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by Daniel Holbach
Import upstream version 0.9.9.2 |
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Notes on the Free Translation Project |
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*************************************
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Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project |
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is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all |
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together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages. |
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A few packages already provide translations for their messages. |
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If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may |
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assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally, |
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itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_ |
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need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using |
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this package with messages translated.
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Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also
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explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
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available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and
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work at translations should contact the appropriate team.
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When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be |
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related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of |
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`gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the |
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`intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages. |
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Quick configuration advice |
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==========================
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If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you |
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should configure it using |
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./configure --with-included-gettext |
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to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this |
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package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the |
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operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only |
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the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as |
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many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic
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charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here.
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It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top
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of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will |
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very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea
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to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible. |
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So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or |
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you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the |
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included `libintl'. |
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INSTALL Matters
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===============
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Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the
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programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language.
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Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own |
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ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'. |
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By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
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messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already
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provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own |
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library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this
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package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of |
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the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use |
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special options at configuration time for changing the default
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behaviour. The commands:
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./configure --with-included-gettext
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./configure --disable-nls
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will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the |
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internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else, |
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_totally_ disable translation of messages. |
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When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run |
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configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will |
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probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and |
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will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You
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should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e. |
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if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this |
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package is more recent, you should use
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./configure --with-included-gettext
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to prevent auto-detection.
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The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function |
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and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an |
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emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the |
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extensions of the GNU `gettext' library. |
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Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where |
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LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless |
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translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the |
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`--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed |
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together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' |
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may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set.
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`LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter |
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codes, stating which languages are allowed. |
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Using This Package |
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==================
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As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you |
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only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate |
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`LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, |
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and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's |
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suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell
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prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'), |
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`export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash'). |
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This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for |
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all.
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You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
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But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For
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example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The |
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country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
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The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the |
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language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based |
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on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are |
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used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of |
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locales supported by your system for your country by running the command |
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`locale -a | grep '^LL''. |
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Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
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English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
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understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
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This is done through a different environment variable, called
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`LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG' |
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for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG'
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set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the |
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system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather |
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read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not |
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available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'. |
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In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG' |
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environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL' |
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to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent |
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to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT' |
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(Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
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Translating Teams
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=================
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For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested
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people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
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able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
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Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of
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teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage, |
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`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams" |
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area.
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If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you |
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should become a member of the translating team for your own language. |
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The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has |
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`-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a |
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message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body: |
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subscribe
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Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate |
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_actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties, |
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rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and |
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you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to |
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get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the |
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coordinator for all translator teams.
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The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
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the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than
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programming skill, here.
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Available Packages
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==================
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Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following
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matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of August
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2002. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages
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PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
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translation percentage of at least 50%.
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Ready PO files be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
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+----------------------------------------+
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a2ps | [] [] [] [] |
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ap-utils | |
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bash | [] [] [] [] |
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bfd | [] [] |
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binutils | [] [] |
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bison | [] [] [] [] |
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clisp | |
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clisp | [] [] [] [] |
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clisplow | |
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cpio | [] [] [] [] |
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darkstat | () |
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diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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enscript | [] [] |
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error | [] [] [] |
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fetchmail | [] () [] [] [] () |
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fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
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findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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flex | [] [] [] [] [] |
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gas | [] [] |
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gawk | [] [] [] |
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gcal | [] [] |
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gcc | [] [] |
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gettext | [] [] [] [] [] |
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gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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gprof | [] [] |
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gpsdrive | () () () () () |
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grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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gretl | [] |
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gthumb | () () () |
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hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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id-utils | [] [] [] |
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indent | [] [] [] [] [] |
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jpilot | () [] [] [] |
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jwhois | [] [] |
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kbd | [] [] [] |
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ld | [] [] |
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libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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libiconv | [] [] [] [] |
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lifelines | () () |
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lilypond | [] [] |
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lingoteach | [] [] |
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lingoteach_lessons| () () |
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lynx | [] [] [] [] [] |
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m4 | [] [] [] [] [] |
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make | [] [] [] [] |
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man-db | [] () () [] () () |
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mysecretdiary | [] [] [] |
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nano | [] () [] [] [] [] |
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nano_1_0 | [] () [] [] [] [] |
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opcodes | [] [] [] |
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parted | [] [] [] [] [] |
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ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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python | |
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recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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sh-utils | [] [] [] [] |
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sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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sketch | () [] () |
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soundtracker | [] [] [] |
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sp | [] |
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tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] |
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textutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
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util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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vorbis-tools | [] |
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wastesedge | |
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wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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+----------------------------------------+
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be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
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0 2 19 10 30 44 9 1 12 44 17 6 53
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gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
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+-------------------------------------+
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a2ps | () () [] |
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ap-utils | |
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bash | [] |
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bfd | [] |
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binutils | [] |
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bison | [] [] [] [] |
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clisp | |
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clisp | [] |
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clisplow | |
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cpio | [] [] [] [] |
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darkstat | |
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diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
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enscript | [] [] |
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error | [] |
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fetchmail | [] |
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fileutils | [] [] [] |
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findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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flex | [] |
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gas | |
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gawk | [] |
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gcal | |
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gcc | [] |
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gettext | [] [] |
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gnupg | [] [] [] [] |
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gprof | [] |
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gpsdrive | [] () () |
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grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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gretl | |
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gthumb | () () |
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hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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id-utils | [] [] |
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indent | [] [] [] [] |
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jpilot | () () |
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jwhois | [] [] |
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kbd | |
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ld | |
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libc | [] [] [] [] |
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libiconv | [] [] [] |
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lifelines | |
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lilypond | [] |
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295 |
lingoteach | [] |
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lingoteach_lessons| |
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lynx | [] [] [] [] |
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298 |
m4 | [] [] [] [] |
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299 |
make | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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300 |
man-db | () () |
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mysecretdiary | [] |
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nano | [] [] [] [] |
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nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] [] |
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304 |
opcodes | [] [] |
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305 |
parted | [] [] [] |
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306 |
ptx | [] [] [] [] [] |
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python | |
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308 |
recode | [] [] [] |
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309 |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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sh-utils | [] [] [] |
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311 |
sharutils | [] [] [] |
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sketch | () |
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313 |
soundtracker | [] [] |
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sp | |
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tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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texinfo | [] [] [] |
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textutils | [] [] [] [] |
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util-linux | () [] |
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vorbis-tools | [] |
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wastesedge | |
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wdiff | [] [] [] |
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wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
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+-------------------------------------+
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gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
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23 9 12 19 16 13 26 9 1 7 19 3
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no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
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+----------------------------------------------+
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329 |
a2ps | () () () [] [] [] [] [] | 10
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330 |
ap-utils | () | 0
|
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331 |
bash | [] | 6
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332 |
bfd | [] [] | 5
|
|
333 |
binutils | [] [] | 5
|
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334 |
bison | [] [] [] [] | 12
|
|
335 |
clisp | | 0
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|
336 |
clisp | | 5
|
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337 |
clisplow | | 0
|
|
338 |
cpio | [] [] [] [] | 12
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|
339 |
darkstat | [] [] () () | 2
|
|
340 |
diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17
|
|
341 |
enscript | [] [] [] [] | 8
|
|
342 |
error | [] [] [] | 7
|
|
343 |
fetchmail | () () [] | 6
|
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344 |
fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 14
|
|
345 |
findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21
|
|
346 |
flex | [] [] [] | 9
|
|
347 |
gas | [] | 3
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|
348 |
gawk | [] [] | 6
|
|
349 |
gcal | [] [] | 4
|
|
350 |
gcc | [] | 4
|
|
351 |
gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 13
|
|
352 |
gnupg | [] [] [] | 14
|
|
353 |
gprof | [] [] | 5
|
|
354 |
gpsdrive | [] [] | 3
|
|
355 |
grep | [] [] [] [] [] | 20
|
|
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gretl | | 1
|
|
357 |
gthumb | () () [] | 1
|
|
358 |
hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 28
|
|
359 |
id-utils | [] [] [] [] | 9
|
|
360 |
indent | [] [] [] [] [] | 14
|
|
361 |
jpilot | () () [] [] | 5
|
|
362 |
jwhois | [] () () [] [] | 7
|
|
363 |
kbd | [] [] | 5
|
|
364 |
ld | [] [] | 4
|
|
365 |
libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18
|
|
366 |
libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] | 12
|
|
367 |
lifelines | [] | 1
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|
368 |
lilypond | [] | 4
|
|
369 |
lingoteach | [] [] | 5
|
|
370 |
lingoteach_lessons| () | 0
|
|
371 |
lynx | [] [] [] [] | 13
|
|
372 |
m4 | [] [] [] [] | 13
|
|
373 |
make | [] [] [] [] [] | 15
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|
374 |
man-db | | 3
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|
375 |
mysecretdiary | [] [] [] | 7
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|
376 |
nano | [] [] [] [] | 13
|
|
377 |
nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] | 14
|
|
378 |
opcodes | [] [] [] | 8
|
|
379 |
parted | [] [] [] [] | 12
|
|
380 |
ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19
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|
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python | | 0
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|
382 |
recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15
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|
383 |
sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
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|
384 |
sh-utils | [] [] | 9
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|
385 |
sharutils | [] [] [] [] | 14
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|
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sketch | [] () [] | 4
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|
387 |
soundtracker | [] | 6
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sp | | 1
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tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19
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|
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texinfo | [] [] | 10
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|
391 |
textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 14
|
|
392 |
util-linux | [] [] [] | 10
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|
393 |
vorbis-tools | [] | 3
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wastesedge | | 0
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|
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wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] | 14
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396 |
wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
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+----------------------------------------------+
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37 teams no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
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68 domains 4 15 2 28 28 12 10 49 43 4 1 9 609
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||
401 |
Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
|
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402 |
visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are
|
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403 |
used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
|
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404 |
dialects.
|
|
405 |
||
406 |
For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
|
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407 |
which it applies should also have been internationalized and
|
|
408 |
distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable
|
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409 |
lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a
|
|
410 |
distribution.
|
|
411 |
||
412 |
If August 2002 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of
|
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413 |
this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most up-to-date |
|
414 |
matrix with full percentage details can be found at |
|
415 |
`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'. |
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||
417 |
Using `gettext' in new packages |
|
418 |
===============================
|
|
419 |
||
420 |
If you are writing a freely available program and want to |
|
421 |
internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your |
|
422 |
package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public
|
|
423 |
License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means |
|
424 |
in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared |
|
425 |
library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static |
|
426 |
library or use modified versions of `libintl'. |
|
427 |
||
428 |
Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
|
|
429 |
to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The |
|
430 |
Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not |
|
431 |
developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above |
|
432 |
applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact |
|
433 |
`translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to |
|
434 |
the translation teams. |
|
435 |