README: Mention that translatable strings will change after 5.2.x.

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Lasse Collin 2020-03-16 19:46:27 +02:00
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@ -201,77 +201,9 @@ XZ Utils
https://translationproject.org/html/translators.html https://translationproject.org/html/translators.html
Below are notes and testing instructions specific to xz Several strings will change in a future version of xz so if you
translations. wish to start a new translation, look at the code in the xz git
repostiory instead of a 5.2.x release.
Testing can be done 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/translation.bash | less
bash debug/translation.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
an 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. Some comments suggest
testing with a specific command which needs an .xz file. You
may use e.g. any tests/files/good-*.xz. However, these test
commands are included in translations.bash output, so reading
translations.bash output carefully can be enough.
- 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.
Thanks for your help!
5. Other implementations of the .xz format 5. Other implementations of the .xz format