[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Default language for system



Tomohiro KUBOTA <kubota@surfchem0.riken.go.jp> writes:

> Marek Habersack wrote:
> > The only universal solution
> > to all that I can see is to have a self-destroying script that would ask the
> > user when s/he logins first what language to set up for him and then modify
> > the appriopriate shell startup file. Sure, it's a dirty solution, but I
> > can't think of any other at that moment :((

In what language should the question be given? English, italian,
dutch, chinese?

The only possible way for this would be to add LANG support to the
getty and display a set of possible languages somewhere on screen in
their native writeing. Something like this:

F1 English  F2 Deutsch  F3 Italiano  F4 <some japanese characters saying japanese>

Pressing the Fx key would preset LANG to the right value and let the
user login in that language.

> So far 'user-ja' supplies a 'user-ja-conf' command to establish the user's
> personal Japanese environment.  Also new preparing user-ja has a menu item
> to invoke user-ja-conf.  Your way can be a solution to make it easier.  
> Another is to have a file '/usr/local/sbin/adduser.local' but /usr/local
> should not be used for Debian packages.
> 
> 
> Goswin Brederlow wrote:
> > I\264m german but I certainly don\264t want my linux to talk german to me,
> > same will be true for many polish users. Don\264t mess with their
> > settings.
> 
> Why?  If
> 
> (1) the admin is a Polish speaker and prefer Polish to English, 

He can set LANG in hie enviroment.

> (2) the admin is very sure all of the users of the machine are Polish 
>     speaker and they prefer Polish to English, and 
> (3) no one use Polish-disabled console environment,

Then he can set LANG in /etc/enviroment and unset it for any new user
not wanting polish.

> then you can set LANG in /etc/environment, while I prefer to set it in 
> dot-files in the home directories for all users.  If the admin prefer
> English or s/he knows there are non-Polish-speaker user, the admin can
> select not to set LANG.  To force is bad but to offer selections is good.

Hmm, does the pam modules check for ~/.enviroment? That should be done 
if enabled in the config. That way new users would get the
/etc/skel/.enviroment file and have the default language set.

> Goswin Brederlow wrote:
> > Then file a bug against the bootdisk to query the user for the
> > language of his choise. Just changing it is evil and if random
> > packages start poping up requests for language choise it will get
> > anoing.
> 
> I know this approach is preferable, straightforward, and beautiful.
> But it is difficult to add 'Japanese' menu in the boot floppy because
> 
> (a) it means we have to have one more floppy only for Japanese font, and
> (b) I heard that 'kon2', a software to enable Japanese (and Korean 
>     and Chinese with optional font files) to be displayed on console, 
>     does not work for some machines.

The question could be posponed until after the first boot, i.e. after
base was installed. Also the demofs I´m working on (a live flesystem
for Debian) could be used in cases where a CD, a NFS server or a copy
f the demofs.loopback file is at hand. I plan to have an option to
start the normal installation procedure within the demofs (for example 
in an xterm under X while playing xtokkaetama [great game]).

May the Source be with you.
			Goswin


Reply to: