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1 Notes on the Free Translation Project
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2 *************************************
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3
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4 Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project
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5 is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all
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6 together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages.
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7 A few packages already provide translations for their messages.
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8
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9 If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may
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10 assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally,
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11 itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_
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12 need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using
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13 this package with messages translated.
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14
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15 Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also
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16 explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
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17 available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and
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18 work at translations should contact the appropriate team.
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19
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20 When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be
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21 related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of
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22 `gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the
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23 `intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages.
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24
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25 Quick configuration advice
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26 ==========================
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27
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28 If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you
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29 should configure it using
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30
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31 ./configure --with-included-gettext
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32
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33 to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this
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34 package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the
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35 operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only
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36 the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as
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37 many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic
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38 charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here.
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39 It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top
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40 of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will
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41 very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea
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42 to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible.
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43
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44 So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or
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45 you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the
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46 included `libintl'.
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47
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48 INSTALL Matters
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49 ===============
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50
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51 Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the
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52 programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language.
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53 Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own
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54 ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'.
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55
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56 By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
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57 messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already
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58 provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own
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59 library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this
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60 package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of
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61 the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use
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62 special options at configuration time for changing the default
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63 behaviour. The commands:
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64
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65 ./configure --with-included-gettext
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66 ./configure --disable-nls
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67
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68 will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the
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69 internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else,
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70 _totally_ disable translation of messages.
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71
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72 When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run
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73 configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will
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74 probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and
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75 will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You
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76 should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e.
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77 if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this
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78 package is more recent, you should use
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79
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80 ./configure --with-included-gettext
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81
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82 to prevent auto-detection.
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83
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84 The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function
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85 and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an
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86 emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the
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87 extensions of the GNU `gettext' library.
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88
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89 Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where
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90 LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless
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91 translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the
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92 `--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed
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93 together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS'
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94 may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set.
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95 `LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter
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96 codes, stating which languages are allowed.
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97
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98 Using This Package
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99 ==================
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100
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101 As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you
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102 only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate
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103 `LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code,
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104 and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's
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105 suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell
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106 prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'),
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107 `export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash').
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108 This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for
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109 all.
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110
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111 You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
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112 But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For
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113 example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The
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114 country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
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115
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116 Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
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117 English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
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118 understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
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119 This is done through a different environment variable, called
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120 `LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG'
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121 for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG'
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122 set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the
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123 system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather
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124 read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not
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125 available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'.
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126
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127 In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG'
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128 environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL'
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129 to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent
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130 to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT'
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131 (Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
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132
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133 Translating Teams
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134 =================
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135
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136 For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested
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137 people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
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138 able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
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139 Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of
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140 teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage,
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141 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams"
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142 area.
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143
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144 If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you
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145 should become a member of the translating team for your own language.
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146 The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has
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147 `-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a
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148 message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body:
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149
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150 subscribe
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151
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152 Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate
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153 _actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties,
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154 rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and
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155 you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to
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156 get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the
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157 coordinator for all translator teams.
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158
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159 The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
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160 the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than
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161 programming skill, here.
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162
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163 Available Packages
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164 ==================
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165
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166 Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following
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167 matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of September
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168 2001. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages
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169 PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
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170 translation percentage of at least 50%.
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171
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172 Ready PO files bg cs da de el en eo es et fi fr gl he hr id it ja
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173 +----------------------------------------------------+
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174 a2ps | [] [] [] |
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175 bash | [] [] [] [] |
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176 bfd | |
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177 binutils | [] |
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178 bison | [] [] [] [] [] |
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179 clisp | [] [] [] [] |
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180 cpio | [] [] [] [] [] |
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181 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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182 enscript | [] [] |
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183 error | [] [] |
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184 fetchmail | |
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185 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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186 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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187 flex | [] [] [] |
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188 freetype | |
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189 gas | |
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190 gawk | [] [] |
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191 gcal | |
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192 gcc | |
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193 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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194 gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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195 gprof | |
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196 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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197 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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198 id-utils | [] [] [] |
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199 indent | [] [] [] [] [] |
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200 jpilot | [] |
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201 kbd | |
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202 ld | [] |
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203 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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204 lilypond | [] |
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205 lynx | [] [] [] [] |
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206 m4 | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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207 make | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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208 mysecretdiary | [] |
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209 nano | [] [] [] |
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210 opcodes | |
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211 parted | [] [] [] |
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212 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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213 python | |
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214 recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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215 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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216 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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217 sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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218 sketch | |
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219 soundtracker | [] [] [] |
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220 sp | |
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221 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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222 texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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223 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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224 util-linux | [] [] |
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225 wdiff | [] [] [] |
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226 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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227 +----------------------------------------------------+
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228 bg cs da de el en eo es et fi fr gl he hr id it ja
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229 0 14 24 32 11 1 8 23 13 1 33 22 4 0 7 9 18
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230
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231 ko lv nb nl nn no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh
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232 +----------------------------------------------------+
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233 a2ps | [] [] [] | 6
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234 bash | | 4
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235 bfd | | 0
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236 binutils | | 1
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237 bison | [] | 6
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238 clisp | [] | 5
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239 cpio | [] [] [] [] [] | 10
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240 diffutils | [] [] [] [] | 11
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241 enscript | [] [] [] | 5
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242 error | [] [] | 4
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243 fetchmail | | 0
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244 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17
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245 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16
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246 flex | [] [] [] | 6
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247 freetype | | 0
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248 gas | | 0
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249 gawk | [] | 3
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250 gcal | | 0
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251 gcc | | 0
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252 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18
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253 gnupg | [] [] [] | 10
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254 gprof | | 0
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255 grep | [] [] [] [] | 12
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256 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 22
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257 id-utils | [] [] [] | 6
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258 indent | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 12
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259 jpilot | | 1
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260 kbd | [] | 1
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261 ld | | 1
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262 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16
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263 lilypond | [] [] | 3
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264 lynx | [] [] [] [] | 8
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265 m4 | [] [] [] [] | 12
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266 make | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 12
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267 mysecretdiary | | 1
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268 nano | [] | 4
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269 opcodes | [] | 1
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270 parted | [] [] | 5
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271 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15
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272 python | | 0
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273 recode | [] [] [] [] | 13
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274 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19
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275 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21
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276 sharutils | [] [] [] | 11
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277 sketch | | 0
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278 soundtracker | | 3
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279 sp | | 0
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280 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15
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281 texinfo | [] | 7
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282 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16
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283 util-linux | [] [] | 4
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284 wdiff | [] [] [] [] | 7
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285 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17
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286 +----------------------------------------------------+
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287 33 teams ko lv nb nl nn no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh
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288 53 domains 9 1 6 20 0 6 17 1 13 25 10 11 23 21 2 2 387
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289
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290 Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
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291 visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are
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292 used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
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293 dialects.
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294
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295 For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
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296 which it applies should also have been internationalized and
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297 distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable
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298 lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a
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299 distribution.
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300
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301 If September 2001 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy
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302 of this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most
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303 up-to-date matrix with full percentage details can be found at
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304 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'.
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305
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306 Using `gettext' in new packages
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307 ===============================
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308
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309 If you are writing a freely available program and want to
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310 internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your
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311 package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public
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312 License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means
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313 in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared
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314 library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static
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315 library or use modified versions of `libintl'.
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316
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317 Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
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318 to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The
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319 Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not
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320 developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above
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321 applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact
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322 `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to
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323 the translation teams.
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324
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