1Notes on the Free Translation Project 2************************************* 3 4 Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project 5is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all 6together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages. 7A few packages already provide translations for their messages. 8 9 If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may 10assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally, 11itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_ 12need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using 13this package with messages translated. 14 15 Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also 16explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the 17available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and 18work at translations should contact the appropriate team. 19 20 When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be 21related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of 22`gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the 23`intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages. 24 25Quick configuration advice 26========================== 27 28 If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you 29should configure it using 30 31 ./configure --with-included-gettext 32 33to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this 34package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the 35operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only 36the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as 37many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic 38charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here. 39It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top 40of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will 41very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea 42to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible. 43 44 So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or 45you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the 46included `libintl'. 47 48INSTALL Matters 49=============== 50 51 Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the 52programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language. 53Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own 54ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'. 55 56 By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of 57messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already 58provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own 59library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this 60package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of 61the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use 62special options at configuration time for changing the default 63behaviour. The commands: 64 65 ./configure --with-included-gettext 66 ./configure --disable-nls 67 68will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the 69internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else, 70_totally_ disable translation of messages. 71 72 When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run 73configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will 74probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and 75will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You 76should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e. 77if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this 78package is more recent, you should use 79 80 ./configure --with-included-gettext 81 82to prevent auto-detection. 83 84 The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function 85and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an 86emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the 87extensions of the GNU `gettext' library. 88 89 Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where 90LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless 91translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the 92`--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed 93together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' 94may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set. 95`LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter 96codes, stating which languages are allowed. 97 98Using This Package 99================== 100 101 As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you 102only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate 103`LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, 104and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's 105suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell 106prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'), 107`export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash'). 108This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for 109all. 110 111 You might think that the country code specification is redundant. 112But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For 113example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The 114country code serves to distinguish the dialects. 115 116 The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the 117language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based 118on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are 119used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of 120locales supported by your system for your country by running the command 121`locale -a | grep '^LL''. 122 123 Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an 124English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you 125understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages. 126This is done through a different environment variable, called 127`LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG' 128for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG' 129set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the 130system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather 131read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not 132available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'. 133 134 In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG' 135environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL' 136to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent 137to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT' 138(Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context. 139 140Translating Teams 141================= 142 143 For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested 144people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also 145able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language. 146Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of 147teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage, 148`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams" 149area. 150 151 If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you 152should become a member of the translating team for your own language. 153The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has 154`-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a 155message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body: 156 157 subscribe 158 159 Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate 160_actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties, 161rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and 162you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to 163get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the 164coordinator for all translator teams. 165 166 The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing 167the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than 168programming skill, here. 169 170Available Packages 171================== 172 173 Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following 174matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of April 1752002. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages 176PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a 177translation percentage of at least 50%. 178 179 Ready PO files bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr 180 +-------------------------------------+ 181 a2ps | [] [] [] [] | 182 bash | [] [] [] [] | 183 bfd | [] [] | 184 binutils | [] [] | 185 bison | [] [] [] [] | 186 clisp | [] [] [] [] | 187 cpio | [] [] [] [] | 188 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 189 enscript | [] [] | 190 error | [] [] | 191 fetchmail | [] () [] [] [] () | 192 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 193 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 194 flex | [] [] [] [] [] | 195 gas | [] [] | 196 gawk | [] [] [] | 197 gcal | [] [] | 198 gcc | [] [] | 199 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] | 200 gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 201 gprof | [] [] | 202 gpsdrive | () () () () () | 203 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 204 gretl | | 205 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 206 id-utils | [] [] [] | 207 indent | [] [] [] [] [] | 208 jpilot | () [] [] [] | 209 jwhois | [] [] | 210 kbd | [] [] | 211 ld | [] [] | 212 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 213 lilypond | [] [] | 214 lynx | [] [] [] [] | 215 m4 | [] [] [] [] [] | 216 make | [] [] [] [] | 217 mysecretdiary | [] [] | 218 nano | [] () [] [] [] [] | 219 nano_1_0 | [] () [] [] [] [] | 220 opcodes | [] [] [] | 221 parted | [] [] [] [] [] | 222 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] | 223 python | | 224 recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 225 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 226 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 227 sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 228 sketch | () [] () | 229 soundtracker | [] [] [] | 230 sp | [] | 231 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 232 texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] | 233 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 234 util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 235 vorbis-tools | | 236 wastesedge | | 237 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 238 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 239 +-------------------------------------+ 240 bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr 241 2 14 11 31 40 10 1 8 41 16 1 50 242 243 gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn 244 +-------------------------------------+ 245 a2ps | () () [] | 246 bash | | 247 bfd | [] | 248 binutils | [] | 249 bison | [] [] | 250 clisp | [] | 251 cpio | [] [] [] | 252 diffutils | [] [] [] [] | 253 enscript | [] [] | 254 error | [] | 255 fetchmail | [] | 256 fileutils | [] [] [] | 257 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 258 flex | [] | 259 gas | | 260 gawk | [] | 261 gcal | | 262 gcc | | 263 gettext | [] [] | 264 gnupg | [] [] [] [] | 265 gprof | | 266 gpsdrive | () () | 267 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 268 gretl | | 269 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 270 id-utils | [] | 271 indent | [] [] [] | 272 jpilot | () () | 273 jwhois | [] | 274 kbd | | 275 ld | | 276 libc | [] [] [] [] | 277 lilypond | [] [] | 278 lynx | [] [] [] | 279 m4 | [] [] [] [] | 280 make | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 281 mysecretdiary | | 282 nano | [] [] [] () [] [] [] | 283 nano_1_0 | [] [] [] () [] [] | 284 opcodes | [] | 285 parted | [] [] [] | 286 ptx | [] [] [] [] | 287 python | | 288 recode | [] [] [] | 289 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 290 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] | 291 sharutils | [] [] [] | 292 sketch | () | 293 soundtracker | [] | 294 sp | | 295 tar | [] [] [] [] [] | 296 texinfo | [] [] [] | 297 textutils | [] [] [] | 298 util-linux | () [] | 299 vorbis-tools | | 300 wastesedge | | 301 wdiff | [] [] | 302 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 303 +-------------------------------------+ 304 gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn 305 23 9 8 4 12 12 25 9 1 8 20 4 306 307 no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_TW 308 +----------------------------------------+ 309 a2ps | () () () [] [] [] [] () | 9 310 bash | | 4 311 bfd | [] [] | 5 312 binutils | [] | 4 313 bison | [] [] [] | 9 314 clisp | | 5 315 cpio | [] [] [] [] | 11 316 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16 317 enscript | [] [] [] | 7 318 error | [] [] [] | 6 319 fetchmail | () () [] | 6 320 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 13 321 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19 322 flex | [] [] [] | 9 323 gas | [] | 3 324 gawk | [] [] | 6 325 gcal | [] [] | 4 326 gcc | [] | 3 327 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 13 328 gnupg | [] [] [] | 13 329 gprof | [] [] | 4 330 gpsdrive | () | 0 331 grep | [] [] [] [] | 17 332 gretl | | 0 333 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 27 334 id-utils | [] [] | 6 335 indent | [] [] [] [] | 12 336 jpilot | () () [] | 4 337 jwhois | () () [] [] | 5 338 kbd | [] [] | 4 339 ld | [] [] | 4 340 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17 341 lilypond | [] | 5 342 lynx | [] [] [] | 10 343 m4 | [] [] [] | 12 344 make | [] [] [] [] | 14 345 mysecretdiary | [] [] | 4 346 nano | () [] [] [] [] | 15 347 nano_1_0 | () [] [] [] [] | 14 348 opcodes | [] [] | 6 349 parted | [] [] [] | 11 350 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15 351 python | | 0 352 recode | [] [] [] [] | 13 353 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21 354 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 22 355 sharutils | [] [] [] [] | 13 356 sketch | [] () | 3 357 soundtracker | [] | 5 358 sp | | 1 359 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18 360 texinfo | [] [] | 10 361 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 13 362 util-linux | [] [] [] | 10 363 vorbis-tools | [] | 1 364 wastesedge | | 0 365 wdiff | [] [] [] [] | 12 366 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 23 367 +----------------------------------------+ 368 35 teams no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_TW 369 58 domains 5 16 2 14 27 11 11 41 36 4 9 536 370 371 Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of 372visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are 373used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language 374dialects. 375 376 For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to 377which it applies should also have been internationalized and 378distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable 379lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a 380distribution. 381 382 If April 2002 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of 383this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most up-to-date 384matrix with full percentage details can be found at 385`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'. 386 387Using `gettext' in new packages 388=============================== 389 390 If you are writing a freely available program and want to 391internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your 392package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public 393License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means 394in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared 395library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static 396library or use modified versions of `libintl'. 397 398 Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle 399to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The 400Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not 401developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above 402applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact 403`translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to 404the translation teams. 405 406