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	3	<!-- This HTML file has been created by texi2html 1.54
	4	from gettext.texi on 25 January 1999 -->
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	6	<TITLE>GNU gettext utilities - The User's View</TITLE>
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	13	<p>Go to the <A HREF="gettext_1.html">first</A>, <A HREF="gettext_6.html">previous</A>, <A HREF="gettext_8.html">next</A>, <A HREF="gettext_12.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="gettext_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
	14	<P><HR><P>
	15
	16
	17	<H1><A NAME="SEC35" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC35">The User's View</A></H1>
	18
	19	<P>
	20	When GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> will truly have reached is goal, average users
	21	should feel some kind of astonished pleasure, seeing the effect of
	22	that strange kind of magic that just makes their own native language
	23	appear everywhere on their screens. As for naive users, they would
	24	ideally have no special pleasure about it, merely taking their own
	25	language for <EM>granted</EM>, and becoming rather unhappy otherwise.
	26
	27	</P>
	28	<P>
	29	So, let's try to describe here how we would like the magic to operate,
	30	as we want the users' view to be the simplest, among all ways one
	31	could look at GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE>. All other software engineers:
	32	programmers, translators, maintainers, should work together in such a
	33	way that the magic becomes possible. This is a long and progressive
	34	undertaking, and information is available about the progress of the
	35	Translation Project.
	36
	37	</P>
	38	<P>
	39	When a package is distributed, there are two kind of users:
	40	<STRONG>installers</STRONG> who fetch the distribution, unpack it, configure
	41	it, compile it and install it for themselves or others to use; and
	42	<STRONG>end users</STRONG> that call programs of the package, once these have
	43	been installed at their site. GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> is offering magic
	44	for both installers and end users.
	45
	46	</P>
	47
	48
	49
	50	<H2><A NAME="SEC36" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC36">The Current <TT>`ABOUT-NLS'</TT> Matrix</A></H2>
	51
	52	<P>
	53	Languages are not equally supported in all packages using GNU
	54	<CODE>gettext</CODE>. To know if some package uses GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE>, one
	55	may check the distribution for the <TT>`ABOUT-NLS'</TT> information file, for
	56	some <TT>`<VAR>ll</VAR>.po'</TT> files, often kept together into some <TT>`po/'</TT>
	57	directory, or for an <TT>`intl/'</TT> directory. Internationalized packages
	58	have usually many <TT>`<VAR>ll</VAR>.po'</TT> files, where <VAR>ll</VAR> represents
	59	the language. section <A HREF="gettext_7.html#SEC38">Magic for End Users</A> for a complete description of the format
	60	for <VAR>ll</VAR>.
	61
	62	</P>
	63	<P>
	64	More generally, a matrix is available for showing the current state
	65	of the Translation Project, listing which packages are prepared for
	66	multi-lingual messages, and which languages is supported by each.
	67	Because this information changes often, this matrix is not kept within
	68	this GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> manual. This information is often found in
	69	file <TT>`ABOUT-NLS'</TT> from various distributions, but is also as old as
	70	the distribution itself. A recent copy of this <TT>`ABOUT-NLS'</TT> file,
	71	containing up-to-date information, should generally be found on the
	72	Translation Project sites, and also on most GNU archive sites.
	73
	74	</P>
	75
	76
	77	<H2><A NAME="SEC37" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC37">Magic for Installers</A></H2>
	78
	79	<P>
	80	By default, packages fully using GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE>, internally,
	81	are installed in such a way that they to allow translation of
	82	messages. At <EM>configuration</EM> time, those packages should
	83	automatically detect whether the underlying host system provides usable
	84	<CODE>catgets</CODE> or <CODE>gettext</CODE> functions. If neither is present,
	85	the GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> library should be automatically prepared
	86	and used. Installers may use special options at configuration
	87	time for changing this behavior. The command <SAMP>`./configure
	88	--with-included-gettext'</SAMP> bypasses system <CODE>catgets</CODE> or <CODE>gettext</CODE> to
	89	use GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> instead, while <SAMP>`./configure --disable-nls'</SAMP>
	90	produces program totally unable to translate messages.
	91
	92	</P>
	93	<P>
	94	Internationalized packages have usually many <TT>`<VAR>ll</VAR>.po'</TT>
	95	files. Unless
	96	translations are disabled, all those available are installed together
	97	with the package. However, the environment variable <CODE>LINGUAS</CODE>
	98	may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set.
	99	<CODE>LINGUAS</CODE> should then contain a space separated list of two-letter
	100	codes, stating which languages are allowed.
	101
	102	</P>
	103
	104
	105	<H2><A NAME="SEC38" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC38">Magic for End Users</A></H2>
	106
	107	<P>
	108	We consider here those packages using GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> internally,
	109	and for which the installers did not disable translation at
	110	<EM>configure</EM> time. Then, users only have to set the <CODE>LANG</CODE>
	111	environment variable to the appropriate <SAMP>`<VAR>ll</VAR>'</SAMP> prior to
	112	using the programs in the package. See section <A HREF="gettext_7.html#SEC36">The Current <TT>`ABOUT-NLS'</TT> Matrix</A>. For example,
	113	let's presume a German site. At the shell prompt, users merely have to
	114	execute <SAMP>`setenv LANG de'</SAMP> (in <CODE>csh</CODE>) or <SAMP>`export
	115	LANG; LANG=de'</SAMP> (in <CODE>sh</CODE>). They could even do this from their
	116	<TT>`.login'</TT> or <TT>`.profile'</TT> file.
	117
	118	</P>
	119	<P><HR><P>
	120	<p>Go to the <A HREF="gettext_1.html">first</A>, <A HREF="gettext_6.html">previous</A>, <A HREF="gettext_8.html">next</A>, <A HREF="gettext_12.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="gettext_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
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