GNU Info

Info Node: (gettext.info)Prerequisites

(gettext.info)Prerequisites


Next: gettextize Invocation Prev: Flat and Non-Flat Up: Maintainers
Enter node , (file) or (file)node

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 got 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's in the `intl/' and `po/' therefore know
     about all the goals necessary for using `automake' and `libintl'
     in one project.

     Those four packages are only needed to 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.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 authentify the origin of the submission as being the representative
of the appropriate translating teams of the Translation Project (forward
the submission to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' 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 to 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.  The simplest might be to send them the
`ABOUT-NLS' file.

   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 issue 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 team's problem on your own.


automatically generated by info2www version 1.2.2.9