The /var/lib/dpkg/info/*.templates files read by debconf contain English
text and translations in the same file. But in source packages, translations
are managed in separate files to help translators. In the initial
implementation, a master templates file contained only English text, and
templates.xx files contained both original and translated strings for the
language xx. The debconf-mergetemplate program was merging master and
translated templates files.
The new implementation with "po-debconf" is based on "gettext". Maintainers
mark translatable fields by prepending them with an underscore, English strings
are automatically extracted into a POT file, translators work on normal PO
files, and po2debconf generates a merged templates file with the same
structure.
The debconf-gettextize program was initially designed to help migrating to
the new implementation.
*
It reads a list of master files and their associated
translations, and generates po/*.po files for each language containing
translated strings.
*
Each input file is renamed with a ".old" suffix, and new master file
overwrites the old one; it is identical to the master file except that
an underscore is prepended to translatable fields.
Developers can then choose which fields translators have to work on and
which ones are skipped because their values are not locale-dependent.
*
A po/POTFILES.in file is also created, it contains the list of templates
files debconf-updatepo has to process.
Typically the debconf-gettextize program must be run only once when
transforming from the first implementation to the "po-debconf" format, but
it can also be used afterwards to transform a "_Choices" field into "__Choices"
(or vice-versa) without losing translations, when using the "--merge" flag
(alongside with "--choices" or not).
The desired template containing the "_Choices" or "__Choices" fields to modify
has to be copied into a temporary template file, which is passed as an argument
of debconf-gettextize. The following steps are then performed:
1.
po2debconf is run on this template file to generate a translated templates file.
2.
This translated templates file is processed as described above and PO files are
generated.
3.
Newly created PO files are merged with existing ones.
When PO files are merged, "_Choices" fields have to be replaced by "__Choices"
(or vice-versa) in the original templates file before running debconf-updatepo,
otherwise new translations will be fuzzy.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Display a usage summary program and exit.
-v, --verbose
Process in verbose mode.
--podir=DIR
Set directory for PO files. Default is to search PO files in the po
subdirectory below the location of the first master file.
--choices
By default, debconf-gettextize replaces "Choices" fields by
"_Choices". With this flag, "__Choices" fields are written
instead.
--merge
This flag is set, the first master file is PO files are generated, but templates files and
po/POTFILES.in are not modified.
CAVEATS
The "Default" field is special when template type is "Select" or
"Multiselect", because value has to be chosen amongst English
list of choices, even for localized values. Normally this field
must not be changed, but in rare circumstances localized values
are meaningful (e.g. to choose the default language of an application).
In order to let translators know that this localized "Default" field is
special, you must by convention call it "_DefaultChoice" instead of
"_Default".
