reference, PO Mode command: C Sources Context.
(line 52)
* po-edit-comment, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 45)
* po-edit-msgstr, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 41)
* po-exchange-location, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 105)
* po-fade-out-entry, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 58)
* po-fade-out-entry, PO Mode command <1>: Obsolete Entries. (line 46)
* po-first-entry, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 73)
* po-help, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 82)
* po-ignore-as-auxiliary, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 35)
* po-ignore-source-path, PO Mode command: C Sources Context. (line 88)
* po-kill-comment, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 59)
* po-kill-msgstr, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 39)
* po-kill-msgstr, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 73)
* po-kill-ring-save-comment, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments.
(line 59)
* po-kill-ring-save-msgstr, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 73)
* po-last-entry, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 73)
* po-mark-translatable, PO Mode command: Marking. (line 96)
* po-msgid-to-msgstr, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 51)
* po-next-entry, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 68)
* po-next-fuzzy-entry, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 37)
* po-next-obsolete-entry, PO Mode command: Obsolete Entries. (line 35)
* po-next-translated-entry, PO Mode command: Translated Entries.
(line 22)
* po-next-untranslated-entry, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 34)
* po-normalize, PO Mode command: Normalizing. (line 31)
* po-other-window, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 71)
* po-pop-location, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 91)
* po-previous-entry, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 68)
* po-previous-fuzzy-entry, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 37)
* po-previous-obsolete-entry, PO Mode command: Obsolete Entries.
(line 35)
* po-previous-translated-entry, PO Mode command: Translated Entries.
(line 22)
* po-previous-untransted-entry, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 34)
* po-push-location, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 91)
* po-quit, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 61)
* po-select-auxiliary, PO Mode command: Auxiliary. (line 48)
* po-select-mark-and-mark, PO Mode command: Marking. (line 96)
* po-select-source-reference, PO Mode command: C Sources Context.
(line 52)
* po-statistics, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 86)
* po-subedit-abort, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 26)
* po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 34)
* po-subedit-exit, PO Mode command: Subedit. (line 19)
* po-subedit-mode-hook, PO Mode variable: Modifying Comments. (line 56)
* po-tags-search, PO Mode command: Marking. (line 54)
* po-undo, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 52)
* po-unfuzzy, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 42)
* po-validate, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 91)
* po-yank-comment, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 59)
* po-yank-msgstr, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 96)
* Q, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 33)
* q, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 36)
* Q, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 61)
* q, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 61)
* r, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 39)
* r, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 91)
* RET, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 22)
* RET, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 41)
* s, PO Mode command: C Sources Context. (line 37)
* S, PO Mode command: C Sources Context. (line 45)
* s, PO Mode command <1>: C Sources Context. (line 52)
* S, PO Mode command <1>: C Sources Context. (line 88)
* starting a string translation: Modifying Translations.
(line 62)
* string normalization in entries: Normalizing. (line 30)
* subedit minor mode: Subedit. (line 6)
* t, PO Mode command: Translated Entries. (line 16)
* T, PO Mode command: Translated Entries. (line 19)
* t, PO Mode command <1>: Translated Entries. (line 22)
* T, PO Mode command <1>: Translated Entries. (line 22)
* TAB, PO Mode command: Fuzzy Entries. (line 35)
* TAB, PO Mode command <1>: Fuzzy Entries. (line 42)
* TAGS, and marking translatable strings: Marking. (line 30)
* u, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 25)
* U, PO Mode command: Untranslated Entries.
(line 28)
* u, PO Mode command <1>: Untranslated Entries.
(line 34)
* U, PO Mode command <1>: Untranslated Entries.
(line 34)
* use the source, Luke: C Sources Context. (line 6)
* using obsolete translations to make new entries: Modifying Translations.
(line 122)
* using translation compendia: Compendium. (line 6)
* V, PO Mode command: Main PO Commands. (line 50)
* V, PO Mode command <1>: Main PO Commands. (line 91)
* w, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 34)
* w, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 73)
* W, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 31)
* W, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Comments. (line 59)
* x, PO Mode command: Entry Positioning. (line 42)
* x, PO Mode command <1>: Entry Positioning. (line 105)
* y, PO Mode command: Modifying Translations.
(line 38)
* y, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Translations.
(line 96)
* Y, PO Mode command: Modifying Comments. (line 35)
* Y, PO Mode command <1>: Modifying Comments. (line 59)

File: gettext.info, Node: Autoconf Macro Index, Next: Index, Prev: PO Mode Index, Up: Top
Autoconf Macro Index
********************
[index]
* Menu:
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT: AM_GNU_GETTEXT. (line 6)
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED. (line 6)
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION.
(line 6)
* AM_ICONV: AM_ICONV. (line 6)
* AM_PO_SUBDIRS: AM_PO_SUBDIRS. (line 6)
* AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION. (line 6)

File: gettext.info, Node: Index, Prev: Autoconf Macro Index, Up: Top
General Index
*************
[index]
* Menu:
* _, a macro to mark strings for translation: Mark Keywords. (line 45)
* _nl_msg_cat_cntr: gettext grok. (line 59)
* ABOUT-NLS file: Installing Localizations.
(line 13)
* ABOUT-NLS file <1>: The original ABOUT-NLS.
(line 6)
* accumulating translations: Creating Compendia. (line 14)
* aclocal.m4 file: aclocal. (line 6)
* adding keywords, xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 186)
* ambiguities: Preparing Strings. (line 49)
* ANSI encoding: Working in a Windows console.
(line 6)
* apply a filter to translations: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 8)
* apply command to all translations in a catalog: msgexec Invocation.
(line 8)
* Arabic digits: c-format. (line 28)
* attribute manipulation: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 8)
* attribute, fuzzy: Fuzzy Entries. (line 6)
* attributes of a PO file entry: Fuzzy Entries. (line 6)
* attributes, manipulating: Manipulating. (line 56)
* autoconf macros for gettext: autoconf macros. (line 6)
* autopoint program, usage: autopoint Invocation.
(line 6)
* auxiliary PO file: Auxiliary. (line 13)
* available translations: Installing Localizations.
(line 6)
* awk: gawk. (line 6)
* awk-format flag: PO Files. (line 169)
* backup old file, and msgmerge program: msgmerge Invocation. (line 62)
* bash: bash. (line 6)
* bibliography: References. (line 6)
* big picture: Overview. (line 6)
* bind_textdomain_codeset: Charset conversion. (line 26)
* Boost format strings: xgettext Invocation. (line 337)
* boost-format flag: PO Files. (line 197)
* bug report address: Introduction. (line 24)
* C and C-like languages: C. (line 6)
* C trigraphs: xgettext Invocation. (line 324)
* C#: C#. (line 6)
* C# mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 36)
* C# mode, and msgunfmt program: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 19)
* C# resources mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 40)
* C# resources mode, and msgunfmt program: msgunfmt Invocation.
(line 23)
* C#, string concatenation: Preparing Strings. (line 185)
* c++-format flag: PO Files. (line 116)
* c-format flag: PO Files. (line 93)
* c-format, and xgettext: c-format Flag. (line 47)
* catalog encoding and msgexec output: msgexec Invocation. (line 35)
* catclose, a catgets function: Interface to catgets.
(line 44)
* catgets, a catgets function: Interface to catgets.
(line 25)
* catgets, X/Open specification: catgets. (line 6)
* catopen, a catgets function: Interface to catgets.
(line 13)
* character encoding: Aspects. (line 66)
* charset conversion at runtime: Charset conversion. (line 6)
* charset of PO files: Header Entry. (line 101)
* check format strings: msgfmt Invocation. (line 230)
* checking of translations: Manipulating. (line 41)
* clisp: Common Lisp. (line 6)
* clisp C sources: clisp C. (line 6)
* codeset: Aspects. (line 66)
* comments in PO files: PO Files. (line 339)
* comments, automatic: PO Files. (line 36)
* comments, extracted: PO Files. (line 36)
* comments, translator: PO Files. (line 36)
* Common Lisp: Common Lisp. (line 6)
* compare PO files: msgcmp Invocation. (line 8)
* comparison of interfaces: Comparison. (line 6)
* compatibility with X/Open msgfmt: msgfmt Invocation. (line 263)
* compendium: Compendium. (line 6)
* compendium, creating: Creating Compendia. (line 6)
* concatenate PO files: msgcat Invocation. (line 8)
* concatenating PO files into a compendium: Creating Compendia.
(line 14)
* concatenation of strings: Preparing Strings. (line 134)
* config.h.in file: config.h.in. (line 6)
* context: Contexts. (line 6)
* context, argument specification in xgettext: xgettext Invocation.
(line 186)
* context, in MO files: MO Files. (line 71)
* context, in PO files: PO Files. (line 229)
* control characters: Preparing Strings. (line 275)
* convert binary message catalog into PO file: msgunfmt Invocation.
(line 8)
* convert translations to a different encoding: msgconv Invocation.
(line 8)
* converting a package to use gettext: Prerequisites. (line 6)
* country codes: Country Codes. (line 6)
* create new PO file: msginit Invocation. (line 8)
* creating a new PO file: Creating. (line 6)
* creating compendia: Creating Compendia. (line 6)
* csharp-format flag: PO Files. (line 137)
* currency symbols: Aspects. (line 79)
* date format: Aspects. (line 85)
* dcngettext: Plural forms. (line 158)
* dcpgettext: Contexts. (line 56)
* dcpgettext_expr: Contexts. (line 112)
* debugging messages marked as format strings: xgettext Invocation.
(line 341)
* Desktop Entry mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 49)
* dialect: Manipulating. (line 28)
* disabling NLS: lib/gettext.h. (line 6)
* distribution tarball: Release Management. (line 6)
* dngettext: Plural forms. (line 151)
* dollar substitution: envsubst Invocation. (line 8)
* domain ambiguities: Ambiguities. (line 6)
* dpgettext: Contexts. (line 56)
* dpgettext_expr: Contexts. (line 112)
* duplicate elimination: Manipulating. (line 45)
* duplicate removal: msguniq Invocation. (line 8)
* editing comments in PO files: Modifying Comments. (line 6)
* Editing PO Files: Editing. (line 6)
* editing translations: Modifying Translations.
(line 6)
* elisp-format flag: PO Files. (line 153)
* Emacs Lisp: Emacs Lisp. (line 6)
* Emacs PO Mode: PO Mode. (line 6)
* encoding: Aspects. (line 66)
* encoding conversion: Manipulating. (line 17)
* encoding conversion at runtime: Charset conversion. (line 6)
* encoding for your language: Header Entry. (line 130)
* encoding in MO files: MO Files. (line 82)
* encoding list: Header Entry. (line 114)
* encoding of PO files: Header Entry. (line 101)
* environment variables: envsubst Invocation. (line 8)
* envsubst program, usage: envsubst Invocation. (line 6)
* eval_gettext function, usage: eval_gettext Invocation.
(line 6)
* eval_ngettext function, usage: eval_ngettext Invocation.
(line 6)
* eval_npgettext function, usage: eval_npgettext Invocation.
(line 6)
* eval_pgettext function, usage: eval_pgettext Invocation.
(line 6)
* evolution of packages: Overview. (line 127)
* extracting parts of a PO file into a compendium: Creating Compendia.
(line 64)
* FDL, GNU Free Documentation License: GNU FDL. (line 6)
* file format, .mo: MO Files. (line 6)
* file format, .po: PO Files. (line 6)
* files, .po and .mo: Files. (line 6)
* files, .pot: Overview. (line 67)
* filter messages according to attributes: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 8)
* find common messages: msgcomm Invocation. (line 8)
* force use of fuzzy entries: msgfmt Invocation. (line 279)
* format strings: c-format Flag. (line 6)
* Free Pascal: Pascal. (line 6)
* function attribute, __format_arg__: xgettext Invocation. (line 302)
* function attribute, __format__: xgettext Invocation. (line 288)
* fuzzy entries: Fuzzy Entries. (line 6)
* fuzzy flag: PO Files. (line 83)
* gawk: gawk. (line 6)
* gcc-internal-format flag: PO Files. (line 217)
* GCC-source: GCC-source. (line 6)
* generate binary message catalog from PO file: msgfmt Invocation.
(line 8)
* generate translation catalog in English: msgen Invocation. (line 8)
* gettext files: Adjusting Files. (line 6)
* gettext installation: Installation. (line 6)
* gettext interface: Interface to gettext.
(line 6)
* gettext program, usage: gettext Invocation. (line 6)
* gettext vs catgets: Comparison. (line 6)
* gettext, a programmers view: gettext. (line 6)
* gettext.h file: lib/gettext.h. (line 6)
* gettextize program, usage: gettextize Invocation.
(line 34)
* gfc-internal-format flag: PO Files. (line 221)
* GNOME PO file editor: Gtranslator. (line 5)
* GPL, GNU General Public License: GNU GPL. (line 6)
* GUI programs: Contexts. (line 6)
* guile: Scheme. (line 6)
* hash table, inside MO files: MO Files. (line 55)
* he, she, and they: Introduction. (line 15)
* header entry of a PO file: Header Entry. (line 6)
* help option: Preparing Strings. (line 123)
* history of GNU gettext: History. (line 6)
* i18n: Concepts. (line 6)
* importing PO files: Normalizing. (line 54)
* include file libintl.h: Overview. (line 57)
* include file libintl.h <1>: Importing. (line 11)
* include file libintl.h <2>: Comparison. (line 33)
* include file libintl.h <3>: lib/gettext.h. (line 28)
* initialization: Triggering. (line 6)
* initialize new PO file: msginit Invocation. (line 8)
* initialize translations from a compendium: Using Compendia. (line 12)
* installing gettext: Installation. (line 6)
* interface to catgets: Interface to catgets.
(line 6)
* internationalization: Concepts. (line 16)
* inttypes.h: Preparing Strings. (line 150)
* ISO 3166: Country Codes. (line 6)
* ISO 639: Language Codes. (line 6)
* Java: Java. (line 6)
* Java mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 30)
* Java mode, and msgunfmt program: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 16)
* Java, string concatenation: Preparing Strings. (line 185)
* java-format flag: PO Files. (line 128)
* java-printf-format flag: PO Files. (line 133)
* javascript-format flag: PO Files. (line 141)
* KDE format strings: xgettext Invocation. (line 333)
* KDE PO file editor: KBabel. (line 5)
* kde-format flag: PO Files. (line 193)
* keyboard accelerator checking: msgfmt Invocation. (line 267)
* l10n: Concepts. (line 6)
* language codes: Language Codes. (line 6)
* language selection: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 6)
* language selection at runtime: gettext grok. (line 14)
* large package: Ambiguities. (line 6)
* LGPL, GNU Lesser General Public License: GNU LGPL. (line 6)
* libiconv library: AM_ICONV. (line 20)
* libintl for C#: C#. (line 180)
* libintl for Java: Java. (line 109)
* libintl library: AM_GNU_GETTEXT. (line 43)
* librep Lisp: librep. (line 6)
* librep-format flag: PO Files. (line 157)
* License, GNU FDL: GNU FDL. (line 6)
* License, GNU GPL: GNU GPL. (line 6)
* License, GNU LGPL: GNU LGPL. (line 6)
* Licenses: Licenses. (line 6)
* LINGUAS file: po/LINGUAS. (line 6)
* link with libintl: Overview. (line 62)
* Linux: Aspects. (line 128)
* Linux <1>: Overview. (line 62)
* Linux <2>: Header Entry. (line 127)
* Lisp: Common Lisp. (line 6)
* lisp-format flag: PO Files. (line 149)
* list of translation teams, where to find: Header Entry. (line 54)
* locale categories: Aspects. (line 60)
* locale categories <1>: Aspects. (line 117)
* locale category, LC_ALL: Triggering. (line 23)
* locale category, LC_COLLATE: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_CTYPE: Aspects. (line 66)
* locale category, LC_CTYPE <1>: Triggering. (line 23)
* locale category, LC_CTYPE <2>: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_MESSAGES: Aspects. (line 111)
* locale category, LC_MESSAGES <1>: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_MONETARY: Aspects. (line 79)
* locale category, LC_MONETARY <1>: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_NUMERIC: Aspects. (line 96)
* locale category, LC_NUMERIC <1>: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_RESPONSES: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale category, LC_TIME: Aspects. (line 85)
* locale category, LC_TIME <1>: Triggering. (line 52)
* locale program: Header Entry. (line 107)
* localization: Concepts. (line 26)
* lookup message translation: gettext Invocation. (line 9)
* lookup message translation <1>: eval_gettext Invocation.
(line 8)
* lookup message translation with context: eval_pgettext Invocation.
(line 8)
* lookup plural message translation: ngettext Invocation. (line 8)
* lookup plural message translation <1>: eval_ngettext Invocation.
(line 8)
* lookup plural message translation with context: eval_npgettext Invocation.
(line 8)
* lua-format flag: PO Files. (line 173)
* magic signature of MO files: MO Files. (line 9)
* Makefile.in.in extensions: po/Rules-*. (line 6)
* Makevars file: po/Makevars. (line 6)
* manipulating PO files: Manipulating. (line 6)
* marking Perl sources: Perl. (line 97)
* marking string initializers: Special cases. (line 6)
* marking strings that require translation: Mark Keywords. (line 6)
* marking strings, preparations: Preparing Strings. (line 6)
* marking translatable strings: Overview. (line 34)
* markup: Preparing Strings. (line 275)
* menu entries: Contexts. (line 6)
* menu, keyboard accelerator support: msgfmt Invocation. (line 267)
* merge PO files: msgcat Invocation. (line 8)
* merging two PO files: Manipulating. (line 10)
* message catalog files location: Locating Catalogs. (line 6)
* messages: Aspects. (line 111)
* migration from earlier versions of gettext: Prerequisites. (line 6)
* mkinstalldirs file: mkinstalldirs. (line 6)
* mnemonics of menu entries: msgfmt Invocation. (line 267)
* MO files format: MO Files. (line 6)
* modify message attributes: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 59)
* msgattrib program, usage: msgattrib Invocation.
(line 6)
* msgcat program, usage: msgcat Invocation. (line 6)
* msgcmp program, usage: msgcmp Invocation. (line 6)
* msgcomm program, usage: msgcomm Invocation. (line 6)
* msgconv program, usage: msgconv Invocation. (line 6)
* msgctxt: PO Files. (line 229)
* msgen program, usage: msgen Invocation. (line 6)
* msgexec program, usage: msgexec Invocation. (line 6)
* msgfilter filter and catalog encoding: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 62)
* msgfilter program, usage: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 6)
* msgfmt program, usage: msgfmt Invocation. (line 6)
* msggrep program, usage: msggrep Invocation. (line 6)
* msgid: PO Files. (line 60)
* msgid_plural: PO Files. (line 249)
* msginit program, usage: msginit Invocation. (line 6)
* msgmerge program, usage: msgmerge Invocation. (line 6)
* msgstr: PO Files. (line 60)
* msgunfmt program, usage: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 6)
* msguniq program, usage: msguniq Invocation. (line 6)
* multi-line strings: Normalizing. (line 64)
* Native Language Support: Concepts. (line 51)
* Natural Language Support: Concepts. (line 51)
* newlines in PO files: PO Files. (line 334)
* ngettext: Plural forms. (line 82)
* ngettext program, usage: ngettext Invocation. (line 6)
* NLS: Concepts. (line 51)
* no-awk-format flag: PO Files. (line 170)
* no-boost-format flag: PO Files. (line 198)
* no-c++-format flag: PO Files. (line 117)
* no-c-format flag: PO Files. (line 94)
* no-c-format, and xgettext: c-format Flag. (line 47)
* no-csharp-format flag: PO Files. (line 138)
* no-elisp-format flag: PO Files. (line 154)
* no-gcc-internal-format flag: PO Files. (line 218)
* no-gfc-internal-format flag: PO Files. (line 222)
* no-java-format flag: PO Files. (line 129)
* no-java-printf-format flag: PO Files. (line 134)
* no-javascript-format flag: PO Files. (line 142)
* no-kde-format flag: PO Files. (line 194)
* no-librep-format flag: PO Files. (line 158)
* no-lisp-format flag: PO Files. (line 150)
* no-lua-format flag: PO Files. (line 174)
* no-objc-format flag: PO Files. (line 113)
* no-object-pascal-format flag: PO Files. (line 178)
* no-perl-brace-format flag: PO Files. (line 210)
* no-perl-format flag: PO Files. (line 206)
* no-php-format flag: PO Files. (line 214)
* no-python-brace-format flag: PO Files. (line 125)
* no-python-format flag: PO Files. (line 121)
* no-qt-format flag: PO Files. (line 186)
* no-qt-plural-format flag: PO Files. (line 190)
* no-ruby-format flag: PO Files. (line 162)
* no-scheme-format flag: PO Files. (line 146)
* no-sh-format flag: PO Files. (line 166)
* no-smalltalk-format flag: PO Files. (line 182)
* no-tcl-format flag: PO Files. (line 202)
* no-ycp-format flag: PO Files. (line 227)
* nplurals, in a PO file header: Plural forms. (line 177)
* number format: Aspects. (line 96)
* N_, a convenience macro: Comparison. (line 41)
* objc-format flag: PO Files. (line 112)
* Object Pascal: Pascal. (line 6)
* object-pascal-format flag: PO Files. (line 177)
* obsolete entries: Obsolete Entries. (line 6)
* OEM encoding: Working in a Windows console.
(line 6)
* optimization of gettext functions: Optimized gettext. (line 6)
* orthography: Manipulating. (line 28)
* outdigits: c-format. (line 28)
* output to stdout, xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 46)
* overview of gettext: Overview. (line 6)
* package and version declaration in configure.ac: configure.ac.
(line 9)
* package build and installation options: Installers. (line 6)
* package distributors view of gettext: Installers. (line 6)
* package installers view of gettext: Installers. (line 6)
* package maintainers view of gettext: Maintainers. (line 6)
* paragraphs: Preparing Strings. (line 115)
* Pascal: Pascal. (line 6)
* Perl: Perl. (line 6)
* Perl default keywords: Default Keywords. (line 6)
* Perl invalid string interpolation: Interpolation I. (line 6)
* Perl long lines: Long Lines. (line 6)
* Perl parentheses: Parentheses. (line 6)
* Perl pitfalls: Perl Pitfalls. (line 6)
* Perl quote-like expressions: Quote-like Expressions.
(line 6)
* Perl special keywords for hash-lookups: Special Keywords. (line 6)
* Perl valid string interpolation: Interpolation II. (line 6)
* perl-brace-format flag: PO Files. (line 209)
* perl-format flag: PO Files. (line 205)
* pgettext: Contexts. (line 33)
* pgettext_expr: Contexts. (line 112)
* PHP: PHP. (line 6)
* php-format flag: PO Files. (line 213)
* Pike: Pike. (line 6)
* plural form formulas: Plural forms. (line 197)
* plural forms: Plural forms. (line 6)
* plural forms, in MO files: MO Files. (line 74)
* plural forms, in PO files: PO Files. (line 249)
* plural forms, translating: Translating plural forms.
(line 6)
* plural, in a PO file header: Plural forms. (line 177)
* PO files format: PO Files. (line 6)
* PO mode (Emacs) commands: Main PO Commands. (line 6)
* PO template file: Template. (line 6)
* Pology: Other tools. (line 6)
* portability problems with sed: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 73)
* POTFILES.in file: po/POTFILES.in. (line 6)
* po_file_check_all: Checking API. (line 6)
* po_file_create: po_file_t API. (line 10)
* po_file_domains: po_file_t API. (line 41)
* po_file_domain_header: PO Header Entry API. (line 11)
* po_file_free: po_file_t API. (line 36)
* po_file_read: po_file_t API. (line 14)
* po_file_write: po_file_t API. (line 25)
* po_format_list: Format Type API. (line 6)
* po_format_pretty_name: Format Type API. (line 9)
* po_header_field: PO Header Entry API. (line 17)
* po_header_set_field: PO Header Entry API. (line 23)
* po_message_add_filepos: po_filepos_t API. (line 23)
* po_message_check_all: Checking API. (line 11)
* po_message_check_format: Checking API. (line 18)
* po_message_comments: po_message_t API. (line 78)
* po_message_create: po_message_t API. (line 10)
* po_message_extracted_comments: po_message_t API. (line 89)
* po_message_filepos: po_filepos_t API. (line 13)
* po_message_is_format: po_message_t API. (line 159)
* po_message_is_fuzzy: po_message_t API. (line 150)
* po_message_is_obsolete: po_message_t API. (line 141)
* po_message_is_range: po_message_t API. (line 169)
* po_message_iterator: po_message_iterator_t API.
(line 10)
* po_message_iterator_free: po_message_iterator_t API.
(line 17)
* po_message_msgctxt: po_message_t API. (line 19)
* po_message_msgid: po_message_t API. (line 30)
* po_message_msgid_plural: po_message_t API. (line 40)
* po_message_msgstr: po_message_t API. (line 53)
* po_message_msgstr_plural: po_message_t API. (line 64)
* po_message_prev_msgctxt: po_message_t API. (line 101)
* po_message_prev_msgid: po_message_t API. (line 114)
* po_message_prev_msgid_plural: po_message_t API. (line 126)
* po_message_remove_filepos: po_filepos_t API. (line 18)
* po_message_set_comments: po_message_t API. (line 83)
* po_message_set_extracted_comments: po_message_t API. (line 95)
* po_message_set_format: po_message_t API. (line 164)
* po_message_set_fuzzy: po_message_t API. (line 154)
* po_message_set_msgctxt: po_message_t API. (line 24)
* po_message_set_msgid: po_message_t API. (line 34)
* po_message_set_msgid_plural: po_message_t API. (line 46)
* po_message_set_msgstr: po_message_t API. (line 58)
* po_message_set_msgstr_plural: po_message_t API. (line 70)
* po_message_set_obsolete: po_message_t API. (line 145)
* po_message_set_prev_msgctxt: po_message_t API. (line 107)
* po_message_set_prev_msgid: po_message_t API. (line 119)
* po_message_set_prev_msgid_plural: po_message_t API. (line 133)
* po_message_set_range: po_message_t API. (line 175)
* po_next_message: po_message_iterator_t API.
(line 22)
* preparing programs for translation: Sources. (line 6)
* preparing rules for XML translation: Preparing ITS Rules. (line 6)
* preparing shell scripts for translation: Preparing Shell Scripts.
(line 6)
* problems with catgets interface: Problems with catgets.
(line 6)
* programming languages: Language Implementors.
(line 6)
* Python: Python. (line 6)
* python-brace-format flag: PO Files. (line 124)
* python-format flag: PO Files. (line 120)
* Qt format strings: xgettext Invocation. (line 329)
* Qt mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 46)
* qt-format flag: PO Files. (line 185)
* qt-plural-format flag: PO Files. (line 189)
* quotation marks: Header Entry. (line 160)
* quotation marks <1>: po/Rules-*. (line 11)
* quote characters, use in PO files: Header Entry. (line 160)
* range: flag: PO Files. (line 280)
* recode-sr-latin program: msgfilter Invocation.
(line 101)
* related reading: References. (line 6)
* release: Release Management. (line 6)
* RSJ: RST. (line 6)
* RST: RST. (line 6)
* Ruby: Ruby. (line 6)
* ruby-format flag: PO Files. (line 161)
* Scheme: Scheme. (line 6)
* scheme-format flag: PO Files. (line 145)
* scripting languages: Language Implementors.
(line 6)
* search messages in a catalog: msggrep Invocation. (line 8)
* selecting message language: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 6)
* sentence end markers, xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 160)
* sentences: Preparing Strings. (line 55)
* setting up gettext at build time: Installers. (line 6)
* setting up gettext at run time: Locale Environment Variables.
(line 6)
* several domains: Ambiguities. (line 6)
* sex: Introduction. (line 15)
* sh-format flag: PO Files. (line 165)
* she, he, and they: Introduction. (line 15)
* shell format string: envsubst Invocation. (line 8)
* shell scripts: sh. (line 6)
* Smalltalk: Smalltalk. (line 6)
* smalltalk-format flag: PO Files. (line 181)
* sorting msgcat output: msgcat Invocation. (line 156)
* sorting msgmerge output: msgmerge Invocation. (line 195)
* sorting msgunfmt output: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 147)
* sorting output of xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 424)
* specifying plural form in a PO file: Plural forms. (line 177)
* standard output, and msgcat: msgcat Invocation. (line 48)
* standard output, and msgmerge program: msgmerge Invocation. (line 53)
* string concatenation: Preparing Strings. (line 134)
* string normalization in entries: Normalizing. (line 6)
* style: Preparing Strings. (line 32)
* supported languages, msgfmt: msgfmt Invocation. (line 180)
* supported languages, xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 54)
* supported syntax checks, xgettext: xgettext Invocation. (line 124)
* Tcl: Tcl. (line 6)
* Tcl mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 43)
* Tcl mode, and msgunfmt program: msgunfmt Invocation. (line 26)
* tcl-format flag: PO Files. (line 201)
* template PO file: Overview. (line 67)
* testing .po files for equivalence: xgettext Invocation. (line 435)
* Tks scripting language: Tcl. (line 6)
* translated entries: Translated Entries. (line 6)
* translating menu entries: Contexts. (line 6)
* translation aspects: Aspects. (line 6)
* Translation Matrix: Installing Localizations.
(line 6)
* Translation Project: Why. (line 17)
* turning off NLS support: lib/gettext.h. (line 6)
* tutorial of gettext usage: Overview. (line 6)
* unify duplicate translations: msguniq Invocation. (line 8)
* untranslated entries: Untranslated Entries.
(line 6)
* update translations from a compendium: Using Compendia. (line 20)
* upgrading to new versions of gettext: Prerequisites. (line 6)
* version control for backup files, msgmerge: msgmerge Invocation.
(line 67)
* Windows: Working in a Windows console.
(line 6)
* wxWidgets library: wxWidgets. (line 6)
* xargs, and output from msgexec: msgexec Invocation. (line 14)
* xerror: Error Handling. (line 15)
* xerror2: Error Handling. (line 37)
* xgettext program, usage: xgettext Invocation. (line 6)
* XML mode, and msgfmt program: msgfmt Invocation. (line 52)
* xmodmap program, and typing quotation marks: Header Entry. (line 172)
* YaST2 scripting language: YCP. (line 6)
* YCP: YCP. (line 6)
* ycp-format flag: PO Files. (line 226)

Tag Table:
Node: Top2954
Node: Introduction19625
Node: Why21342
Ref: Why-Footnote-124577
Node: Concepts24733
Node: Aspects28188
Node: Files34800
Node: Overview36750
Node: Users46837
Node: System Installation47829
Node: Setting the GUI Locale49505
Node: Setting the POSIX Locale50913
Node: Locale Names51899
Node: Locale Environment Variables54354
Node: The LANGUAGE variable56697
Node: Working in a Windows console58718
Node: Installing Localizations60381
Node: PO Files61671
Ref: PO Files-Footnote-175751
Node: Sources75886
Node: Importing77128
Node: Triggering77816
Node: Preparing Strings81174
Node: Mark Keywords93031
Node: Marking97911
Node: c-format Flag105868
Node: Special cases110060
Node: Bug Report Address112844
Node: Names114823
Node: Libraries119130
Node: Template122531
Node: xgettext Invocation123296
Node: Creating144067
Node: msginit Invocation144976
Node: Header Entry149583
Node: Updating159041
Node: msgmerge Invocation159260
Node: Editing166094
Node: KBabel166458
Node: Gtranslator166582
Node: PO Mode166726
Node: Installation168386
Node: Main PO Commands170386
Node: Entry Positioning175658
Node: Normalizing181303
Node: Translated Entries185864
Node: Fuzzy Entries187273
Node: Untranslated Entries190584
Node: Obsolete Entries192587
Node: Modifying Translations195890
Node: Modifying Comments204036
Node: Subedit208585
Node: C Sources Context212603
Node: Auxiliary217836
Node: Compendium221160
Node: Creating Compendia221779
Node: Using Compendia224322
Node: Manipulating225280
Node: msgcat Invocation229294
Node: msgconv Invocation234757
Node: msggrep Invocation238748
Node: msgfilter Invocation245570
Node: msguniq Invocation253924
Node: msgcomm Invocation258664
Node: msgcmp Invocation263565
Node: msgattrib Invocation265806
Node: msgen Invocation271575
Node: msgexec Invocation275984
Node: Colorizing279308
Node: The --color option280490
Node: The TERM variable282358
Node: The --style option283912
Node: Style rules285290
Node: Customizing less292296
Node: Other tools293751
Node: libgettextpo294415
Node: Error Handling297298
Node: po_file_t API299281
Node: po_message_iterator_t API301499
Node: po_message_t API302720
Node: PO Header Entry API311339
Node: po_filepos_t API312570
Node: Format Type API313726
Node: Checking API314311
Node: Binaries315532
Node: msgfmt Invocation315884
Node: msgunfmt Invocation327460
Node: MO Files332144
Node: Programmers341155
Node: catgets342369
Node: Interface to catgets343775
Node: Problems with catgets345828
Node: gettext346753
Node: Interface to gettext348276
Node: Ambiguities350628
Node: Locating Catalogs353695
Ref: Locating Catalogs-Footnote-1354961
Ref: Locating Catalogs-Footnote-2355193
Node: Charset conversion355346
Node: Contexts357866
Node: Plural forms363486
Ref: Plural forms-Footnote-1380230
Node: Optimized gettext380598
Node: Comparison381949
Node: Using libintl.a386316
Node: gettext grok386771
Node: Temp Programmers389480
Node: Temp Implementations390012
Node: Temp catgets391405
Node: Temp WSI393132
Node: Temp Notes395195
Node: Translators395709
Node: Trans Intro 0396254
Node: Trans Intro 1399091
Node: Discussions401064
Node: Organization404782
Node: Central Coordination406868
Node: National Teams407995
Node: Sub-Cultures410529
Node: Organizational Ideas411447
Node: Mailing Lists412482
Node: Information Flow414319
Node: Translating plural forms416586
Node: Prioritizing messages420029
Node: Maintainers424415
Node: Flat and Non-Flat426386
Node: Prerequisites427904
Node: gettextize Invocation432057
Node: Adjusting Files438745
Node: po/POTFILES.in440530
Node: po/LINGUAS441805
Node: po/Makevars443612
Node: po/Rules-*444601
Node: configure.ac446162
Node: config.guess447975
Node: mkinstalldirs449349
Node: aclocal449696
Node: config.h.in451764
Node: Makefile452531
Node: src/Makefile454822
Node: lib/gettext.h459053
Node: autoconf macros461318
Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT462143
Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION466373
Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_NEED466852
Node: AM_PO_SUBDIRS467772
Node: AM_XGETTEXT_OPTION468604
Node: AM_ICONV469515
Node: Version Control Issues471900
Node: Distributed Development472655
Node: Files under Version Control474659
Node: Translations under Version Control478150
Ref: Translations under Version Control-Footnote-1480226
Node: autopoint Invocation480316
Node: Release Management482702
Node: Installers483243
Node: Programming Languages484506
Node: Language Implementors485289
Node: Programmers for other Languages491263
Node: Translators for other Languages491857
Node: c-format493822
Node: objc-format495556
Node: c++-format495916
Node: python-format496480
Node: java-format497256
Node: csharp-format498171
Node: javascript-format498558
Node: scheme-format499351
Node: lisp-format499629
Node: elisp-format499989
Node: librep-format500487
Node: ruby-format500890
Node: sh-format501666
Node: awk-format502514
Node: lua-format502829
Node: object-pascal-format503170
Node: smalltalk-format503563
Node: qt-format504102
Node: qt-plural-format504545
Node: kde-format504904
Node: kde-kuit-format505336
Node: boost-format505978
Node: tcl-format506571
Node: perl-format506875
Node: php-format507670
Node: gcc-internal-format508046
Node: gfc-internal-format509205
Node: ycp-format509955
Node: Maintainers for other Languages510353
Node: List of Programming Languages511293
Node: C512702
Node: Python514263
Node: Java516824
Node: C#522982
Node: JavaScript532516
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