Index: README |
=================================================================== |
--- README (revision 50504) |
+++ README (working copy) |
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ |
1.3. Documentation for liblzma |
2. Version numbering |
3. Reporting bugs |
- 4. Other implementations of the .xz format |
- 5. Contact information |
+ 4. Translating the xz tool |
+ 5. Other implementations of the .xz format |
+ 6. Contact information |
0. Overview |
@@ -187,7 +188,94 @@ |
system. |
-4. Other implementations of the .xz format |
+4. Translating the xz tool |
+-------------------------- |
+ |
+ The messages from the xz tool have been translated into a few |
+ languages. Before starting to translate into a new language, ask |
+ the author that someone else hasn't already started working on it. |
+ |
+ Test your translation. Testing includes comparing the translated |
+ output to the original English version by running the same commands |
+ in both your target locale and with LC_ALL=C. Ask someone to |
+ proof-read and test the translation. |
+ |
+ Testing can be done e.g. by installing xz into a temporary directory: |
+ |
+ ./configure --disable-shared --prefix=/tmp/xz-test |
+ # <Edit the .po file in the po directory.> |
+ make -C po update-po |
+ make install |
+ bash debug/translations.bash | less |
+ bash debug/translations.bash | less -S # For --list outputs |
+ |
+ Repeat the above as needed (no need to re-run configure though). |
+ |
+ Note especially the following: |
+ |
+ - The output of --help and --long-help must look nice on |
+ a 80-column terminal. It's OK to add extra lines if needed. |
+ |
+ - In contrast, don't add extra lines to error messages and such. |
+ They are often preceded with e.g. a filename on the same line, |
+ so you have no way to predict where to put a \n. Let the terminal |
+ do the wrapping even if it looks ugly. Adding new lines will be |
+ even uglier in the generic case even if it looks nice in a few |
+ limited examples. |
+ |
+ - Be careful with column alignment in tables and table-like output |
+ (--list, --list --verbose --verbose, --info-memory, --help, and |
+ --long-help): |
+ |
+ * All descriptions of options in --help should start in the |
+ same column (but it doesn't need to be the same column as |
+ in the English messages; just be consistent if you change it). |
+ Check that both --help and --long-help look OK, since they |
+ share several strings. |
+ |
+ * --list --verbose and --info-memory print lines that have |
+ the format "Description: %s". If you need a longer |
+ description, you can put extra space between the colon |
+ and %s. Then you may need to add extra space to other |
+ strings too so that the result as a whole looks good (all |
+ values start at the same column). |
+ |
+ * The columns of the actual tables in --list --verbose --verbose |
+ should be aligned properly. Abbreviate if necessary. It might |
+ be good to keep at least 2 or 3 spaces between column headings |
+ and avoid spaces in the headings so that the columns stand out |
+ better, but this is a matter of opinion. Do what you think |
+ looks best. |
+ |
+ - Be careful to put a period at the end of a sentence when the |
+ original version has it, and don't put it when the original |
+ doesn't have it. Similarly, be careful with \n characters |
+ at the beginning and end of the strings. |
+ |
+ - Read the TRANSLATORS comments that have been extracted from the |
+ source code and included in xz.pot. If they suggest testing the |
+ translation with some type of command, do it. If testing needs |
+ input files, use e.g. tests/files/good-*.xz. |
+ |
+ - When updating the translation, read the fuzzy (modified) strings |
+ carefully, and don't mark them as updated before you actually |
+ have updated them. Reading through the unchanged messages can be |
+ good too; sometimes you may find a better wording for them. |
+ |
+ - If you find language problems in the original English strings, |
+ feel free to suggest improvements. Ask if something is unclear. |
+ |
+ - The translated messages should be understandable (sometimes this |
+ may be a problem with the original English messages too). Don't |
+ make a direct word-by-word translation from English especially if |
+ the result doesn't sound good in your language. |
+ |
+ In short, take your time and pay attention to the details. Making |
+ a good translation is not a quick and trivial thing to do. The |
+ translated xz should look as polished as the English version. |
+ |
+ |
+5. Other implementations of the .xz format |
------------------------------------------ |
7-Zip and the p7zip port of 7-Zip support the .xz format starting |
@@ -202,13 +290,11 @@ |
http://tukaani.org/xz/embedded.html |
-5. Contact information |
+6. Contact information |
---------------------- |
If you have questions, bug reports, patches etc. related to XZ Utils, |
contact Lasse Collin <lasse.collin@tukaani.org> (in Finnish or English). |
- tukaani.org uses greylisting to reduce spam, thus when you send your |
- first email, it may get delayed by a few hours. In addition to that, |
I'm sometimes slow at replying. If you haven't got a reply within two |
weeks, assume that your email has got lost and resend it or use IRC. |