Back to files

Translating Gaupol

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Creating a new .pot file
3. Creating a new .po file
4. Updating an existing .po file
5. Compiling .mo files
6. Testing your translation
7. Submitting your translation
8. References

1. Introduction

To avoid doing pointless work, first check the latest list of existing translations at the subversion trunk:

http://svn.gna.org/viewcvs/gaupol/trunk/po/

Gaupol uses the standard gettext system for translations. A script called "translate" (in the "tools" directory) has been written to perform all the necessary file manipulations for the translation files. "translate" relies on the following executables:

• intltool-extract
• msgfmt
• msginit
• msgmerge
• xgettext

To print a help message on using "translate", run command

tools/translate -h

The process done by "translate" is modelled after PyGTK FAQ 22.2[1].

2. Creating a new .pot file

A .pot file for the latest version is provided in the "po" directory. However, if for some reason, you need to (re)create it, run command

tools/translate -t

3. Creating a new .po file

To create a new .po file, run command

tools/translate -p LANG

where LANG is the language code in format "xx" or "xx_YY". The resulting .po file is placed in the "po" directory.

4. Updating an existing .po file

To update an existing .po file with new strings that have been added since the last update, run command

tools/translate -u LANG

To update all .po files, substitute LANG with "all".

5. Compiling .mo files

To compile a .mo file based on the .po file you have translated, run command

tools/translate -m LANG

To compile all languages, substitute LANG with "all". The resulting .mo file is placed in the "locale" directory according to standard locale directory hierarchy.

The compilation will perform checks on header, format and domain of the .po file. Correct any errors encountered.

6. Testing your translation

After you have compiled a .mo file, the translation is available to Gaupol.

To start Gaupol with a translation in your current locale, run command

./gaupol

To start gaupol without a translation, run command

./gaupol -t

7. Submitting your translation

All .po files should be UTF-8 encoded. If not already, convert to UTF-8

mv xx.po xx.po.bak
msgconv -t UTF-8 xx.po.bak -o xx.po

When you are done, send the .po file by e-mail to otsaloma@cc.hut.fi or post it as a bug on the bug tracker

http://gna.org/bugs/?func=additem&group=gaupol

8. References

[1] http://www.async.com.br/faq/pygtk/index.py?req=show&file=faq22.002.htp