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<HTML>
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<!-- This HTML file has been created by texi2html 1.52a
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from gettext.texi on 9 December 2003 -->
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<TITLE>GNU gettext utilities - 2 PO Files and PO Mode Basics</TITLE> |
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<BODY>
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Go to the <A HREF="gettext_1.html">first</A>, <A HREF="gettext_1.html">previous</A>, <A HREF="gettext_3.html">next</A>, <A HREF="gettext_22.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="gettext_toc.html">table of contents</A>. |
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<P><HR><P> |
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<H1><A NAME="SEC7" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC7">2 PO Files and PO Mode Basics</A></H1> |
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<P>
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The GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> toolset helps programmers and translators |
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at producing, updating and using translation files, mainly those |
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PO files which are textual, editable files. This chapter stresses |
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the format of PO files, and contains a PO mode starter. PO mode |
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description is spread throughout this manual instead of being concentrated |
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in one place. Here we present only the basics of PO mode. |
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</P>
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<H2><A NAME="SEC8" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC8">2.1 Completing GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> Installation</A></H2> |
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX39"></A> |
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<A NAME="IDX40"></A> |
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Once you have received, unpacked, configured and compiled the GNU |
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<CODE>gettext</CODE> distribution, the <SAMP>`make install´</SAMP> command puts in |
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place the programs <CODE>xgettext</CODE>, <CODE>msgfmt</CODE>, <CODE>gettext</CODE>, and |
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<CODE>msgmerge</CODE>, as well as their available message catalogs. To |
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top off a comfortable installation, you might also want to make the |
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PO mode available to your Emacs users. |
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</P>
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX41"></A> |
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<A NAME="IDX42"></A> |
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During the installation of the PO mode, you might want to modify your |
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file <TT>`.emacs´</TT>, once and for all, so it contains a few lines looking |
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like: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
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(setq auto-mode-alist |
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(cons '("\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\." . po-mode) auto-mode-alist))
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(autoload 'po-mode "po-mode" "Major mode for translators to edit PO files" t) |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Later, whenever you edit some <TT>`.po´</TT> |
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file, or any file having the string <SAMP>`.po.´</SAMP> within its name, |
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Emacs loads <TT>`po-mode.elc´</TT> (or <TT>`po-mode.el´</TT>) as needed, and |
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automatically activates PO mode commands for the associated buffer. |
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The string <EM>PO</EM> appears in the mode line for any buffer for |
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which PO mode is active. Many PO files may be active at once in a |
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single Emacs session. |
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</P>
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<P>
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If you are using Emacs version 20 or newer, and have already installed |
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the appropriate international fonts on your system, you may also tell |
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Emacs how to determine automatically the coding system of every PO file. |
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This will often (but not always) cause the necessary fonts to be loaded |
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and used for displaying the translations on your Emacs screen. For this |
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to happen, add the lines: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
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(modify-coding-system-alist 'file "\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\." |
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'po-find-file-coding-system) |
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(autoload 'po-find-file-coding-system "po-mode") |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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to your <TT>`.emacs´</TT> file. If, with this, you still see boxes instead |
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of international characters, try a different font set (via Shift Mouse |
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button 1). |
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</P>
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<H2><A NAME="SEC9" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC9">2.2 The Format of PO Files</A></H2> |
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX43"></A> |
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<A NAME="IDX44"></A> |
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</P>
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<P>
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A PO file is made up of many entries, each entry holding the relation |
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between an original untranslated string and its corresponding |
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translation. All entries in a given PO file usually pertain |
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to a single project, and all translations are expressed in a single |
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target language. One PO file <EM>entry</EM> has the following schematic |
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structure: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
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<VAR>white-space</VAR> |
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# <VAR>translator-comments</VAR> |
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#. <VAR>automatic-comments</VAR> |
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#: <VAR>reference</VAR>... |
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#, <VAR>flag</VAR>... |
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msgid <VAR>untranslated-string</VAR> |
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msgstr <VAR>translated-string</VAR> |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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The general structure of a PO file should be well understood by |
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the translator. When using PO mode, very little has to be known |
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about the format details, as PO mode takes care of them for her. |
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</P>
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<P>
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A simple entry can look like this: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
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#: lib/error.c:116 |
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msgid "Unknown system error" |
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msgstr "Error desconegut del sistema" |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Entries begin with some optional white space. Usually, when generated |
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through GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools, there is exactly one blank line |
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between entries. Then comments follow, on lines all starting with the |
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character <CODE>#</CODE>. There are two kinds of comments: those which have |
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some white space immediately following the <CODE>#</CODE>, which comments are |
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created and maintained exclusively by the translator, and those which |
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have some non-white character just after the <CODE>#</CODE>, which comments |
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are created and maintained automatically by GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools. |
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All comments, of either kind, are optional. |
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</P>
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX45"></A> |
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<A NAME="IDX46"></A> |
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After white space and comments, entries show two strings, namely |
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first the untranslated string as it appears in the original program |
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sources, and then, the translation of this string. The original |
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string is introduced by the keyword <CODE>msgid</CODE>, and the translation, |
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by <CODE>msgstr</CODE>. The two strings, untranslated and translated, |
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are quoted in various ways in the PO file, using <CODE>"</CODE> |
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delimiters and <CODE>\</CODE> escapes, but the translator does not really |
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have to pay attention to the precise quoting format, as PO mode fully |
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takes care of quoting for her. |
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</P>
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<P>
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The <CODE>msgid</CODE> strings, as well as automatic comments, are produced |
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and managed by other GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools, and PO mode does not |
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provide means for the translator to alter these. The most she can |
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do is merely deleting them, and only by deleting the whole entry. |
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On the other hand, the <CODE>msgstr</CODE> string, as well as translator |
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comments, are really meant for the translator, and PO mode gives her |
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the full control she needs. |
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</P>
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<P>
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The comment lines beginning with <CODE>#,</CODE> are special because they are |
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not completely ignored by the programs as comments generally are. The |
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comma separated list of <VAR>flag</VAR>s is used by the <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> |
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program to give the user some better diagnostic messages. Currently |
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there are two forms of flags defined: |
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</P>
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<DL COMPACT> |
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<DT><CODE>fuzzy</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX47"></A> |
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This flag can be generated by the <CODE>msgmerge</CODE> program or it can be |
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inserted by the translator herself. It shows that the <CODE>msgstr</CODE> |
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string might not be a correct translation (anymore). Only the translator |
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can judge if the translation requires further modification, or is |
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acceptable as is. Once satisfied with the translation, she then removes |
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this <CODE>fuzzy</CODE> attribute. The <CODE>msgmerge</CODE> program inserts this |
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when it combined the <CODE>msgid</CODE> and <CODE>msgstr</CODE> entries after fuzzy |
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search only. See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC50">6.3 Fuzzy Entries</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>c-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX48"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-c-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX49"></A> |
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These flags should not be added by a human. Instead only the |
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<CODE>xgettext</CODE> program adds them. In an automated PO file processing |
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system as proposed here the user changes would be thrown away again as |
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soon as the <CODE>xgettext</CODE> program generates a new template file. |
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The <CODE>c-format</CODE> flag tells that the untranslated string and the |
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translation are supposed to be C format strings. The <CODE>no-c-format</CODE> |
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flag tells that they are not C format strings, even though the untranslated |
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string happens to look like a C format string (with <SAMP>`%´</SAMP> directives). |
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In case the <CODE>c-format</CODE> flag is given for a string the <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> |
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does some more tests to check to validity of the translation. |
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See section <A HREF="gettext_8.html#SEC134">8.1 Invoking the <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> Program</A>, section <A HREF="gettext_3.html#SEC18">3.5 Special Comments preceding Keywords</A> and section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC221">13.3.1 C Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>objc-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX50"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-objc-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX51"></A> |
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Likewise for Objective C, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC222">13.3.2 Objective C Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>sh-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX52"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-sh-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX53"></A> |
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Likewise for Shell, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC223">13.3.3 Shell Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>python-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX54"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-python-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX55"></A> |
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Likewise for Python, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC224">13.3.4 Python Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>lisp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX56"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-lisp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX57"></A> |
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Likewise for Lisp, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC225">13.3.5 Lisp Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>elisp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX58"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-elisp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX59"></A> |
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Likewise for Emacs Lisp, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC226">13.3.6 Emacs Lisp Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>librep-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX60"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-librep-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX61"></A> |
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Likewise for librep, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC227">13.3.7 librep Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>smalltalk-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX62"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-smalltalk-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX63"></A> |
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Likewise for Smalltalk, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC228">13.3.8 Smalltalk Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>java-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX64"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-java-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX65"></A> |
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Likewise for Java, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC229">13.3.9 Java Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>awk-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX66"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-awk-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX67"></A> |
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Likewise for awk, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC230">13.3.10 awk Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>object-pascal-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX68"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-object-pascal-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX69"></A> |
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Likewise for Object Pascal, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC231">13.3.11 Object Pascal Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>ycp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX70"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-ycp-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX71"></A> |
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Likewise for YCP, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC232">13.3.12 YCP Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>tcl-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX72"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-tcl-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX73"></A> |
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Likewise for Tcl, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC233">13.3.13 Tcl Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>perl-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX74"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-perl-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX75"></A> |
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Likewise for Perl, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC234">13.3.14 Perl Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>perl-brace-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX76"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-perl-brace-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX77"></A> |
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Likewise for Perl brace, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC234">13.3.14 Perl Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>php-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX78"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-php-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX79"></A> |
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Likewise for PHP, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC235">13.3.15 PHP Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>gcc-internal-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX80"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-gcc-internal-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX81"></A> |
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Likewise for the GCC sources, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC236">13.3.16 GCC internal Format Strings</A>. |
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<DT><CODE>qt-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX82"></A> |
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<DT><CODE>no-qt-format</CODE> |
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<DD>
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<A NAME="IDX83"></A> |
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Likewise for Qt, see section <A HREF="gettext_13.html#SEC237">13.3.17 Qt Format Strings</A>. |
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</DL>
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX84"></A> |
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<A NAME="IDX85"></A> |
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A different kind of entries is used for translations which involve |
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plural forms. |
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</P>
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<PRE>
|
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<VAR>white-space</VAR> |
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# <VAR>translator-comments</VAR> |
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#. <VAR>automatic-comments</VAR> |
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#: <VAR>reference</VAR>... |
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#, <VAR>flag</VAR>... |
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msgid <VAR>untranslated-string-singular</VAR> |
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msgid_plural <VAR>untranslated-string-plural</VAR> |
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msgstr[0] <VAR>translated-string-case-0</VAR> |
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... |
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msgstr[N] <VAR>translated-string-case-n</VAR> |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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Such an entry can look like this: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
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#: src/msgcmp.c:338 src/po-lex.c:699 |
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#, c-format |
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msgid "found %d fatal error" |
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msgid_plural "found %d fatal errors" |
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msgstr[0] "s'ha trobat %d error fatal" |
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msgstr[1] "s'han trobat %d errors fatals" |
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</PRE>
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<P>
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<A NAME="IDX86"></A> |
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It happens that some lines, usually whitespace or comments, follow the |
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very last entry of a PO file. Such lines are not part of any entry, |
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and PO mode is unable to take action on those lines. By using the |
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PO mode function <KBD>M-x po-normalize</KBD>, the translator may get |
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rid of those spurious lines. See section <A HREF="gettext_2.html#SEC12">2.5 Normalizing Strings in Entries</A>. |
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</P>
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<P>
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The remainder of this section may be safely skipped by those using |
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PO mode, yet it may be interesting for everybody to have a better |
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idea of the precise format of a PO file. On the other hand, those |
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not having Emacs handy should carefully continue reading on. |
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</P>
|
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<P>
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Each of <VAR>untranslated-string</VAR> and <VAR>translated-string</VAR> respects |
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the C syntax for a character string, including the surrounding quotes |
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and embedded backslashed escape sequences. When the time comes |
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to write multi-line strings, one should not use escaped newlines. |
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Instead, a closing quote should follow the last character on the |
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line to be continued, and an opening quote should resume the string |
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at the beginning of the following PO file line. For example: |
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</P>
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<PRE>
|
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msgid "" |
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"Here is an example of how one might continue a very long string\n" |
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"for the common case the string represents multi-line output.\n" |
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</PRE>
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|
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<P>
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In this example, the empty string is used on the first line, to |
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allow better alignment of the <CODE>H</CODE> from the word <SAMP>`Here´</SAMP> |
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over the <CODE>f</CODE> from the word <SAMP>`for´</SAMP>. In this example, the |
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<CODE>msgid</CODE> keyword is followed by three strings, which are meant |
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to be concatenated. Concatenating the empty string does not change |
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the resulting overall string, but it is a way for us to comply with |
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the necessity of <CODE>msgid</CODE> to be followed by a string on the same |
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line, while keeping the multi-line presentation left-justified, as |
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we find this to be a cleaner disposition. The empty string could have |
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been omitted, but only if the string starting with <SAMP>`Here´</SAMP> was |
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promoted on the first line, right after <CODE>msgid</CODE>.<A NAME="DOCF2" HREF="gettext_foot.html#FOOT2">(2)</A> It was not really necessary |
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either to switch between the two last quoted strings immediately after |
| 429 |
the newline <SAMP>`\n´</SAMP>, the switch could have occurred after <EM>any</EM> |
| 430 |
other character, we just did it this way because it is neater. |
| 431 |
|
| 432 |
</P>
|
| 433 |
<P>
|
| 434 |
<A NAME="IDX87"></A> |
| 435 |
One should carefully distinguish between end of lines marked as |
| 436 |
<SAMP>`\n´</SAMP> <EM>inside</EM> quotes, which are part of the represented |
| 437 |
string, and end of lines in the PO file itself, outside string quotes, |
| 438 |
which have no incidence on the represented string. |
| 439 |
|
| 440 |
</P>
|
| 441 |
<P>
|
| 442 |
<A NAME="IDX88"></A> |
| 443 |
Outside strings, white lines and comments may be used freely. |
| 444 |
Comments start at the beginning of a line with <SAMP>`#´</SAMP> and extend |
| 445 |
until the end of the PO file line. Comments written by translators |
| 446 |
should have the initial <SAMP>`#´</SAMP> immediately followed by some white |
| 447 |
space. If the <SAMP>`#´</SAMP> is not immediately followed by white space, |
| 448 |
this comment is most likely generated and managed by specialized GNU |
| 449 |
tools, and might disappear or be replaced unexpectedly when the PO |
| 450 |
file is given to <CODE>msgmerge</CODE>. |
| 451 |
|
| 452 |
</P>
|
| 453 |
|
| 454 |
|
| 455 |
<H2><A NAME="SEC10" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC10">2.3 Main PO mode Commands</A></H2> |
| 456 |
|
| 457 |
<P>
|
| 458 |
<A NAME="IDX89"></A> |
| 459 |
<A NAME="IDX90"></A> |
| 460 |
After setting up Emacs with something similar to the lines in |
| 461 |
section <A HREF="gettext_2.html#SEC8">2.1 Completing GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> Installation</A>, PO mode is activated for a window when Emacs finds a |
| 462 |
PO file in that window. This puts the window read-only and establishes a |
| 463 |
po-mode-map, which is a genuine Emacs mode, in a way that is not derived |
| 464 |
from text mode in any way. Functions found on <CODE>po-mode-hook</CODE>, |
| 465 |
if any, will be executed. |
| 466 |
|
| 467 |
</P>
|
| 468 |
<P>
|
| 469 |
When PO mode is active in a window, the letters <SAMP>`PO´</SAMP> appear |
| 470 |
in the mode line for that window. The mode line also displays how |
| 471 |
many entries of each kind are held in the PO file. For example, |
| 472 |
the string <SAMP>`132t+3f+10u+2o´</SAMP> would tell the translator that the |
| 473 |
PO mode contains 132 translated entries (see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC49">6.2 Translated Entries</A>, |
| 474 |
3 fuzzy entries (see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC50">6.3 Fuzzy Entries</A>), 10 untranslated entries |
| 475 |
(see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC51">6.4 Untranslated Entries</A>) and 2 obsolete entries (see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC52">6.5 Obsolete Entries</A>). Zero-coefficients items are not shown. So, in this example, if |
| 476 |
the fuzzy entries were unfuzzied, the untranslated entries were translated |
| 477 |
and the obsolete entries were deleted, the mode line would merely display |
| 478 |
<SAMP>`145t´</SAMP> for the counters. |
| 479 |
|
| 480 |
</P>
|
| 481 |
<P>
|
| 482 |
The main PO commands are those which do not fit into the other categories of |
| 483 |
subsequent sections. These allow for quitting PO mode or for managing windows |
| 484 |
in special ways. |
| 485 |
|
| 486 |
</P>
|
| 487 |
<DL COMPACT> |
| 488 |
|
| 489 |
<DT><KBD>_</KBD> |
| 490 |
<DD>
|
| 491 |
<A NAME="IDX91"></A> |
| 492 |
Undo last modification to the PO file (<CODE>po-undo</CODE>). |
| 493 |
|
| 494 |
<DT><KBD>Q</KBD> |
| 495 |
<DD>
|
| 496 |
<A NAME="IDX92"></A> |
| 497 |
Quit processing and save the PO file (<CODE>po-quit</CODE>). |
| 498 |
|
| 499 |
<DT><KBD>q</KBD> |
| 500 |
<DD>
|
| 501 |
<A NAME="IDX93"></A> |
| 502 |
Quit processing, possibly after confirmation (<CODE>po-confirm-and-quit</CODE>). |
| 503 |
|
| 504 |
<DT><KBD>0</KBD> |
| 505 |
<DD>
|
| 506 |
<A NAME="IDX94"></A> |
| 507 |
Temporary leave the PO file window (<CODE>po-other-window</CODE>). |
| 508 |
|
| 509 |
<DT><KBD>?</KBD> |
| 510 |
<DD>
|
| 511 |
<DT><KBD>h</KBD> |
| 512 |
<DD>
|
| 513 |
<A NAME="IDX95"></A> |
| 514 |
<A NAME="IDX96"></A> |
| 515 |
Show help about PO mode (<CODE>po-help</CODE>). |
| 516 |
|
| 517 |
<DT><KBD>=</KBD> |
| 518 |
<DD>
|
| 519 |
<A NAME="IDX97"></A> |
| 520 |
Give some PO file statistics (<CODE>po-statistics</CODE>). |
| 521 |
|
| 522 |
<DT><KBD>V</KBD> |
| 523 |
<DD>
|
| 524 |
<A NAME="IDX98"></A> |
| 525 |
Batch validate the format of the whole PO file (<CODE>po-validate</CODE>). |
| 526 |
|
| 527 |
</DL>
|
| 528 |
|
| 529 |
<P>
|
| 530 |
<A NAME="IDX99"></A> |
| 531 |
<A NAME="IDX100"></A> |
| 532 |
The command <KBD>_</KBD> (<CODE>po-undo</CODE>) interfaces to the Emacs |
| 533 |
<EM>undo</EM> facility. See section `Undoing Changes' in <CITE>The Emacs Editor</CITE>. Each time <KBD>U</KBD> is typed, modifications which the translator |
| 534 |
did to the PO file are undone a little more. For the purpose of |
| 535 |
undoing, each PO mode command is atomic. This is especially true for |
| 536 |
the <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> command: the whole edition made by using a single |
| 537 |
use of this command is undone at once, even if the edition itself |
| 538 |
implied several actions. However, while in the editing window, one |
| 539 |
can undo the edition work quite parsimoniously. |
| 540 |
|
| 541 |
</P>
|
| 542 |
<P>
|
| 543 |
<A NAME="IDX101"></A> |
| 544 |
<A NAME="IDX102"></A> |
| 545 |
<A NAME="IDX103"></A> |
| 546 |
<A NAME="IDX104"></A> |
| 547 |
The commands <KBD>Q</KBD> (<CODE>po-quit</CODE>) and <KBD>q</KBD> |
| 548 |
(<CODE>po-confirm-and-quit</CODE>) are used when the translator is done with the |
| 549 |
PO file. The former is a bit less verbose than the latter. If the file |
| 550 |
has been modified, it is saved to disk first. In both cases, and prior to |
| 551 |
all this, the commands check if any untranslated messages remain in the |
| 552 |
PO file and, if so, the translator is asked if she really wants to leave |
| 553 |
off working with this PO file. This is the preferred way of getting rid |
| 554 |
of an Emacs PO file buffer. Merely killing it through the usual command |
| 555 |
<KBD>C-x k</KBD> (<CODE>kill-buffer</CODE>) is not the tidiest way to proceed. |
| 556 |
|
| 557 |
</P>
|
| 558 |
<P>
|
| 559 |
<A NAME="IDX105"></A> |
| 560 |
<A NAME="IDX106"></A> |
| 561 |
The command <KBD>0</KBD> (<CODE>po-other-window</CODE>) is another, softer way, |
| 562 |
to leave PO mode, temporarily. It just moves the cursor to some other |
| 563 |
Emacs window, and pops one if necessary. For example, if the translator |
| 564 |
just got PO mode to show some source context in some other, she might |
| 565 |
discover some apparent bug in the program source that needs correction. |
| 566 |
This command allows the translator to change sex, become a programmer, |
| 567 |
and have the cursor right into the window containing the program she |
| 568 |
(or rather <EM>he</EM>) wants to modify. By later getting the cursor back |
| 569 |
in the PO file window, or by asking Emacs to edit this file once again, |
| 570 |
PO mode is then recovered. |
| 571 |
|
| 572 |
</P>
|
| 573 |
<P>
|
| 574 |
<A NAME="IDX107"></A> |
| 575 |
<A NAME="IDX108"></A> |
| 576 |
<A NAME="IDX109"></A> |
| 577 |
The command <KBD>h</KBD> (<CODE>po-help</CODE>) displays a summary of all available PO |
| 578 |
mode commands. The translator should then type any character to resume |
| 579 |
normal PO mode operations. The command <KBD>?</KBD> has the same effect |
| 580 |
as <KBD>h</KBD>. |
| 581 |
|
| 582 |
</P>
|
| 583 |
<P>
|
| 584 |
<A NAME="IDX110"></A> |
| 585 |
<A NAME="IDX111"></A> |
| 586 |
The command <KBD>=</KBD> (<CODE>po-statistics</CODE>) computes the total number of |
| 587 |
entries in the PO file, the ordinal of the current entry (counted from |
| 588 |
1), the number of untranslated entries, the number of obsolete entries, |
| 589 |
and displays all these numbers. |
| 590 |
|
| 591 |
</P>
|
| 592 |
<P>
|
| 593 |
<A NAME="IDX112"></A> |
| 594 |
<A NAME="IDX113"></A> |
| 595 |
The command <KBD>V</KBD> (<CODE>po-validate</CODE>) launches <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> in |
| 596 |
checking and verbose |
| 597 |
mode over the current PO file. This command first offers to save the |
| 598 |
current PO file on disk. The <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> tool, from GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE>, |
| 599 |
has the purpose of creating a MO file out of a PO file, and PO mode uses |
| 600 |
the features of this program for checking the overall format of a PO file, |
| 601 |
as well as all individual entries. |
| 602 |
|
| 603 |
</P>
|
| 604 |
<P>
|
| 605 |
<A NAME="IDX114"></A> |
| 606 |
The program <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> runs asynchronously with Emacs, so the |
| 607 |
translator regains control immediately while her PO file is being studied. |
| 608 |
Error output is collected in the Emacs <SAMP>`*compilation*´</SAMP> buffer, |
| 609 |
displayed in another window. The regular Emacs command <KBD>C-x`</KBD> |
| 610 |
(<CODE>next-error</CODE>), as well as other usual compile commands, allow the |
| 611 |
translator to reposition quickly to the offending parts of the PO file. |
| 612 |
Once the cursor is on the line in error, the translator may decide on |
| 613 |
any PO mode action which would help correcting the error. |
| 614 |
|
| 615 |
</P>
|
| 616 |
|
| 617 |
|
| 618 |
<H2><A NAME="SEC11" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC11">2.4 Entry Positioning</A></H2> |
| 619 |
|
| 620 |
<P>
|
| 621 |
<A NAME="IDX115"></A> |
| 622 |
The cursor in a PO file window is almost always part of |
| 623 |
an entry. The only exceptions are the special case when the cursor |
| 624 |
is after the last entry in the file, or when the PO file is |
| 625 |
empty. The entry where the cursor is found to be is said to be the |
| 626 |
current entry. Many PO mode commands operate on the current entry, |
| 627 |
so moving the cursor does more than allowing the translator to browse |
| 628 |
the PO file, this also selects on which entry commands operate. |
| 629 |
|
| 630 |
</P>
|
| 631 |
<P>
|
| 632 |
<A NAME="IDX116"></A> |
| 633 |
Some PO mode commands alter the position of the cursor in a specialized |
| 634 |
way. A few of those special purpose positioning are described here, |
| 635 |
the others are described in following sections (for a complete list try |
| 636 |
<KBD>C-h m</KBD>): |
| 637 |
|
| 638 |
</P>
|
| 639 |
<DL COMPACT> |
| 640 |
|
| 641 |
<DT><KBD>.</KBD> |
| 642 |
<DD>
|
| 643 |
<A NAME="IDX117"></A> |
| 644 |
Redisplay the current entry (<CODE>po-current-entry</CODE>). |
| 645 |
|
| 646 |
<DT><KBD>n</KBD> |
| 647 |
<DD>
|
| 648 |
<A NAME="IDX118"></A> |
| 649 |
Select the entry after the current one (<CODE>po-next-entry</CODE>). |
| 650 |
|
| 651 |
<DT><KBD>p</KBD> |
| 652 |
<DD>
|
| 653 |
<A NAME="IDX119"></A> |
| 654 |
Select the entry before the current one (<CODE>po-previous-entry</CODE>). |
| 655 |
|
| 656 |
<DT><KBD><</KBD> |
| 657 |
<DD>
|
| 658 |
<A NAME="IDX120"></A> |
| 659 |
Select the first entry in the PO file (<CODE>po-first-entry</CODE>). |
| 660 |
|
| 661 |
<DT><KBD>></KBD> |
| 662 |
<DD>
|
| 663 |
<A NAME="IDX121"></A> |
| 664 |
Select the last entry in the PO file (<CODE>po-last-entry</CODE>). |
| 665 |
|
| 666 |
<DT><KBD>m</KBD> |
| 667 |
<DD>
|
| 668 |
<A NAME="IDX122"></A> |
| 669 |
Record the location of the current entry for later use |
| 670 |
(<CODE>po-push-location</CODE>). |
| 671 |
|
| 672 |
<DT><KBD>r</KBD> |
| 673 |
<DD>
|
| 674 |
<A NAME="IDX123"></A> |
| 675 |
Return to a previously saved entry location (<CODE>po-pop-location</CODE>). |
| 676 |
|
| 677 |
<DT><KBD>x</KBD> |
| 678 |
<DD>
|
| 679 |
<A NAME="IDX124"></A> |
| 680 |
Exchange the current entry location with the previously saved one |
| 681 |
(<CODE>po-exchange-location</CODE>). |
| 682 |
|
| 683 |
</DL>
|
| 684 |
|
| 685 |
<P>
|
| 686 |
<A NAME="IDX125"></A> |
| 687 |
<A NAME="IDX126"></A> |
| 688 |
Any Emacs command able to reposition the cursor may be used |
| 689 |
to select the current entry in PO mode, including commands which |
| 690 |
move by characters, lines, paragraphs, screens or pages, and search |
| 691 |
commands. However, there is a kind of standard way to display the |
| 692 |
current entry in PO mode, which usual Emacs commands moving |
| 693 |
the cursor do not especially try to enforce. The command <KBD>.</KBD> |
| 694 |
(<CODE>po-current-entry</CODE>) has the sole purpose of redisplaying the |
| 695 |
current entry properly, after the current entry has been changed by |
| 696 |
means external to PO mode, or the Emacs screen otherwise altered. |
| 697 |
|
| 698 |
</P>
|
| 699 |
<P>
|
| 700 |
It is yet to be decided if PO mode helps the translator, or otherwise |
| 701 |
irritates her, by forcing a rigid window disposition while she |
| 702 |
is doing her work. We originally had quite precise ideas about |
| 703 |
how windows should behave, but on the other hand, anyone used to |
| 704 |
Emacs is often happy to keep full control. Maybe a fixed window |
| 705 |
disposition might be offered as a PO mode option that the translator |
| 706 |
might activate or deactivate at will, so it could be offered on an |
| 707 |
experimental basis. If nobody feels a real need for using it, or |
| 708 |
a compulsion for writing it, we should drop this whole idea. |
| 709 |
The incentive for doing it should come from translators rather than |
| 710 |
programmers, as opinions from an experienced translator are surely |
| 711 |
more worth to me than opinions from programmers <EM>thinking</EM> about |
| 712 |
how <EM>others</EM> should do translation. |
| 713 |
|
| 714 |
</P>
|
| 715 |
<P>
|
| 716 |
<A NAME="IDX127"></A> |
| 717 |
<A NAME="IDX128"></A> |
| 718 |
<A NAME="IDX129"></A> |
| 719 |
<A NAME="IDX130"></A> |
| 720 |
The commands <KBD>n</KBD> (<CODE>po-next-entry</CODE>) and <KBD>p</KBD> |
| 721 |
(<CODE>po-previous-entry</CODE>) move the cursor the entry following, |
| 722 |
or preceding, the current one. If <KBD>n</KBD> is given while the |
| 723 |
cursor is on the last entry of the PO file, or if <KBD>p</KBD> |
| 724 |
is given while the cursor is on the first entry, no move is done. |
| 725 |
|
| 726 |
</P>
|
| 727 |
<P>
|
| 728 |
<A NAME="IDX131"></A> |
| 729 |
<A NAME="IDX132"></A> |
| 730 |
<A NAME="IDX133"></A> |
| 731 |
<A NAME="IDX134"></A> |
| 732 |
The commands <KBD><</KBD> (<CODE>po-first-entry</CODE>) and <KBD>></KBD> |
| 733 |
(<CODE>po-last-entry</CODE>) move the cursor to the first entry, or last |
| 734 |
entry, of the PO file. When the cursor is located past the last |
| 735 |
entry in a PO file, most PO mode commands will return an error saying |
| 736 |
<SAMP>`After last entry´</SAMP>. Moreover, the commands <KBD><</KBD> and <KBD>></KBD> |
| 737 |
have the special property of being able to work even when the cursor |
| 738 |
is not into some PO file entry, and one may use them for nicely |
| 739 |
correcting this situation. But even these commands will fail on a |
| 740 |
truly empty PO file. There are development plans for the PO mode for it |
| 741 |
to interactively fill an empty PO file from sources. See section <A HREF="gettext_3.html#SEC17">3.4 Marking Translatable Strings</A>. |
| 742 |
|
| 743 |
</P>
|
| 744 |
<P>
|
| 745 |
The translator may decide, before working at the translation of |
| 746 |
a particular entry, that she needs to browse the remainder of the |
| 747 |
PO file, maybe for finding the terminology or phraseology used |
| 748 |
in related entries. She can of course use the standard Emacs idioms |
| 749 |
for saving the current cursor location in some register, and use that |
| 750 |
register for getting back, or else, use the location ring. |
| 751 |
|
| 752 |
</P>
|
| 753 |
<P>
|
| 754 |
<A NAME="IDX135"></A> |
| 755 |
<A NAME="IDX136"></A> |
| 756 |
<A NAME="IDX137"></A> |
| 757 |
<A NAME="IDX138"></A> |
| 758 |
PO mode offers another approach, by which cursor locations may be saved |
| 759 |
onto a special stack. The command <KBD>m</KBD> (<CODE>po-push-location</CODE>) |
| 760 |
merely adds the location of current entry to the stack, pushing |
| 761 |
the already saved locations under the new one. The command |
| 762 |
<KBD>r</KBD> (<CODE>po-pop-location</CODE>) consumes the top stack element and |
| 763 |
repositions the cursor to the entry associated with that top element. |
| 764 |
This position is then lost, for the next <KBD>r</KBD> will move the cursor |
| 765 |
to the previously saved location, and so on until no locations remain |
| 766 |
on the stack. |
| 767 |
|
| 768 |
</P>
|
| 769 |
<P>
|
| 770 |
If the translator wants the position to be kept on the location stack, |
| 771 |
maybe for taking a look at the entry associated with the top |
| 772 |
element, then go elsewhere with the intent of getting back later, she |
| 773 |
ought to use <KBD>m</KBD> immediately after <KBD>r</KBD>. |
| 774 |
|
| 775 |
</P>
|
| 776 |
<P>
|
| 777 |
<A NAME="IDX139"></A> |
| 778 |
<A NAME="IDX140"></A> |
| 779 |
The command <KBD>x</KBD> (<CODE>po-exchange-location</CODE>) simultaneously |
| 780 |
repositions the cursor to the entry associated with the top element of |
| 781 |
the stack of saved locations, and replaces that top element with the |
| 782 |
location of the current entry before the move. Consequently, repeating |
| 783 |
the <KBD>x</KBD> command toggles alternatively between two entries. |
| 784 |
For achieving this, the translator will position the cursor on the |
| 785 |
first entry, use <KBD>m</KBD>, then position to the second entry, and |
| 786 |
merely use <KBD>x</KBD> for making the switch. |
| 787 |
|
| 788 |
</P>
|
| 789 |
|
| 790 |
|
| 791 |
<H2><A NAME="SEC12" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC12">2.5 Normalizing Strings in Entries</A></H2> |
| 792 |
<P>
|
| 793 |
<A NAME="IDX141"></A> |
| 794 |
|
| 795 |
</P>
|
| 796 |
<P>
|
| 797 |
There are many different ways for encoding a particular string into a |
| 798 |
PO file entry, because there are so many different ways to split and |
| 799 |
quote multi-line strings, and even, to represent special characters |
| 800 |
by backslashed escaped sequences. Some features of PO mode rely on |
| 801 |
the ability for PO mode to scan an already existing PO file for a |
| 802 |
particular string encoded into the <CODE>msgid</CODE> field of some entry. |
| 803 |
Even if PO mode has internally all the built-in machinery for |
| 804 |
implementing this recognition easily, doing it fast is technically |
| 805 |
difficult. To facilitate a solution to this efficiency problem, |
| 806 |
we decided on a canonical representation for strings. |
| 807 |
|
| 808 |
</P>
|
| 809 |
<P>
|
| 810 |
A conventional representation of strings in a PO file is currently |
| 811 |
under discussion, and PO mode experiments with a canonical representation. |
| 812 |
Having both <CODE>xgettext</CODE> and PO mode converging towards a uniform |
| 813 |
way of representing equivalent strings would be useful, as the internal |
| 814 |
normalization needed by PO mode could be automatically satisfied |
| 815 |
when using <CODE>xgettext</CODE> from GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE>. An explicit |
| 816 |
PO mode normalization should then be only necessary for PO files |
| 817 |
imported from elsewhere, or for when the convention itself evolves. |
| 818 |
|
| 819 |
</P>
|
| 820 |
<P>
|
| 821 |
So, for achieving normalization of at least the strings of a given |
| 822 |
PO file needing a canonical representation, the following PO mode |
| 823 |
command is available: |
| 824 |
|
| 825 |
</P>
|
| 826 |
<P>
|
| 827 |
<A NAME="IDX142"></A> |
| 828 |
<DL COMPACT> |
| 829 |
|
| 830 |
<DT><KBD>M-x po-normalize</KBD> |
| 831 |
<DD>
|
| 832 |
<A NAME="IDX143"></A> |
| 833 |
Tidy the whole PO file by making entries more uniform. |
| 834 |
|
| 835 |
</DL>
|
| 836 |
|
| 837 |
<P>
|
| 838 |
The special command <KBD>M-x po-normalize</KBD>, which has no associated |
| 839 |
keys, revises all entries, ensuring that strings of both original |
| 840 |
and translated entries use uniform internal quoting in the PO file. |
| 841 |
It also removes any crumb after the last entry. This command may be |
| 842 |
useful for PO files freshly imported from elsewhere, or if we ever |
| 843 |
improve on the canonical quoting format we use. This canonical format |
| 844 |
is not only meant for getting cleaner PO files, but also for greatly |
| 845 |
speeding up <CODE>msgid</CODE> string lookup for some other PO mode commands. |
| 846 |
|
| 847 |
</P>
|
| 848 |
<P>
|
| 849 |
<KBD>M-x po-normalize</KBD> presently makes three passes over the entries. |
| 850 |
The first implements heuristics for converting PO files for GNU |
| 851 |
<CODE>gettext</CODE> 0.6 and earlier, in which <CODE>msgid</CODE> and <CODE>msgstr</CODE> |
| 852 |
fields were using K&R style C string syntax for multi-line strings.
|
| 853 |
These heuristics may fail for comments not related to obsolete |
| 854 |
entries and ending with a backslash; they also depend on subsequent |
| 855 |
passes for finalizing the proper commenting of continued lines for |
| 856 |
obsolete entries. This first pass might disappear once all oldish PO |
| 857 |
files would have been adjusted. The second and third pass normalize |
| 858 |
all <CODE>msgid</CODE> and <CODE>msgstr</CODE> strings respectively. They also |
| 859 |
clean out those trailing backslashes used by XView's <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> |
| 860 |
for continued lines. |
| 861 |
|
| 862 |
</P>
|
| 863 |
<P>
|
| 864 |
<A NAME="IDX144"></A> |
| 865 |
Having such an explicit normalizing command allows for importing PO |
| 866 |
files from other sources, but also eases the evolution of the current |
| 867 |
convention, evolution driven mostly by aesthetic concerns, as of now. |
| 868 |
It is easy to make suggested adjustments at a later time, as the |
| 869 |
normalizing command and eventually, other GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools |
| 870 |
should greatly automate conformance. A description of the canonical |
| 871 |
string format is given below, for the particular benefit of those not |
| 872 |
having Emacs handy, and who would nevertheless want to handcraft |
| 873 |
their PO files in nice ways. |
| 874 |
|
| 875 |
</P>
|
| 876 |
<P>
|
| 877 |
<A NAME="IDX145"></A> |
| 878 |
Right now, in PO mode, strings are single line or multi-line. A string |
| 879 |
goes multi-line if and only if it has <EM>embedded</EM> newlines, that |
| 880 |
is, if it matches <SAMP>`[^\n]\n+[^\n]´</SAMP>. So, we would have: |
| 881 |
|
| 882 |
</P>
|
| 883 |
|
| 884 |
<PRE>
|
| 885 |
msgstr "\n\nHello, world!\n\n\n" |
| 886 |
</PRE>
|
| 887 |
|
| 888 |
<P>
|
| 889 |
but, replacing the space by a newline, this becomes: |
| 890 |
|
| 891 |
</P>
|
| 892 |
|
| 893 |
<PRE>
|
| 894 |
msgstr "" |
| 895 |
"\n" |
| 896 |
"\n" |
| 897 |
"Hello,\n" |
| 898 |
"world!\n" |
| 899 |
"\n" |
| 900 |
"\n" |
| 901 |
</PRE>
|
| 902 |
|
| 903 |
<P>
|
| 904 |
We are deliberately using a caricatural example, here, to make the |
| 905 |
point clearer. Usually, multi-lines are not that bad looking. |
| 906 |
It is probable that we will implement the following suggestion. |
| 907 |
We might lump together all initial newlines into the empty string, |
| 908 |
and also all newlines introducing empty lines (that is, for <VAR>n</VAR> |
| 909 |
> 1, the <VAR>n</VAR>-1'th last newlines would go together on a separate |
| 910 |
string), so making the previous example appear: |
| 911 |
|
| 912 |
</P>
|
| 913 |
|
| 914 |
<PRE>
|
| 915 |
msgstr "\n\n" |
| 916 |
"Hello,\n" |
| 917 |
"world!\n" |
| 918 |
"\n\n" |
| 919 |
</PRE>
|
| 920 |
|
| 921 |
<P>
|
| 922 |
There are a few yet undecided little points about string normalization, |
| 923 |
to be documented in this manual, once these questions settle. |
| 924 |
|
| 925 |
</P>
|
| 926 |
<P><HR><P> |
| 927 |
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