[Xfce-i18n] Get xfce-goodies po/pot files

[Clytie Siddall]

Hi again Daichi :)

On 21/02/2006, at 11:21 PM, Daichi Kawahata wrote:
>
> At least, a translator can know a package name, but I'm not
> sure how to know the exact version without autofiles in the
> top directory. Too bad, I can't make sure about that with
> those PO file editors (KBabel, poEdit, gtranslator)...
>
> The reason I'd like to see the version in the PO file along
> with the package name is, Xfce has now two release lines
> (4.2.x, 4.3.x -> 4.4) in its SVN repository. Only appearing
> a package name without any information from submitter
> confuses us (me, Jean-François).

I always input the exact version name, if I know it. The Translation  
Project sends you the exact filename, e.g. binutils-2.15.96.vi.po,  
and won't accept the completed PO file unless the headers are  
correct, including "Project-Id-Version: binutils-2.15.96\n". Even  
missing out the hyphen, or inserting a space gets your file rejected  
by the TP robot.

However, files from Gnome or Debian don't have version numbers in the  
filename, nor in the PO file. It would really help to have version  
numbers, for our own records, and so we can fill in the headers  
correctly.
>>
>> The translation project which has impressed me most is The
>> Translation Project at the University of Montréal:
>>
>> http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/translation/HTML/index.html
>>
>> It's very efficient, and simplifies the translation process
>> significantly. You have a team page, which links to a textual
>> domain for each file,
>
> Replaced addresses at Language-Team I had are exact address
> they're offering.

I think I've lost track here, Daichi. What do you mean?
>
>> and you submit completed files by email to a robot program,
>> which is very thorough.
>
> Currently I am a robot, maybe.

:D

I think translation co-ordinators have to be everybody: robot,  
organizer, trouble-shooter, adviser, teacher... ;)
>
>> The same program emails you files to be updated. I waste less
>> time on that project than on any other. :)
>
> Probably under the current mechanism in Xfce, a translator
> only knows string updates via http://i18n.xfce.org/stats, or
> by watching the commit ML, personally I think a notification
> sending per every (PO file) diffs can be possible.

It really does save time. Debian has started doing it with the 700+  
debconf files, and it's much more convenient. I no longer have to try  
and keep track of that l-o-n-g page, and I simply update the files as  
soon as they arrive in my Inbox, and send them back.
>
>> The more complex your procedure is, the less time we have for
>> translation (as a translator, you know that yourself). The more
>> individual your procedure is, the more time translators have to
>> waste learning it and going through it. Many of us, if not most
>> of us, translate for multiple projects in the open-source world,
>> so having to manage different procedures for different projects
>> is confusing and a significant barrier to contribution.
>
> There's a few rules in Xfce currently, it's not official though,
> rather it's from my experiences having (PO file) translation
> through several years (7-8).

This experience can save us all a lot of hassles. Some rules are  
absolutely necessary.
>
>   1) Don't submit the translations have errors (msgfmt -c).

The TP rejects them if they do, and Gnome now has a script running on  
the CVS server, which rejects any file which doesn't pass msgfmt -cv,  
and says so in the CVS log. I think this is a very good idea, since  
files with errors can break the build.

>   2) (If possible), please give enough information to the headers
>      (especially lacking/invalid contact address at Last-Translator
>      confuses the followers).

Yes, correct headers are important.
>
> Other than that, a translator will do
>
>   1) Grab the PO/source files from the repository.
>   2) Have a translation with their preferred editor.
>   3) Submit/Commit the translations.
>
> But basically I don't care the erroneous PO files so much, since
> will correct them when I'll commit. Just translated PO files
> would be needed here.

I think it will save you time if we make sure our files are correct.  
That's the translator's responsibility, don't you think?
>
> BTY, `Commit' at the 3) is, a translator is allowed to commit the
> PO files to the repository, note that, only one translator gets the
> permission in one language, as far as I know there's no committer
> in Vietnamese now.

That's probably less confusing. When you have more files, you may  
need more committers.

As you can see from a recent message, Thịnh has been working hard,  
so you have some files to commit. I don't know if he can commit them,  
but I would be happy to if it would help.
>
> An easy availability for the PO file translation may be achieved
> by using wiki-like web translation on the actual GUI layouts
> (screenshots), stdout/stderr will also be illustrated by the
> pictures. Still (as one example) Pootle isn't that suitable for
> me, it's my opinion.

Please have a look at the Pootle roadmap: http:// 
translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/wordforge/functional_specificaions

and tell us how we can build a Pootle that would help you and your  
project. That's the aim. :)

I think an interface like Pootle could simplify things a great deal.  
A wiki is good for collaborative documentation and docs. translation.  
I don't know how well it would work for string files.
>
Time for me to stop doing email, and get on with some translation!  
Bye for now. :)

from Clytie (vi-VN, Vietnamese free-software translation team / nhóm  
Việt hóa phần mềm tự do)
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/vi-VN