1 | Notes on the Free Translation Project |
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2 | ************************************* |
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3 | |
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4 | Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project |
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5 | is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all |
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6 | together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages. |
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7 | A few packages already provide translations for their messages. |
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8 | |
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9 | If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may |
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10 | assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally, |
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11 | itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_ |
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12 | need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using |
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13 | this package with messages translated. |
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14 | |
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15 | Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also |
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16 | explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the |
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17 | available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and |
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18 | work at translations should contact the appropriate team. |
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19 | |
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20 | When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be |
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21 | related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of |
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22 | `gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the |
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23 | `intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages. |
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24 | |
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25 | Quick configuration advice |
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26 | ========================== |
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27 | |
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28 | If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you |
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29 | should configure it using |
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30 | |
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31 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
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32 | |
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33 | to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this |
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34 | package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the |
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35 | operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only |
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36 | the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as |
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37 | many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic |
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38 | charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here. |
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39 | It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top |
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40 | of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will |
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41 | very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea |
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42 | to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible. |
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43 | |
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44 | So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or |
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45 | you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the |
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46 | included `libintl'. |
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47 | |
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48 | INSTALL Matters |
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49 | =============== |
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50 | |
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51 | Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the |
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52 | programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language. |
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53 | Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own |
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54 | ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'. |
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55 | |
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56 | By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of |
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57 | messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already |
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58 | provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own |
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59 | library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this |
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60 | package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of |
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61 | the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use |
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62 | special options at configuration time for changing the default |
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63 | behaviour. The commands: |
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64 | |
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65 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
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66 | ./configure --disable-nls |
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67 | |
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68 | will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the |
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69 | internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else, |
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70 | _totally_ disable translation of messages. |
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71 | |
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72 | When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run |
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73 | configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will |
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74 | probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and |
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75 | will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You |
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76 | should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e. |
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77 | if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this |
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78 | package is more recent, you should use |
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79 | |
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80 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
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81 | |
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82 | to prevent auto-detection. |
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83 | |
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84 | The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function |
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85 | and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an |
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86 | emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the |
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87 | extensions of the GNU `gettext' library. |
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88 | |
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89 | Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where |
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90 | LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless |
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91 | translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the |
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92 | `--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed |
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93 | together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' |
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94 | may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set. |
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95 | `LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter |
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96 | codes, stating which languages are allowed. |
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97 | |
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98 | Using This Package |
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99 | ================== |
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100 | |
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101 | As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you |
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102 | only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate |
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103 | `LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, |
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104 | and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's |
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105 | suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell |
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106 | prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'), |
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107 | `export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash'). |
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108 | This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for |
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109 | all. |
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110 | |
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111 | You might think that the country code specification is redundant. |
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112 | But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For |
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113 | example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The |
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114 | country code serves to distinguish the dialects. |
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115 | |
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116 | The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the |
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117 | language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based |
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118 | on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are |
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119 | used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of |
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120 | locales supported by your system for your country by running the command |
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121 | `locale -a | grep '^LL''. |
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122 | |
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123 | Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an |
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124 | English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you |
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125 | understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages. |
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126 | This is done through a different environment variable, called |
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127 | `LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG' |
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128 | for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG' |
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129 | set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the |
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130 | system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather |
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131 | read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not |
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132 | available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'. |
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133 | |
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134 | In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG' |
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135 | environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL' |
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136 | to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent |
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137 | to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT' |
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138 | (Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context. |
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139 | |
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140 | Translating Teams |
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141 | ================= |
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142 | |
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143 | For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested |
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144 | people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also |
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145 | able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language. |
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146 | Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of |
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147 | teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage, |
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148 | `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams" |
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149 | area. |
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150 | |
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151 | If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you |
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152 | should become a member of the translating team for your own language. |
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153 | The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has |
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154 | `-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a |
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155 | message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body: |
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156 | |
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157 | subscribe |
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158 | |
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159 | Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate |
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160 | _actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties, |
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161 | rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and |
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162 | you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to |
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163 | get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the |
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164 | coordinator for all translator teams. |
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165 | |
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166 | The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing |
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167 | the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than |
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168 | programming skill, here. |
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169 | |
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170 | Available Packages |
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171 | ================== |
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172 | |
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173 | Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following |
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174 | matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of August |
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175 | 2002. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages |
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176 | PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a |
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177 | translation percentage of at least 50%. |
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178 | |
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179 | Ready PO files be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr |
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180 | +----------------------------------------+ |
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181 | a2ps | [] [] [] [] | |
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182 | ap-utils | | |
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183 | bash | [] [] [] [] | |
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184 | bfd | [] [] | |
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185 | binutils | [] [] | |
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186 | bison | [] [] [] [] | |
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187 | clisp | | |
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188 | clisp | [] [] [] [] | |
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189 | clisplow | | |
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190 | cpio | [] [] [] [] | |
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191 | darkstat | () | |
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192 | diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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193 | enscript | [] [] | |
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194 | error | [] [] [] | |
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195 | fetchmail | [] () [] [] [] () | |
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196 | fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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197 | findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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198 | flex | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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199 | gas | [] [] | |
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200 | gawk | [] [] [] | |
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201 | gcal | [] [] | |
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202 | gcc | [] [] | |
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203 | gettext | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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204 | gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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205 | gprof | [] [] | |
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206 | gpsdrive | () () () () () | |
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207 | grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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208 | gretl | [] | |
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209 | gthumb | () () () | |
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210 | hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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211 | id-utils | [] [] [] | |
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212 | indent | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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213 | jpilot | () [] [] [] | |
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214 | jwhois | [] [] | |
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215 | kbd | [] [] [] | |
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216 | ld | [] [] | |
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217 | libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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218 | libiconv | [] [] [] [] | |
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219 | lifelines | () () | |
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220 | lilypond | [] [] | |
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221 | lingoteach | [] [] | |
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222 | lingoteach_lessons| () () | |
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223 | lynx | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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224 | m4 | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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225 | make | [] [] [] [] | |
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226 | man-db | [] () () [] () () | |
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227 | mysecretdiary | [] [] [] | |
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228 | nano | [] () [] [] [] [] | |
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229 | nano_1_0 | [] () [] [] [] [] | |
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230 | opcodes | [] [] [] | |
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231 | parted | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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232 | ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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233 | python | | |
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234 | recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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235 | sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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236 | sh-utils | [] [] [] [] | |
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237 | sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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238 | sketch | () [] () | |
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239 | soundtracker | [] [] [] | |
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240 | sp | [] | |
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241 | tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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242 | texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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243 | textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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244 | util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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245 | vorbis-tools | [] | |
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246 | wastesedge | | |
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247 | wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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248 | wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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249 | +----------------------------------------+ |
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250 | be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr |
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251 | 0 2 19 10 30 44 9 1 12 44 17 6 53 |
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252 | |
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253 | gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn |
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254 | +-------------------------------------+ |
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255 | a2ps | () () [] | |
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256 | ap-utils | | |
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257 | bash | [] | |
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258 | bfd | [] | |
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259 | binutils | [] | |
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260 | bison | [] [] [] [] | |
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261 | clisp | | |
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262 | clisp | [] | |
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263 | clisplow | | |
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264 | cpio | [] [] [] [] | |
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265 | darkstat | | |
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266 | diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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267 | enscript | [] [] | |
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268 | error | [] | |
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269 | fetchmail | [] | |
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270 | fileutils | [] [] [] | |
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271 | findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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272 | flex | [] | |
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273 | gas | | |
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274 | gawk | [] | |
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275 | gcal | | |
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276 | gcc | [] | |
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277 | gettext | [] [] | |
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278 | gnupg | [] [] [] [] | |
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279 | gprof | [] | |
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280 | gpsdrive | [] () () | |
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281 | grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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282 | gretl | | |
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283 | gthumb | () () | |
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284 | hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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285 | id-utils | [] [] | |
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286 | indent | [] [] [] [] | |
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287 | jpilot | () () | |
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288 | jwhois | [] [] | |
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289 | kbd | | |
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290 | ld | | |
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291 | libc | [] [] [] [] | |
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292 | libiconv | [] [] [] | |
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293 | lifelines | | |
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294 | lilypond | [] | |
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295 | lingoteach | [] | |
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296 | lingoteach_lessons| | |
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297 | lynx | [] [] [] [] | |
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298 | m4 | [] [] [] [] | |
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299 | make | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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300 | man-db | () () | |
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301 | mysecretdiary | [] | |
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302 | nano | [] [] [] [] | |
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303 | nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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304 | opcodes | [] [] | |
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305 | parted | [] [] [] | |
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306 | ptx | [] [] [] [] [] | |
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307 | python | | |
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308 | recode | [] [] [] | |
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309 | sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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310 | sh-utils | [] [] [] | |
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311 | sharutils | [] [] [] | |
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312 | sketch | () | |
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313 | soundtracker | [] [] | |
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314 | sp | | |
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315 | tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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316 | texinfo | [] [] [] | |
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317 | textutils | [] [] [] [] | |
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318 | util-linux | () [] | |
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319 | vorbis-tools | [] | |
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320 | wastesedge | | |
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321 | wdiff | [] [] [] | |
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322 | wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
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323 | +-------------------------------------+ |
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324 | gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn |
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325 | 23 9 12 19 16 13 26 9 1 7 19 3 |
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326 | |
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327 | no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW |
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328 | +----------------------------------------------+ |
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329 | a2ps | () () () [] [] [] [] [] | 10 |
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330 | ap-utils | () | 0 |
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331 | bash | [] | 6 |
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332 | bfd | [] [] | 5 |
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333 | binutils | [] [] | 5 |
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334 | bison | [] [] [] [] | 12 |
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335 | clisp | | 0 |
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336 | clisp | | 5 |
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337 | clisplow | | 0 |
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338 | cpio | [] [] [] [] | 12 |
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339 | darkstat | [] [] () () | 2 |
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340 | diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17 |
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341 | enscript | [] [] [] [] | 8 |
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342 | error | [] [] [] | 7 |
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343 | fetchmail | () () [] | 6 |
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344 | fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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345 | findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21 |
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346 | flex | [] [] [] | 9 |
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347 | gas | [] | 3 |
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348 | gawk | [] [] | 6 |
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349 | gcal | [] [] | 4 |
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350 | gcc | [] | 4 |
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351 | gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 13 |
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352 | gnupg | [] [] [] | 14 |
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353 | gprof | [] [] | 5 |
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354 | gpsdrive | [] [] | 3 |
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355 | grep | [] [] [] [] [] | 20 |
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356 | gretl | | 1 |
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357 | gthumb | () () [] | 1 |
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358 | hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 28 |
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359 | id-utils | [] [] [] [] | 9 |
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360 | indent | [] [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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361 | jpilot | () () [] [] | 5 |
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362 | jwhois | [] () () [] [] | 7 |
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363 | kbd | [] [] | 5 |
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364 | ld | [] [] | 4 |
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365 | libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18 |
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366 | libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] | 12 |
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367 | lifelines | [] | 1 |
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368 | lilypond | [] | 4 |
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369 | lingoteach | [] [] | 5 |
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370 | lingoteach_lessons| () | 0 |
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371 | lynx | [] [] [] [] | 13 |
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372 | m4 | [] [] [] [] | 13 |
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373 | make | [] [] [] [] [] | 15 |
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374 | man-db | | 3 |
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375 | mysecretdiary | [] [] [] | 7 |
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376 | nano | [] [] [] [] | 13 |
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377 | nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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378 | opcodes | [] [] [] | 8 |
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379 | parted | [] [] [] [] | 12 |
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380 | ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19 |
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381 | python | | 0 |
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382 | recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15 |
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383 | sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24 |
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384 | sh-utils | [] [] | 9 |
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385 | sharutils | [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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386 | sketch | [] () [] | 4 |
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387 | soundtracker | [] | 6 |
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388 | sp | | 1 |
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389 | tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19 |
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390 | texinfo | [] [] | 10 |
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391 | textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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392 | util-linux | [] [] [] | 10 |
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393 | vorbis-tools | [] | 3 |
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394 | wastesedge | | 0 |
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395 | wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] | 14 |
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396 | wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24 |
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397 | +----------------------------------------------+ |
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398 | 37 teams no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW |
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399 | 68 domains 4 15 2 28 28 12 10 49 43 4 1 9 609 |
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400 | |
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401 | Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of |
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402 | visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are |
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403 | used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language |
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404 | dialects. |
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405 | |
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406 | For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to |
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407 | which it applies should also have been internationalized and |
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408 | distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable |
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409 | lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a |
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410 | distribution. |
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411 | |
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412 | If August 2002 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of |
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413 | this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most up-to-date |
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414 | matrix with full percentage details can be found at |
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415 | `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'. |
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416 | |
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417 | Using `gettext' in new packages |
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418 | =============================== |
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419 | |
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420 | If you are writing a freely available program and want to |
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421 | internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your |
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422 | package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public |
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423 | License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means |
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424 | in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared |
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425 | library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static |
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426 | library or use modified versions of `libintl'. |
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427 | |
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428 | Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle |
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429 | to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The |
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430 | Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not |
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431 | developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above |
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432 | applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact |
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433 | `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to |
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434 | the translation teams. |
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435 | |
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