This is gettext.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.3 from
gettext.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU Gettext Utilities
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* gettext: (gettext).                          GNU gettext utilities.
* autopoint: (gettext)autopoint Invocation.    Copy gettext infrastructure.
* gettextize: (gettext)gettextize Invocation.  Prepare a package for gettext.
* msgattrib: (gettext)msgattrib Invocation.    Select part of a PO file.
* msgcat: (gettext)msgcat Invocation.          Combine several PO files.
* msgcmp: (gettext)msgcmp Invocation.          Compare a PO file and template.
* msgcomm: (gettext)msgcomm Invocation.        Match two PO files.
* msgconv: (gettext)msgconv Invocation.        Convert PO file to encoding.
* msgen: (gettext)msgen Invocation.            Create an English PO file.
* msgexec: (gettext)msgexec Invocation.        Process a PO file.
* msgfilter: (gettext)msgfilter Invocation.    Pipe a PO file through a filter.
* msgfmt: (gettext)msgfmt Invocation.          Make MO files out of PO files.
* msggrep: (gettext)msggrep Invocation.        Select part of a PO file.
* msginit: (gettext)msginit Invocation.        Create a fresh PO file.
* msgmerge: (gettext)msgmerge Invocation.      Update a PO file from template.
* msgunfmt: (gettext)msgunfmt Invocation.      Uncompile MO file into PO file.
* msguniq: (gettext)msguniq Invocation.        Unify duplicates for PO file.
* xgettext: (gettext)xgettext Invocation.      Extract strings into a PO file.
* ISO639: (gettext)Language Codes.             ISO 639 language codes.
* ISO3166: (gettext)Country Codes.             ISO 3166 country codes.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file provides documentation for GNU `gettext' utilities.  It
also serves as a reference for the free Translation Project.

   Copyright (C) 1995-1998, 2001-2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Foundation.


File: gettext.info,  Node: Information Flow,  Next: Prioritizing messages,  Prev: Organization,  Up: Translators

Information Flow
================

   There will surely be some discussion about this messages after the
packages are finally released.  If people now send you some proposals
for better messages, how do you proceed?  Jim, please note that right
now, as I put forward nearly a dozen of localizable programs, I receive
both the translations and the coordination concerns about them.

   If I put one of my things to pretest, Ulrich receives the
announcement and passes it on to the German team, who make last minute
revisions.  Then he submits the translation files to me _as the
maintainer_.  For free packages I do not maintain, I would not even
hear about it.  This scheme could be made to work for the whole
Translation Project, I think.  For security reasons, maybe Ulrich
(national coordinators, in fact) should update central registry kept at
the Translation Project (Jim, me, or Len's recruits) once in a while.

   In December/January, I was aggressively ready to internationalize
all of GNU, giving myself the duty of one small GNU package per week or
so, taking many weeks or months for bigger packages.  But it does not
work this way.  I first did all the things I'm responsible for.  I've
nothing against some missionary work on other maintainers, but I'm also
loosing a lot of energy over it--same debates over again.

   And when the first localized packages are released we'll get a lot of
responses about ugly translations :-).  Surely, and we need to have
beforehand a fairly good idea about how to handle the information flow
between the national teams and the package maintainers.

   Please start saving somewhere a quick history of each PO file.  I
know for sure that the file format will change, allowing for comments.
It would be nice that each file has a kind of log, and references for
those who want to submit comments or gripes, or otherwise contribute.
I sent a proposal for a fast and flexible format, but it is not
receiving acceptance yet by the GNU deciders.  I'll tell you when I
have more information about this.


File: gettext.info,  Node: Prioritizing messages,  Prev: Information Flow,  Up: Translators

Prioritizing messages: How to determine which messages to translate first
=========================================================================

   A translator sometimes has only a limited amount of time per week to
spend on a package, and some packages have quite large message catalogs
(over 1000 messages).  Therefore she wishes to translate the messages
first that are the most visible to the user, or that occur most
frequently.  This section describes how to determine these "most
urgent" messages.  It also applies to determine the "next most urgent"
messages after the message catalog has already been partially
translated.

   In a first step, she uses the programs like a user would do.  While
she does this, the GNU `gettext' library logs into a file the not yet
translated messages for which a translation was requested from the
program.

   In a second step, she uses the PO mode to translate precisely this
set of messages.

   Here a more details.  The GNU `libintl' library (but not the
corresponding functions in GNU `libc') supports an environment variable
`GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED'.  The GNU `libintl' library will log into
this file the messages for which `gettext()' and related functions
couldn't find the translation.  If the file doesn't exist, it will be
created as needed.  On systems with GNU `libc' a shared library
`preloadable_libintl.so' is provided that can be used with the ELF
`LD_PRELOAD' mechanism.

   So, in the first step, the translator uses these commands on systems
with GNU `libc':

     $ LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/preloadable_libintl.so
     $ export LD_PRELOAD
     $ GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED=$HOME/gettextlogused
     $ export GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED

and these commands on other systems:

     $ GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED=$HOME/gettextlogused
     $ export GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED

   Then she uses and peruses the programs.  (It is a good and
recommended practice to use the programs for which you provide
translations: it gives you the needed context.)  When done, she removes
the environment variables:

     $ unset LD_PRELOAD
     $ unset GETTEXT_LOG_UNTRANSLATED

   The second step starts with removing duplicates:

     $ msguniq $HOME/gettextlogused > missing.po

   The result is a PO file, but needs some preprocessing before the
Emacs PO mode can be used with it.  First, it is a multi-domain PO
file, containing messages from many translation domains.  Second, it
lacks all translator comments and source references.  Here is how to
get a list of the affected translation domains:

     $ sed -n -e 's,^domain "\(.*\)"$,\1,p' < missing.po | sort | uniq

   Then the translator can handle the domains one by one.  For
simplicity, let's use environment variables to denote the language,
domain and source package.

     $ lang=nl             # your language
     $ domain=coreutils    # the name of the domain to be handled
     $ package=/usr/src/gnu/coreutils-4.5.4   # the package where it comes from

   She takes the latest copy of `$lang.po' from the Translation Project,
or from the package (in most cases, `$package/po/$lang.po'), or creates
a fresh one if she's the first translator (see *Note Creating::).  She
then uses the following commands to mark the not urgent messages as
"obsolete".  (This doesn't mean that these messages - translated and
untranslated ones - will go away.  It simply means that Emacs PO mode
will ignore them in the following editing session.)

     $ msggrep --domain=$domain missing.po | grep -v '^domain' \
       > $domain-missing.po
     $ msgattrib --set-obsolete --ignore-file $domain-missing.po $domain.$lang.po \
       > $domain.$lang-urgent.po

   The she translates `$domain.$lang-urgent.po' by use of Emacs PO mode.
(FIXME: I don't know whether `KBabel' and `gtranslator' also preserve
obsolete messages, as they should.)  Finally she restores the not
urgent messages (with their earlier translations, for those which were
already translated) through this command:

     $ msgmerge --no-fuzzy-matching $domain.$lang-urgent.po $package/po/$domain.pot \
       > $domain.$lang.po

   Then she can submit `$domain.$lang.po' and proceed to the next
domain.


File: gettext.info,  Node: Maintainers,  Next: Programming Languages,  Prev: Translators,  Up: Top

The Maintainer's View
*********************

   The maintainer of a package has many responsibilities.  One of them
is ensuring that the package will install easily on many platforms, and
that the magic we described earlier (*note Users::) will work for
installers and end users.

   Of course, there are many possible ways by which GNU `gettext' might
be integrated in a distribution, and this chapter does not cover them
in all generality.  Instead, it details one possible approach which is
especially adequate for many free software distributions following GNU
standards, or even better, Gnits standards, because GNU `gettext' is
purposely for helping the internationalization of the whole GNU
project, and as many other good free packages as possible.  So, the
maintainer's view presented here presumes that the package already has
a `configure.in' file and uses GNU Autoconf.

   Nevertheless, GNU `gettext' may surely be useful for free packages
not following GNU standards and conventions, but the maintainers of such
packages might have to show imagination and initiative in organizing
their distributions so `gettext' work for them in all situations.
There are surely many, out there.

   Even if `gettext' methods are now stabilizing, slight adjustments
might be needed between successive `gettext' versions, so you should
ideally revise this chapter in subsequent releases, looking for changes.

* Menu:

* Flat and Non-Flat::           Flat or Non-Flat Directory Structures
* Prerequisites::               Prerequisite Works
* gettextize Invocation::       Invoking the `gettextize' Program
* Adjusting Files::             Files You Must Create or Alter
* autoconf macros::             Autoconf macros for use in `configure.in'
* CVS Issues::                  Integrating with CVS


File: gettext.info,  Node: Flat and Non-Flat,  Next: Prerequisites,  Prev: Maintainers,  Up: Maintainers

Flat or Non-Flat Directory Structures
=====================================

   Some free software packages are distributed as `tar' files which
unpack in a single directory, these are said to be "flat" distributions.
Other free software packages have a one level hierarchy of
subdirectories, using for example a subdirectory named `doc/' for the
Texinfo manual and man pages, another called `lib/' for holding
functions meant to replace or complement C libraries, and a
subdirectory `src/' for holding the proper sources for the package.
These other distributions are said to be "non-flat".

   We cannot say much about flat distributions.  A flat directory
structure has the disadvantage of increasing the difficulty of updating
to a new version of GNU `gettext'.  Also, if you have many PO files,
this could somewhat pollute your single directory.  Also, GNU
`gettext''s libintl sources consist of C sources, shell scripts, `sed'
scripts and complicated Makefile rules, which don't fit well into an
existing flat structure.  For these reasons, we recommend to use
non-flat approach in this case as well.

   Maybe because GNU `gettext' itself has a non-flat structure, we have
more experience with this approach, and this is what will be described
in the remaining of this chapter.  Some maintainers might use this as
an opportunity to unflatten their package structure.


File: gettext.info,  Node: Prerequisites,  Next: gettextize Invocation,  Prev: Flat and Non-Flat,  Up: Maintainers

Prerequisite Works
==================

   There are some works which are required for using GNU `gettext' in
one of your package.  These works have some kind of generality that
escape the point by point descriptions used in the remainder of this
chapter.  So, we describe them here.

   * Before attempting to use `gettextize' you should install some
     other packages first.  Ensure that recent versions of GNU `m4',
     GNU Autoconf and GNU `gettext' are already installed at your site,
     and if not, proceed to do this first.  If you get to install these
     things, beware that GNU `m4' must be fully installed before GNU
     Autoconf is even _configured_.

     To further ease the task of a package maintainer the `automake'
     package was designed and implemented.  GNU `gettext' now uses this
     tool and the `Makefile's in the `intl/' and `po/' therefore know
     about all the goals necessary for using `automake' and `libintl'
     in one project.

     Those four packages are only needed by you, as a maintainer; the
     installers of your own package and end users do not really need
     any of GNU `m4', GNU Autoconf, GNU `gettext', or GNU `automake'
     for successfully installing and running your package, with messages
     properly translated.  But this is not completely true if you
     provide internationalized shell scripts within your own package:
     GNU `gettext' shall then be installed at the user site if the end
     users want to see the translation of shell script messages.

   * Your package should use Autoconf and have a `configure.in' or
     `configure.ac' file.  If it does not, you have to learn how.  The
     Autoconf documentation is quite well written, it is a good idea
     that you print it and get familiar with it.

   * Your C sources should have already been modified according to
     instructions given earlier in this manual.  *Note Sources::.

   * Your `po/' directory should receive all PO files submitted to you
     by the translator teams, each having `LL.po' as a name.  This is
     not usually easy to get translation work done before your package
     gets internationalized and available!  Since the cycle has to
     start somewhere, the easiest for the maintainer is to start with
     absolutely no PO files, and wait until various translator teams
     get interested in your package, and submit PO files.


   It is worth adding here a few words about how the maintainer should
ideally behave with PO files submissions.  As a maintainer, your role is
to authenticate the origin of the submission as being the representative
of the appropriate translating teams of the Translation Project (forward
the submission to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' in case of doubt), to
ensure that the PO file format is not severely broken and does not
prevent successful installation, and for the rest, to merely put these
PO files in `po/' for distribution.

   As a maintainer, you do not have to take on your shoulders the
responsibility of checking if the translations are adequate or
complete, and should avoid diving into linguistic matters.  Translation
teams drive themselves and are fully responsible of their linguistic
choices for the Translation Project.  Keep in mind that translator
teams are _not_ driven by maintainers.  You can help by carefully
redirecting all communications and reports from users about linguistic
matters to the appropriate translation team, or explain users how to
reach or join their team.  The simplest might be to send them the
`ABOUT-NLS' file.

   Maintainers should _never ever_ apply PO file bug reports
themselves, short-cutting translation teams.  If some translator has
difficulty to get some of her points through her team, it should not be
an option for her to directly negotiate translations with maintainers.
Teams ought to settle their problems themselves, if any.  If you, as a
maintainer, ever think there is a real problem with a team, please
never try to _solve_ a team's problem on your own.


File: gettext.info,  Node: gettextize Invocation,  Next: Adjusting Files,  Prev: Prerequisites,  Up: Maintainers

Invoking the `gettextize' Program
=================================

   The `gettextize' program is an interactive tool that helps the
maintainer of a package internationalized through GNU `gettext'.  It is
used for two purposes:

   * As a wizard, when a package is modified to use GNU `gettext' for
     the first time.

   * As a migration tool, for upgrading the GNU `gettext' support in a
     package from a previous to a newer version of GNU `gettext'.

   This program performs the following tasks:

   * It copies into the package some files that are consistently and
     identically needed in every package internationalized through GNU
     `gettext'.

   * It performs as many of the tasks mentioned in the next section
     *Note Adjusting Files:: as can be performed automatically.

   * It removes obsolete files and idioms used for previous GNU
     `gettext' versions to the form recommended for the current GNU
     `gettext' version.

   * It prints a summary of the tasks that ought to be done manually
     and could not be done automatically by `gettextize'.

   It can be invoked as follows:

     gettextize [ OPTION... ] [ DIRECTORY ]

and accepts the following options:

`-c'
`--copy'
     Copy the needed files instead of making symbolic links.  Using
     links would allow the package to always use the latest `gettext'
     code available on the system, but it might disturb some mechanism
     the maintainer is used to apply to the sources.  Because running
     `gettextize' is easy there shouldn't be problems with using copies.

`-f'
`--force'
     Force replacement of files which already exist.

`--intl'
     Install the libintl sources in a subdirectory named `intl/'.  This
     libintl will be used to provide internationalization on systems
     that don't have GNU libintl installed.  If this option is omitted,
     the call to `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' in `configure.in' should read:
     `AM_GNU_GETTEXT([external])', and internationalization will not be
     enabled on systems lacking GNU gettext.

`--no-changelog'
     Don't update or create ChangeLog files.  By default, `gettextize'
     logs all changes (file additions, modifications and removals) in a
     file called `ChangeLog' in each affected directory.

`-n'
`--dry-run'
     Print modifications but don't perform them.  All actions that
     `gettextize' would normally execute are inhibited and instead only
     listed on standard output.

`--help'
     Display this help and exit.

`--version'
     Output version information and exit.

   If DIRECTORY is given, this is the top level directory of a package
to prepare for using GNU `gettext'.  If not given, it is assumed that
the current directory is the top level directory of such a package.

   The program `gettextize' provides the following files.  However, no
existing file will be replaced unless the option `--force' (`-f') is
specified.

  1. The `ABOUT-NLS' file is copied in the main directory of your
     package, the one being at the top level.  This file gives the main
     indications about how to install and use the Native Language
     Support features of your program.  You might elect to use a more
     recent copy of this `ABOUT-NLS' file than the one provided through
     `gettextize', if you have one handy.  You may also fetch a more
     recent copy of file `ABOUT-NLS' from Translation Project sites,
     and from most GNU archive sites.

  2. A `po/' directory is created for eventually holding all
     translation files, but initially only containing the file
     `po/Makefile.in.in' from the GNU `gettext' distribution (beware
     the double `.in' in the file name) and a few auxiliary files.  If
     the `po/' directory already exists, it will be preserved along
     with the files it contains, and only `Makefile.in.in' and the
     auxiliary files will be overwritten.

  3. Only if `--intl' has been specified: A `intl/' directory is
     created and filled with most of the files originally in the
     `intl/' directory of the GNU `gettext' distribution.  Also, if
     option `--force' (`-f') is given, the `intl/' directory is emptied
     first.

  4. The files `config.rpath' and `mkinstalldirs' are copied into the
     directory containing configuration support files.  It is needed by
     the `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' autoconf macro.

  5. Only if the project is using GNU `automake': A set of `autoconf'
     macro files is copied into the package's `autoconf' macro
     repository, usually in a directory called `m4/'.

   If your site support symbolic links, `gettextize' will not actually
copy the files into your package, but establish symbolic links instead.
This avoids duplicating the disk space needed in all packages.  Merely
using the `-h' option while creating the `tar' archive of your
distribution will resolve each link by an actual copy in the
distribution archive.  So, to insist, you really should use `-h' option
with `tar' within your `dist' goal of your main `Makefile.in'.

   Furthermore, `gettextize' will update all `Makefile.am' files in
each affected directory, as well as the top level `configure.in' or
`configure.ac' file.

   It is interesting to understand that most new files for supporting
GNU `gettext' facilities in one package go in `intl/', `po/' and `m4/'
subdirectories.  One distinction between `intl/' and the two other
directories is that `intl/' is meant to be completely identical in all
packages using GNU `gettext', while the other directories will mostly
contain package dependent files.

   The `gettextize' program makes backup files for all files it
replaces or changes, and also write ChangeLog entries about these
changes.  This way, the careful maintainer can check after running
`gettextize' whether its changes are acceptable to him, and possibly
adjust them.  An exception to this rule is the `intl/' directory, which
is added or replaced or removed as a whole.

   It is important to understand that `gettextize' can not do the
entire job of adapting a package for using GNU `gettext'.  The amount
of remaining work depends on whether the package uses GNU `automake' or
not.  But in any case, the maintainer should still read the section
*Note Adjusting Files:: after invoking `gettextize'.

   It is also important to understand that `gettextize' is not part of
the GNU build system, in the sense that it should not be invoked
automatically, and not be invoked by someone who doesn't assume the
responsibilities of a package maintainer.  For the latter purpose, a
separate tool is provided, see *Note autopoint Invocation::.


File: gettext.info,  Node: Adjusting Files,  Next: autoconf macros,  Prev: gettextize Invocation,  Up: Maintainers

Files You Must Create or Alter
==============================

   Besides files which are automatically added through `gettextize',
there are many files needing revision for properly interacting with GNU
`gettext'.  If you are closely following GNU standards for Makefile
engineering and auto-configuration, the adaptations should be easier to
achieve.  Here is a point by point description of the changes needed in
each.

   So, here comes a list of files, each one followed by a description of
all alterations it needs.  Many examples are taken out from the GNU
`gettext' 0.12.1 distribution itself, or from the GNU `hello'
distribution (`http://www.franken.de/users/gnu/ke/hello' or
`http://www.gnu.franken.de/ke/hello/')  You may indeed refer to the
source code of the GNU `gettext' and GNU `hello' packages, as they are
intended to be good examples for using GNU gettext functionality.

* Menu:

* po/POTFILES.in::              `POTFILES.in' in `po/'
* po/LINGUAS::                  `LINGUAS' in `po/'
* po/Makevars::                 `Makefile' pieces in `po/'
* configure.in::                `configure.in' at top level
* config.guess::                `config.guess', `config.sub' at top level
* mkinstalldirs::               `mkinstalldirs' at top level
* aclocal::                     `aclocal.m4' at top level
* acconfig::                    `acconfig.h' at top level
* config.h.in::                 `config.h.in' at top level
* Makefile::                    `Makefile.in' at top level
* src/Makefile::                `Makefile.in' in `src/'
* lib/gettext.h::               `gettext.h' in `lib/'


File: gettext.info,  Node: po/POTFILES.in,  Next: po/LINGUAS,  Prev: Adjusting Files,  Up: Adjusting Files

`POTFILES.in' in `po/'
----------------------

   The `po/' directory should receive a file named `POTFILES.in'.  This
file tells which files, among all program sources, have marked strings
needing translation.  Here is an example of such a file:

     # List of source files containing translatable strings.
     # Copyright (C) 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
     
     # Common library files
     lib/error.c
     lib/getopt.c
     lib/xmalloc.c
     
     # Package source files
     src/gettext.c
     src/msgfmt.c
     src/xgettext.c

Hash-marked comments and white lines are ignored.  All other lines list
those source files containing strings marked for translation (*note
Mark Keywords::), in a notation relative to the top level of your whole
distribution, rather than the location of the `POTFILES.in' file itself.

   When a C file is automatically generated by a tool, like `flex' or
`bison', that doesn't introduce translatable strings by itself, it is
recommended to list in `po/POTFILES.in' the real source file (ending in
`.l' in the case of `flex', or in `.y' in the case of `bison'), not the
generated C file.


File: gettext.info,  Node: po/LINGUAS,  Next: po/Makevars,  Prev: po/POTFILES.in,  Up: Adjusting Files

`LINGUAS' in `po/'
------------------

   The `po/' directory should also receive a file named `LINGUAS'.
This file contains the list of available translations.  It is a
whitespace separated list.  Hash-marked comments and white lines are
ignored.  Here is an example file:

     # Set of available languages.
     de fr

This example means that German and French PO files are available, so
that these languages are currently supported by your package.  If you
want to further restrict, at installation time, the set of installed
languages, this should not be done by modifying the `LINGUAS' file, but
rather by using the `LINGUAS' environment variable (*note Installers::).

   It is recommended that you add the "languages" `en@quot' and
`en@boldquot' to the `LINGUAS' file.  `en@quot' is a variant of English
message catalogs (`en') which uses real quotation marks instead of the
ugly looking asymmetric ASCII substitutes ``' and `''.  `en@boldquot'
is a variant of `en@quot' that additionally outputs quoted pieces of
text in a bold font, when used in a terminal emulator which supports
the VT100 escape sequences (such as `xterm' or the Linux console, but
not Emacs in `M-x shell' mode).

   These extra message catalogs `en@quot' and `en@boldquot' are
constructed automatically, not by translators; to support them, you
need the files `Rules-quot', `quot.sed', `boldquot.sed',
`en@quot.header', `en@boldquot.header', `insert-header.sin' in the
`po/' directory.  You can copy them from GNU gettext's `po/' directory;
they are also installed by running `gettextize'.


File: gettext.info,  Node: po/Makevars,  Next: configure.in,  Prev: po/LINGUAS,  Up: Adjusting Files

`Makefile' pieces in `po/'
--------------------------

   The `po/' directory also has a file named `Makevars'.  It can be
left unmodified if your package has a single message domain and,
accordingly, a single `po/' directory.  Only packages which have
multiple `po/' directories at different locations need to adjust the
three variables defined in `Makevars'.

   `po/Makevars' gets inserted into the `po/Makefile' when the latter
is created.  At the same time, all files called `Rules-*' in the `po/'
directory get appended to the `po/Makefile'.  They present an
opportunity to add rules for special PO files to the Makefile, without
needing to mess with `po/Makefile.in.in'.

   GNU gettext comes with a `Rules-quot' file, containing rules for
building catalogs `en@quot.po' and `en@boldquot.po'.  The effect of
`en@quot.po' is that people who set their `LANGUAGE' environment
variable to `en@quot' will get messages with proper looking symmetric
Unicode quotation marks instead of abusing the ASCII grave accent and
the ASCII apostrophe for indicating quotations.  To enable this
catalog, simply add `en@quot' to the `po/LINGUAS' file.  The effect of
`en@boldquot.po' is that people who set `LANGUAGE' to `en@boldquot'
will get not only proper quotation marks, but also the quoted text will
be shown in a bold font on terminals and consoles.  This catalog is
useful only for command-line programs, not GUI programs.  To enable it,
similarly add `en@boldquot' to the `po/LINGUAS' file.


File: gettext.info,  Node: configure.in,  Next: config.guess,  Prev: po/Makevars,  Up: Adjusting Files

`configure.in' at top level
---------------------------

   `configure.in' or `configure.ac' - this is the source from which
`autoconf' generates the `configure' script.

  1. Declare the package and version.

     This is done by a set of lines like these:

          PACKAGE=gettext
          VERSION=0.12.1
          AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(PACKAGE, "$PACKAGE")
          AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(VERSION, "$VERSION")
          AC_SUBST(PACKAGE)
          AC_SUBST(VERSION)

     or, if you are using GNU `automake', by a line like this:

          AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(gettext, 0.12.1)

     Of course, you replace `gettext' with the name of your package,
     and `0.12.1' by its version numbers, exactly as they should appear
     in the packaged `tar' file name of your distribution
     (`gettext-0.12.1.tar.gz', here).

  2. Check for internationalization support.

     Here is the main `m4' macro for triggering internationalization
     support.  Just add this line to `configure.in':

          AM_GNU_GETTEXT

     This call is purposely simple, even if it generates a lot of
     configure time checking and actions.

     If you have suppressed the `intl/' subdirectory by calling
     `gettextize' without `--intl' option, this call should read

          AM_GNU_GETTEXT([external])

  3. Have output files created.

     The `AC_OUTPUT' directive, at the end of your `configure.in' file,
     needs to be modified in two ways:

          AC_OUTPUT([EXISTING CONFIGURATION FILES intl/Makefile po/Makefile.in],
          [EXISTING ADDITIONAL ACTIONS])

     The modification to the first argument to `AC_OUTPUT' asks for
     substitution in the `intl/' and `po/' directories.  Note the `.in'
     suffix used for `po/' only.  This is because the distributed file
     is really `po/Makefile.in.in'.

     If you have suppressed the `intl/' subdirectory by calling
     `gettextize' without `--intl' option, then you don't need to add
     `intl/Makefile' to the `AC_OUTPUT' line.



File: gettext.info,  Node: config.guess,  Next: mkinstalldirs,  Prev: configure.in,  Up: Adjusting Files

`config.guess', `config.sub' at top level
-----------------------------------------

   If you haven't suppressed the `intl/' subdirectory, you need to add
the GNU `config.guess' and `config.sub' files to your distribution.
They are needed because the `intl/' directory has platform dependent
support for determining the locale's character encoding and therefore
needs to identify the platform.

   You can obtain the newest version of `config.guess' and `config.sub'
from `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/config/'.  Less recent versions are
also contained in the GNU `automake' and GNU `libtool' packages.

   Normally, `config.guess' and `config.sub' are put at the top level
of a distribution.  But it is also possible to put them in a
subdirectory, altogether with other configuration support files like
`install-sh', `ltconfig', `ltmain.sh', `mkinstalldirs' or `missing'.
All you need to do, other than moving the files, is to add the
following line to your `configure.in'.

     AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([SUBDIR])


File: gettext.info,  Node: mkinstalldirs,  Next: aclocal,  Prev: config.guess,  Up: Adjusting Files

`mkinstalldirs' at top level
----------------------------

   If `gettextize' has not already done it, you need to add the GNU
`mkinstalldirs' script to your distribution.  It is needed because
`mkdir -p' is not portable enough.  You find this script in the GNU
`automake' distribution.

   Normally, `mkinstalldirs' is put at the top level of a distribution.
But it is also possible to put it in a subdirectory, altogether with
other configuration support files like `install-sh', `ltconfig',
`ltmain.sh' or `missing'.  All you need to do, other than moving the
files, is to add the following line to your `configure.in'.

     AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR([SUBDIR])


File: gettext.info,  Node: aclocal,  Next: acconfig,  Prev: mkinstalldirs,  Up: Adjusting Files

`aclocal.m4' at top level
-------------------------

   If you do not have an `aclocal.m4' file in your distribution, the
simplest is to concatenate the files `codeset.m4', `gettext.m4',
`glibc21.m4', `iconv.m4', `intdiv0.m4', `inttypes.m4', `inttypes_h.m4',
`inttypes-pri.m4', `isc-posix.m4', `lcmessage.m4', `lib-ld.m4',
`lib-link.m4', `lib-prefix.m4', `progtest.m4', `stdint_h.m4',
`uintmax_t.m4', `ulonglong.m4' from GNU `gettext''s `m4/' directory
into a single file.  If you have suppressed the `intl/' directory, only
`gettext.m4', `iconv.m4', `lib-ld.m4', `lib-link.m4', `lib-prefix.m4',
`progtest.m4' need to be concatenated.

   If you already have an `aclocal.m4' file, then you will have to
merge the said macro files into your `aclocal.m4'.  Note that if you
are upgrading from a previous release of GNU `gettext', you should most
probably _replace_ the macros (`AM_GNU_GETTEXT', etc.), as they usually
change a little from one release of GNU `gettext' to the next.  Their
contents may vary as we get more experience with strange systems out
there.

   If you are using GNU `automake' 1.5 or newer, it is enough to put
these macro files into a subdirectory named `m4/' and add the line

     ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4

to your top level `Makefile.am'.

   These macros check for the internationalization support functions
and related informations.  Hopefully, once stabilized, these macros
might be integrated in the standard Autoconf set, because this piece of
`m4' code will be the same for all projects using GNU `gettext'.


File: gettext.info,  Node: acconfig,  Next: config.h.in,  Prev: aclocal,  Up: Adjusting Files

`acconfig.h' at top level
-------------------------

   Earlier GNU `gettext' releases required to put definitions for
`ENABLE_NLS', `HAVE_GETTEXT' and `HAVE_LC_MESSAGES', `HAVE_STPCPY',
`PACKAGE' and `VERSION' into an `acconfig.h' file.  This is not needed
any more; you can remove them from your `acconfig.h' file unless your
package uses them independently from the `intl/' directory.


File: gettext.info,  Node: config.h.in,  Next: Makefile,  Prev: acconfig,  Up: Adjusting Files

`config.h.in' at top level
--------------------------

   The include file template that holds the C macros to be defined by
`configure' is usually called `config.h.in' and may be maintained
either manually or automatically.

   If it is maintained automatically, by use of the `autoheader'
program, you need to do nothing about it.  This is the case in
particular if you are using GNU `automake'.

   If it is maintained manually, and if `gettextize' has created an
`intl/' directory, you should switch to using `autoheader'.  The list
of C macros to be added for the sake of the `intl/' directory is just
too long to be maintained manually; it also changes between different
versions of GNU `gettext'.

   If it is maintained manually, and if on the other hand you have
suppressed the `intl/' directory by calling `gettextize' without
`--intl' option, then you can get away by adding the following lines to
`config.h.in':

     /* Define to 1 if translation of program messages to the user's
        native language is requested. */
     #undef ENABLE_NLS


File: gettext.info,  Node: Makefile,  Next: src/Makefile,  Prev: config.h.in,  Up: Adjusting Files

`Makefile.in' at top level
--------------------------

   Here are a few modifications you need to make to your main, top-level
`Makefile.in' file.

  1. Add the following lines near the beginning of your `Makefile.in',
     so the `dist:' goal will work properly (as explained further down):

          PACKAGE = @PACKAGE@
          VERSION = @VERSION@

  2. Add file `ABOUT-NLS' to the `DISTFILES' definition, so the file
     gets distributed.

  3. Wherever you process subdirectories in your `Makefile.in', be sure
     you also process the subdirectories `intl' and `po'.  Special
     rules in the `Makefiles' take care for the case where no
     internationalization is wanted.

     If you are using Makefiles, either generated by automake, or
     hand-written so they carefully follow the GNU coding standards,
     the effected goals for which the new subdirectories must be
     handled include `installdirs', `install', `uninstall', `clean',
     `distclean'.

     Here is an example of a canonical order of processing.  In this
     example, we also define `SUBDIRS' in `Makefile.in' for it to be
     further used in the `dist:' goal.

          SUBDIRS = doc intl lib src po

     Note that you must arrange for `make' to descend into the `intl'
     directory before descending into other directories containing code
     which make use of the `libintl.h' header file.  For this reason,
     here we mention `intl' before `lib' and `src'.

  4. A delicate point is the `dist:' goal, as both `intl/Makefile' and
     `po/Makefile' will later assume that the proper directory has been
     set up from the main `Makefile'.  Here is an example at what the
     `dist:' goal might look like:

          distdir = $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
          dist: Makefile
          	rm -fr $(distdir)
          	mkdir $(distdir)
          	chmod 777 $(distdir)
          	for file in $(DISTFILES); do \
          	  ln $$file $(distdir) 2>/dev/null || cp -p $$file $(distdir); \
          	done
          	for subdir in $(SUBDIRS); do \
          	  mkdir $(distdir)/$$subdir || exit 1; \
          	  chmod 777 $(distdir)/$$subdir; \
          	  (cd $$subdir && $(MAKE) $@) || exit 1; \
          	done
          	tar chozf $(distdir).tar.gz $(distdir)
          	rm -fr $(distdir)


   Note that if you are using GNU `automake', `Makefile.in' is
automatically generated from `Makefile.am', and all needed changes to
`Makefile.am' are already made by running `gettextize'.


File: gettext.info,  Node: src/Makefile,  Next: lib/gettext.h,  Prev: Makefile,  Up: Adjusting Files

`Makefile.in' in `src/'
-----------------------

   Some of the modifications made in the main `Makefile.in' will also
be needed in the `Makefile.in' from your package sources, which we
assume here to be in the `src/' subdirectory.  Here are all the
modifications needed in `src/Makefile.in':

  1. In view of the `dist:' goal, you should have these lines near the
     beginning of `src/Makefile.in':

          PACKAGE = @PACKAGE@
          VERSION = @VERSION@

  2. If not done already, you should guarantee that `top_srcdir' gets
     defined.  This will serve for `cpp' include files.  Just add the
     line:

          top_srcdir = @top_srcdir@

  3. You might also want to define `subdir' as `src', later allowing
     for almost uniform `dist:' goals in all your `Makefile.in'.  At
     list, the `dist:' goal below assume that you used:

          subdir = src

  4. The `main' function of your program will normally call
     `bindtextdomain' (see *note Triggering::), like this:

          bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
          textdomain (PACKAGE);

     To make LOCALEDIR known to the program, add the following lines to
     Makefile.in:

          datadir = @datadir@
          localedir = $(datadir)/locale
          DEFS = -DLOCALEDIR=\"$(localedir)\" @DEFS@

     Note that `@datadir@' defaults to `$(prefix)/share', thus
     `$(localedir)' defaults to `$(prefix)/share/locale'.

  5. You should ensure that the final linking will use `@LIBINTL@' or
     `@LTLIBINTL@' as a library.  `@LIBINTL@' is for use without
     `libtool', `@LTLIBINTL@' is for use with `libtool'.  An easy way
     to achieve this is to manage that it gets into `LIBS', like this:

          LIBS = @LIBINTL@ @LIBS@

     In most packages internationalized with GNU `gettext', one will
     find a directory `lib/' in which a library containing some helper
     functions will be build.  (You need at least the few functions
     which the GNU `gettext' Library itself needs.)  However some of
     the functions in the `lib/' also give messages to the user which
     of course should be translated, too.  Taking care of this, the
     support library (say `libsupport.a') should be placed before
     `@LIBINTL@' and `@LIBS@' in the above example.  So one has to
     write this:

          LIBS = ../lib/libsupport.a @LIBINTL@ @LIBS@

  6. You should also ensure that directory `intl/' will be searched for
     C preprocessor include files in all circumstances.  So, you have to
     manage so both `-I../intl' and `-I$(top_srcdir)/intl' will be
     given to the C compiler.

  7. Your `dist:' goal has to conform with others.  Here is a
     reasonable definition for it:

          distdir = ../$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/$(subdir)
          dist: Makefile $(DISTFILES)
          	for file in $(DISTFILES); do \
          	  ln $$file $(distdir) 2>/dev/null || cp -p $$file $(distdir); \
          	done



File: gettext.info,  Node: lib/gettext.h,  Prev: src/Makefile,  Up: Adjusting Files

`gettext.h' in `lib/'
---------------------

   Internationalization of packages, as provided by GNU `gettext', is
optional.  It can be turned off in two situations:

   * When the installer has specified `./configure --disable-nls'.  This
     can be useful when small binaries are more important than
     features, for example when building utilities for boot diskettes.
     It can also be useful in order to get some specific C compiler
     warnings about code quality with some older versions of GCC (older
     than 3.0).

   * When the package does not include the `intl/' subdirectory, and the
     libintl.h header (with its associated libintl library, if any) is
     not already installed on the system, it is preferrable that the
     package builds without internationalization support, rather than
     to give a compilation error.

   A C preprocessor macro can be used to detect these two cases.
Usually, when `libintl.h' was found and not explicitly disabled, the
`ENABLE_NLS' macro will be defined to 1 in the autoconf generated
configuration file (usually called `config.h').  In the two negative
situations, however, this macro will not be defined, thus it will
evaluate to 0 in C preprocessor expressions.

   `gettext.h' is a convenience header file for conditional use of
`<libintl.h>', depending on the `ENABLE_NLS' macro.  If `ENABLE_NLS' is
set, it includes `<libintl.h>'; otherwise it defines no-op substitutes
for the libintl.h functions.  We recommend the use of `"gettext.h"'
over direct use of `<libintl.h>', so that portability to older systems
is guaranteed and installers can turn off internationalization if they
want to.  In the C code, you will then write

     #include "gettext.h"

instead of

     #include <libintl.h>

   The location of `gettext.h' is usually in a directory containing
auxiliary include files.  In many GNU packages, there is a directory
`lib/' containing helper functions; `gettext.h' fits there.  In other
packages, it can go into the `src' directory.

   Do not install the `gettext.h' file in public locations.  Every
package that needs it should contain a copy of it on its own.


File: gettext.info,  Node: autoconf macros,  Next: CVS Issues,  Prev: Adjusting Files,  Up: Maintainers

Autoconf macros for use in `configure.in'
=========================================

   GNU `gettext' installs macros for use in a package's `configure.in'
or `configure.ac'.  *Note Introduction: (autoconf)Top.  The primary
macro is, of course, `AM_GNU_GETTEXT'.

* Menu:

* AM_GNU_GETTEXT::              AM_GNU_GETTEXT in `gettext.m4'
* AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION::      AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION in `gettext.m4'
* AM_PO_SUBDIRS::               AM_PO_SUBDIRS in `po.m4'
* AM_ICONV::                    AM_ICONV in `iconv.m4'


File: gettext.info,  Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT,  Next: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION,  Prev: autoconf macros,  Up: autoconf macros

AM_GNU_GETTEXT in `gettext.m4'
------------------------------

   The `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' macro tests for the presence of the GNU gettext
function family in either the C library or a separate `libintl' library
(shared or static libraries are both supported) or in the package's
`intl/' directory.  It also invokes `AM_PO_SUBDIRS', thus preparing the
`po/' directories of the package for building.

   `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' accepts up to three optional arguments.  The general
syntax is

     AM_GNU_GETTEXT([INTLSYMBOL], [NEEDSYMBOL], [INTLDIR])

   INTLSYMBOL can be `external' or `no-libtool'.  The default (if it is
not specified or empty) is `no-libtool'.  INTLSYMBOL should be
`external' for packages with no `intl/' directory, and `no-libtool' for
packages with an `intl/' directory.  In the latter case, a static
library `$(top_builddir)/intl/libintl.a' will be created.

   If NEEDSYMBOL is specified and is `need-ngettext', then GNU gettext
implementations (in libc or libintl) without the `ngettext()' function
will be ignored.  If NEEDSYMBOL is specified and is
`need-formatstring-macros', then GNU gettext implementations that don't
support the ISO C 99 `<inttypes.h>' formatstring macros will be ignored.
Only one NEEDSYMBOL can be specified.  To specify more than one
requirement, just specify the strongest one among them.  The hierarchy
among the various alternatives is as follows: `need-formatstring-macros'
implies `need-ngettext'.

   INTLDIR is used to find the intl libraries.  If empty, the value
`$(top_builddir)/intl/' is used.

   The `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' macro determines whether GNU gettext is
available and should be used.  If so, it sets the `USE_NLS' variable to
`yes'; it defines `ENABLE_NLS' to 1 in the autoconf generated
configuration file (usually called `config.h'); it sets the variables
`LIBINTL' and `LTLIBINTL' to the linker options for use in a Makefile
(`LIBINTL' for use without libtool, `LTLIBINTL' for use with libtool);
it adds an `-I' option to `CPPFLAGS' if necessary.  In the negative
case, it sets `USE_NLS' to `no'; it sets `LIBINTL' and `LTLIBINTL' to
empty and doesn't change `CPPFLAGS'.

   The complexities that `AM_GNU_GETTEXT' deals with are the following:

   * Some operating systems have `gettext' in the C library, for example
     glibc.  Some have it in a separate library `libintl'.  GNU
     `libintl' might have been installed as part of the GNU `gettext'
     package.

   * GNU `libintl', if installed, is not necessarily already in the
     search path (`CPPFLAGS' for the include file search path,
     `LDFLAGS' for the library search path).

   * Except for glibc, the operating system's native `gettext' cannot
     exploit the GNU mo files, doesn't have the necessary locale
     dependency features, and cannot convert messages from the
     catalog's text encoding to the user's locale encoding.

   * GNU `libintl', if installed, is not necessarily already in the run
     time library search path.  To avoid the need for setting an
     environment variable like `LD_LIBRARY_PATH', the macro adds the
     appropriate run time search path options to the `LIBINTL' and
     `LTLIBINTL' variables.  This works on most systems, but not on
     some operating systems with limited shared library support, like
     SCO.

   * GNU `libintl' relies on POSIX/XSI `iconv'.  The macro checks for
     linker options needed to use iconv and appends them to the
     `LIBINTL' and `LTLIBINTL' variables.


File: gettext.info,  Node: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION,  Next: AM_PO_SUBDIRS,  Prev: AM_GNU_GETTEXT,  Up: autoconf macros

AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION in `gettext.m4'
--------------------------------------

   The `AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION' macro declares the version number of
the GNU gettext infrastructure that is used by the package.

   The use of this macro is optional; only the `autopoint' program makes
use of it (*note CVS Issues::).


File: gettext.info,  Node: AM_PO_SUBDIRS,  Next: AM_ICONV,  Prev: AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION,  Up: autoconf macros

AM_PO_SUBDIRS in `po.m4'
------------------------

   The `AM_PO_SUBDIRS' macro prepares the `po/' directories of the
package for building.  This macro should be used in internationalized
programs written in other programming languages than C, C++, Objective
C, for example `sh', `Python', `Lisp'.  See *Note Programming
Languages:: for a list of programming languages that support
localization through PO files.

   The `AM_PO_SUBDIRS' macro determines whether internationalization
should be used.  If so, it sets the `USE_NLS' variable to `yes',
otherwise to `no'.  It also determines the right values for Makefile
variables in each `po/' directory.


File: gettext.info,  Node: AM_ICONV,  Prev: AM_PO_SUBDIRS,  Up: autoconf macros

AM_ICONV in `iconv.m4'
----------------------

   The `AM_ICONV' macro tests for the presence of the POSIX/XSI `iconv'
function family in either the C library or a separate `libiconv'
library.  If found, it sets the `am_cv_func_iconv' variable to `yes';
it defines `HAVE_ICONV' to 1 in the autoconf generated configuration
file (usually called `config.h'); it defines `ICONV_CONST' to `const'
or to empty, depending on whether the second argument of `iconv()' is
of type `const char **' or `char **'; it sets the variables `LIBICONV'
and `LTLIBICONV' to the linker options for use in a Makefile
(`LIBICONV' for use without libtool, `LTLIBICONV' for use with
libtool); it adds an `-I' option to `CPPFLAGS' if necessary.  If not
found, it sets `LIBICONV' and `LTLIBICONV' to empty and doesn't change
`CPPFLAGS'.

   The complexities that `AM_ICONV' deals with are the following:

   * Some operating systems have `iconv' in the C library, for example
     glibc.  Some have it in a separate library `libiconv', for example
     OSF/1 or FreeBSD.  Regardless of the operating system, GNU
     `libiconv' might have been installed.  In that case, it should be
     used instead of the operating system's native `iconv'.

   * GNU `libiconv', if installed, is not necessarily already in the
     search path (`CPPFLAGS' for the include file search path,
     `LDFLAGS' for the library search path).

   * GNU `libiconv' is binary incompatible with some operating system's
     native `iconv', for example on FreeBSD.  Use of an `iconv.h' and
     `libiconv.so' that don't fit together would produce program
     crashes.

   * GNU `libiconv', if installed, is not necessarily already in the
     run time library search path.  To avoid the need for setting an
     environment variable like `LD_LIBRARY_PATH', the macro adds the
     appropriate run time search path options to the `LIBICONV'
     variable.  This works on most systems, but not on some operating
     systems with limited shared library support, like SCO.

   `iconv.m4' is distributed with the GNU gettext package because
`gettext.m4' relies on it.

