| '\" |
| '\" Copyright (c) 1998 Mark Harrison. |
| '\" |
| '\" See the file "license.terms" for information on usage and redistribution |
| '\" of this file, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES. |
| '\" |
| '\" SCCS: @(#) msgcat.n |
| '\" |
| '\" The definitions below are for supplemental macros used in Tcl/Tk |
| '\" manual entries. |
| '\" |
| '\" .AP type name in/out ?indent? |
| '\" Start paragraph describing an argument to a library procedure. |
| '\" type is type of argument (int, etc.), in/out is either "in", "out", |
| '\" or "in/out" to describe whether procedure reads or modifies arg, |
| '\" and indent is equivalent to second arg of .IP (shouldn't ever be |
| '\" needed; use .AS below instead) |
| '\" |
| '\" .AS ?type? ?name? |
| '\" Give maximum sizes of arguments for setting tab stops. Type and |
| '\" name are examples of largest possible arguments that will be passed |
| '\" to .AP later. If args are omitted, default tab stops are used. |
| '\" |
| '\" .BS |
| '\" Start box enclosure. From here until next .BE, everything will be |
| '\" enclosed in one large box. |
| '\" |
| '\" .BE |
| '\" End of box enclosure. |
| '\" |
| '\" .CS |
| '\" Begin code excerpt. |
| '\" |
| '\" .CE |
| '\" End code excerpt. |
| '\" |
| '\" .VS ?version? ?br? |
| '\" Begin vertical sidebar, for use in marking newly-changed parts |
| '\" of man pages. The first argument is ignored and used for recording |
| '\" the version when the .VS was added, so that the sidebars can be |
| '\" found and removed when they reach a certain age. If another argument |
| '\" is present, then a line break is forced before starting the sidebar. |
| '\" |
| '\" .VE |
| '\" End of vertical sidebar. |
| '\" |
| '\" .DS |
| '\" Begin an indented unfilled display. |
| '\" |
| '\" .DE |
| '\" End of indented unfilled display. |
| '\" |
| '\" .SO |
| '\" Start of list of standard options for a Tk widget. The |
| '\" options follow on successive lines, in four columns separated |
| '\" by tabs. |
| '\" |
| '\" .SE |
| '\" End of list of standard options for a Tk widget. |
| '\" |
| '\" .OP cmdName dbName dbClass |
| '\" Start of description of a specific option. cmdName gives the |
| '\" option's name as specified in the class command, dbName gives |
| '\" the option's name in the option database, and dbClass gives |
| '\" the option's class in the option database. |
| '\" |
| '\" .UL arg1 arg2 |
| '\" Print arg1 underlined, then print arg2 normally. |
| '\" |
| '\" RCS: @(#) $Id: man.macros,v 1.4 2000/08/25 06:18:32 ericm Exp $ |
| '\" |
| '\" # Set up traps and other miscellaneous stuff for Tcl/Tk man pages. |
| .if t .wh -1.3i ^B |
| .nr ^l \n(.l |
| .ad b |
| '\" # Start an argument description |
| .de AP |
| .ie !"\\$4"" .TP \\$4 |
| .el \{\ |
| . ie !"\\$2"" .TP \\n()Cu |
| . el .TP 15 |
| .\} |
| .ta \\n()Au \\n()Bu |
| .ie !"\\$3"" \{\ |
| \&\\$1 \\fI\\$2\\fP (\\$3) |
| .\".b |
| .\} |
| .el \{\ |
| .br |
| .ie !"\\$2"" \{\ |
| \&\\$1 \\fI\\$2\\fP |
| .\} |
| .el \{\ |
| \&\\fI\\$1\\fP |
| .\} |
| .\} |
| .. |
| '\" # define tabbing values for .AP |
| .de AS |
| .nr )A 10n |
| .if !"\\$1"" .nr )A \\w'\\$1'u+3n |
| .nr )B \\n()Au+15n |
| .\" |
| .if !"\\$2"" .nr )B \\w'\\$2'u+\\n()Au+3n |
| .nr )C \\n()Bu+\\w'(in/out)'u+2n |
| .. |
| .AS Tcl_Interp Tcl_CreateInterp in/out |
| '\" # BS - start boxed text |
| '\" # ^y = starting y location |
| '\" # ^b = 1 |
| .de BS |
| .br |
| .mk ^y |
| .nr ^b 1u |
| .if n .nf |
| .if n .ti 0 |
| .if n \l'\\n(.lu\(ul' |
| .if n .fi |
| .. |
| '\" # BE - end boxed text (draw box now) |
| .de BE |
| .nf |
| .ti 0 |
| .mk ^t |
| .ie n \l'\\n(^lu\(ul' |
| .el \{\ |
| .\" Draw four-sided box normally, but don't draw top of |
| .\" box if the box started on an earlier page. |
| .ie !\\n(^b-1 \{\ |
| \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul' |
| .\} |
| .el \}\ |
| \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul' |
| .\} |
| .\} |
| .fi |
| .br |
| .nr ^b 0 |
| .. |
| '\" # VS - start vertical sidebar |
| '\" # ^Y = starting y location |
| '\" # ^v = 1 (for troff; for nroff this doesn't matter) |
| .de VS |
| .if !"\\$2"" .br |
| .mk ^Y |
| .ie n 'mc \s12\(br\s0 |
| .el .nr ^v 1u |
| .. |
| '\" # VE - end of vertical sidebar |
| .de VE |
| .ie n 'mc |
| .el \{\ |
| .ev 2 |
| .nf |
| .ti 0 |
| .mk ^t |
| \h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\L'|\\n(^Yu-1v\(bv'\v'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu'\h'-|\\n(^lu+3n' |
| .sp -1 |
| .fi |
| .ev |
| .\} |
| .nr ^v 0 |
| .. |
| '\" # Special macro to handle page bottom: finish off current |
| '\" # box/sidebar if in box/sidebar mode, then invoked standard |
| '\" # page bottom macro. |
| .de ^B |
| .ev 2 |
| 'ti 0 |
| 'nf |
| .mk ^t |
| .if \\n(^b \{\ |
| .\" Draw three-sided box if this is the box's first page, |
| .\" draw two sides but no top otherwise. |
| .ie !\\n(^b-1 \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c |
| .el \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c |
| .\} |
| .if \\n(^v \{\ |
| .nr ^x \\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu |
| \kx\h'-\\nxu'\h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\ky\L'-\\n(^xu'\v'\\n(^xu'\h'|0u'\c |
| .\} |
| .bp |
| 'fi |
| .ev |
| .if \\n(^b \{\ |
| .mk ^y |
| .nr ^b 2 |
| .\} |
| .if \\n(^v \{\ |
| .mk ^Y |
| .\} |
| .. |
| '\" # DS - begin display |
| .de DS |
| .RS |
| .nf |
| .sp |
| .. |
| '\" # DE - end display |
| .de DE |
| .fi |
| .RE |
| .sp |
| .. |
| '\" # SO - start of list of standard options |
| .de SO |
| .SH "STANDARD OPTIONS" |
| .LP |
| .nf |
| .ta 5.5c 11c |
| .ft B |
| .. |
| '\" # SE - end of list of standard options |
| .de SE |
| .fi |
| .ft R |
| .LP |
| See the \\fBoptions\\fR manual entry for details on the standard options. |
| .. |
| '\" # OP - start of full description for a single option |
| .de OP |
| .LP |
| .nf |
| .ta 4c |
| Command-Line Name: \\fB\\$1\\fR |
| Database Name: \\fB\\$2\\fR |
| Database Class: \\fB\\$3\\fR |
| .fi |
| .IP |
| .. |
| '\" # CS - begin code excerpt |
| .de CS |
| .RS |
| .nf |
| .ta .25i .5i .75i 1i |
| .. |
| '\" # CE - end code excerpt |
| .de CE |
| .fi |
| .RE |
| .. |
| .de UL |
| \\$1\l'|0\(ul'\\$2 |
| .. |
| .TH "msgcat" n 1.3 msgcat "Tcl Bundled Packages" |
| .BS |
| '\" Note: do not modify the .SH NAME line immediately below! |
| .SH NAME |
| msgcat \- Tcl message catalog |
| .SH SYNOPSIS |
| \fBpackage require Tcl 8.2\fR |
| .sp |
| \fBpackage require msgcat 1.3\fR |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mc \fIsrc-string\fR ?\fIarg arg ...\fR? |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcmax ?\fIsrc-string src-string ...\fR? |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mclocale \fR?\fInewLocale\fR? |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcpreferences\fR |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcload \fIdirname\fR |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcset \fIlocale src-string \fR?\fItranslate-string\fR? |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcmset \fIlocale src-trans-list\fR |
| .sp |
| \fB::msgcat::mcunknown \fIlocale src-string\fR |
| .BE |
| |
| .SH DESCRIPTION |
| .PP |
| The \fBmsgcat\fR package provides a set of functions |
| that can be used to manage multi-lingual user interfaces. |
| Text strings are defined in a ``message catalog'' which |
| is independent from the application, and |
| which can be edited or localized without modifying |
| the application source code. New languages |
| or locales are provided by adding a new file to |
| the message catalog. |
| .PP |
| Use of the message catalog is optional by any application |
| or package, but is encouraged if the application or package |
| wishes to be enabled for multi-lingual applications. |
| |
| .SH COMMANDS |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mc \fIsrc-string\fR ?\fIarg arg ...\fR? |
| Returns a translation of \fIsrc-string\fR according to the |
| user's current locale. If additional arguments past \fIsrc-string\fR |
| are given, the \fBformat\fR command is used to substitute the |
| additional arguments in the translation of \fIsrc-string\fR. |
| |
| \fB::msgcat::mc\fR will search the messages defined |
| in the current namespace for a translation of \fIsrc-string\fR; if |
| none is found, it will search in the parent of the current namespace, |
| and so on until it reaches the global namespace. If no translation |
| string exists, \fB::msgcat::mcunknown\fR is called and the string |
| returned from \fB::msgcat::mcunknown\fR is returned. |
| .PP |
| \fB::msgcat::mc\fR is the main function used to localize an |
| application. Instead of using an English string directly, an |
| application can pass the English string through \fB::msgcat::mc\fR and |
| use the result. If an application is written for a single language in |
| this fashion, then it is easy to add support for additional languages |
| later simply by defining new message catalog entries. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcmax ?\fIsrc-string src-string ...\fR? |
| Given several source strings, \fB::msgcat::mcmax\fR returns the length |
| of the longest translated string. This is useful when designing |
| localized GUIs, which may require that all buttons, for example, be a |
| fixed width (which will be the width of the widest button). |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mclocale \fR?\fInewLocale\fR? |
| This function sets the locale to \fInewLocale\fR. If \fInewLocale\fR |
| is omitted, the current locale is returned, otherwise the current locale |
| is set to \fInewLocale\fR. msgcat stores and compares the locale in a |
| case-insensitive manner, and returns locales in lowercase. |
| The initial locale is determined by the locale specified in |
| the user's environment. See \fBLOCALE SPECIFICATION\fR |
| below for a description of the locale string format. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcpreferences\fR |
| Returns an ordered list of the locales preferred by |
| the user, based on the user's language specification. |
| The list is ordered from most specific to least |
| preference. The list is derived from the current |
| locale set in msgcat by \fBmsgcat::mclocale\fR, and |
| cannot be set independently. For example, if the |
| current locale is en_US_funky, then \fBmsgcat::mcpreferences\fR |
| returns {en_US_funky en_US en}. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcload \fIdirname\fR |
| Searches the specified directory for files that match |
| the language specifications returned by \fB::msgcat::mcpreferences\fR |
| (note that these are all lowercase), extended by the file |
| extension ``.msg''. Each matching file is |
| read in order, assuming a UTF-8 encoding. The file contents are |
| then evaluated as a Tcl script. This means that non-Latin characters |
| may be present in the message file either directly in their UTF-8 |
| encoded form, or by use of the backslash-u quoting recognized by Tcl |
| evaluation. The number of message files which matched the specification |
| and were loaded is returned. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcset \fIlocale src-string \fR?\fItranslate-string\fR? |
| Sets the translation for \fIsrc-string\fR to \fItranslate-string\fR |
| in the specified \fIlocale\fR and the current namespace. If |
| \fItranslate-string\fR is not specified, \fIsrc-string\fR is used |
| for both. The function returns \fItranslate-string\fR. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcmset \fIlocale src-trans-list\fR |
| Sets the translation for multiple source strings in |
| \fIsrc-trans-list\fR in the specified \fIlocale\fR and the current |
| namespace. |
| \fIsrc-trans-list\fR must have an even number of elements and is in |
| the form {\fIsrc-string translate-string\fR ?\fIsrc-string |
| translate-string ...\fR?} \fBmsgcat::mcmset\fR can be significantly |
| faster than multiple invocations of \fBmsgcat::mcset\fR. The function |
| returns the number of translations set. |
| .TP |
| \fB::msgcat::mcunknown \fIlocale src-string\fR |
| This routine is called by \fB::msgcat::mc\fR in the case when |
| a translation for \fIsrc-string\fR is not defined in the |
| current locale. The default action is to return |
| \fIsrc-string\fR. This procedure can be redefined by the |
| application, for example to log error messages for each unknown |
| string. The \fB::msgcat::mcunknown\fR procedure is invoked at the |
| same stack context as the call to \fB::msgcat::mc\fR. The return value |
| of \fB::msgcat::mcunknown\fR is used as the return value for the call |
| to \fB::msgcat::mc\fR. |
| |
| .SH "LOCALE SPECIFICATION" |
| .PP |
| The locale is specified to \fBmsgcat\fR by a locale string |
| passed to \fB::msgcat::mclocale\fR. |
| The locale string consists of |
| a language code, an optional country code, and an optional |
| system-specific code, each separated by ``_''. The country and language |
| codes are specified in standards ISO-639 and ISO-3166. |
| For example, the locale ``en'' specifies English and ``en_US'' specifies |
| U.S. English. |
| .PP |
| When the msgcat package is first loaded, the locale is initialized |
| according to the user's environment. The variables \fBenv(LC_ALL)\fR, |
| \fBenv(LC_MESSAGES)\fR, and \fBenv(LANG)\fR are examined in order. |
| The first of them to have a non-empty value is used to determine the |
| initial locale. The value is parsed according to the XPG4 pattern |
| .CS |
| language[_country][.codeset][@modifier] |
| .CE |
| to extract its parts. The initial locale is then set by calling |
| \fBmsgcat::mclocale\fR with the argument |
| .CS |
| language[_country][_modifier] |
| .CE |
| On Windows, if none of those environment variables is set, msgcat will |
| attempt to extract locale information from the |
| registry. If all these attempts to discover an initial locale |
| from the user's environment fail, msgcat defaults to an initial |
| locale of ``C''. |
| .PP |
| When a locale is specified by the user, a ``best match'' search is |
| performed during string translation. For example, if a user specifies |
| en_GB_Funky, the locales ``en_GB_Funky'', ``en_GB'', and ``en'' are |
| searched in order until a matching translation string is found. If no |
| translation string is available, then \fB::msgcat::unknown\fR is |
| called. |
| |
| .SH "NAMESPACES AND MESSAGE CATALOGS" |
| .PP |
| Strings stored in the message catalog are stored relative |
| to the namespace from which they were added. This allows |
| multiple packages to use the same strings without fear |
| of collisions with other packages. It also allows the |
| source string to be shorter and less prone to typographical |
| error. |
| .PP |
| For example, executing the code |
| .CS |
| mcset en hello "hello from ::" |
| namespace eval foo {mcset en hello "hello from ::foo"} |
| puts [mc hello] |
| namespace eval foo {puts [mc hello]} |
| .CE |
| will print |
| .CS |
| hello from :: |
| hello from ::foo |
| .CE |
| .PP |
| When searching for a translation of a message, the |
| message catalog will search first the current namespace, |
| then the parent of the current namespace, and so on until |
| the global namespace is reached. This allows child namespaces |
| to "inherit" messages from their parent namespace. |
| .PP |
| For example, executing (in the ``en'' locale) the code |
| .CS |
| mcset en m1 ":: message1" |
| mcset en m2 ":: message2" |
| mcset en m3 ":: message3" |
| namespace eval ::foo { |
| mcset en m2 "::foo message2" |
| mcset en m3 "::foo message3" |
| } |
| namespace eval ::foo::bar { |
| mcset en m3 "::foo::bar message3" |
| } |
| puts "[mc m1]; [mc m2]; [mc m3]" |
| namespace eval ::foo {puts "[mc m1]; [mc m2]; [mc m3]"} |
| namespace eval ::foo::bar {puts "[mc m1]; [mc m2]; [mc m3]"} |
| .CE |
| will print |
| .CS |
| :: message1; :: message2; :: message3 |
| :: message1; ::foo message2; ::foo message3 |
| :: message1; ::foo message2; ::foo::bar message3 |
| .CE |
| |
| .SH "LOCATION AND FORMAT OF MESSAGE FILES" |
| .PP |
| Message files can be located in any directory, subject |
| to the following conditions: |
| .IP [1] |
| All message files for a package are in the same directory. |
| .IP [2] |
| The message file name is a msgcat locale specifier (all lowercase) |
| followed by ``.msg''. For example: |
| .CS |
| es.msg -- spanish |
| en_gb.msg -- United Kingdom English |
| .CE |
| .IP [3] |
| The file contains a series of calls to \fBmcset\fR and |
| \fBmcmset\fR, setting the necessary translation strings |
| for the language, likely enclosed in a \fBnamespace eval\fR |
| so that all source strings are tied to the namespace of |
| the package. For example, a short \fBes.msg\fR might contain: |
| .CS |
| namespace eval ::mypackage { |
| ::msgcat::mcset es "Free Beer!" "Cerveza Gracias!" |
| } |
| .CE |
| |
| .SH "RECOMMENDED MESSAGE SETUP FOR PACKAGES" |
| .PP |
| If a package is installed into a subdirectory of the |
| \fBtcl_pkgPath\fR and loaded via \fBpackage require\fR, the |
| following procedure is recommended. |
| .IP [1] |
| During package installation, create a subdirectory |
| \fBmsgs\fR under your package directory. |
| .IP [2] |
| Copy your *.msg files into that directory. |
| .IP [3] |
| Add the following command to your package |
| initialization script: |
| .CS |
| # load language files, stored in msgs subdirectory |
| ::msgcat::mcload [file join [file dirname [info script]] msgs] |
| .CE |
| |
| .SH "POSITIONAL CODES FOR FORMAT AND SCAN COMMANDS" |
| .PP |
| It is possible that a message string used as an argument |
| to \fBformat\fR might have positionally dependent parameters that |
| might need to be repositioned. For example, it might be |
| syntactically desirable to rearrange the sentence structure |
| while translating. |
| .CS |
| format "We produced %d units in location %s" $num $city |
| format "In location %s we produced %d units" $city $num |
| .CE |
| .PP |
| This can be handled by using the positional |
| parameters: |
| .CS |
| format "We produced %1\\$d units in location %2\\$s" $num $city |
| format "In location %2\\$s we produced %1\\$d units" $num $city |
| .CE |
| .PP |
| Similarly, positional parameters can be used with \fBscan\fR to |
| extract values from internationalized strings. |
| |
| .SH CREDITS |
| .PP |
| The message catalog code was developed by Mark Harrison. |
| |
| .SH "SEE ALSO" |
| format(n), scan(n), namespace(n), package(n) |
| |
| .SH KEYWORDS |
| internationalization, i18n, localization, l10n, message, text, translation |