Re: I18n of Packages files
Let's summarize:
To have translated descriptions for packages:
1) each package should have some 'control-LANG' files (LANG would be a full
locale definition in form: lang_territory@variation.encoding), and we
would use something like the tools that allow translation of debconf
template files to manipulate the descriptions
- this allows easy maintainance of the descriptions and checking if
they are up to date
2) all translations of a description should be included in the .deb file, but
to save disk space, they are split on ftp/http/etc. servers, as well on
the installed system
- on the archive servers:
Packages[.gz]
Packages.LANG[.gz]
...
- on installed system:
/var/lib/dpkg:
available
available.LANG
...
/var/state/apt:
ftp.alea.iacta.est_debian_blah_blah_Packages
ftp.alea.iacta.est_debian_blah_blah_Packages.LANG
...
- this allows to have only the wanted translations - for example
apt can be configured to get the Packages files for languages
"C", "pl" and "fi"
3) dpkg should print the description according to the current locale, and
the field names according to whether --standard-field-names is provided
(see point 2 in <[🔎] 20000921132149.B16658@piglet.ds14.agh.edu.pl>)
Now I think the above should make almost everybody happy.
Also please note, that a new package format is planned for woody+1 or
woody+2 (that is what Wichert Akkerman told me on IRC recently), where the
control file is going to be in xml format, so things will yet change.
This new format will however take a _lot_ of work to implement, so I guess
it's reasonable to allow for translated descriptions in the way I proposed
until we have that new format.
regards
Marcin
--
+--------------------------------+ The reason we come up with new versions
|Marcin Owsiany | is not to fix bugs. It's the stupidest
|porridge@pandora.info.bielsko.pl| reason to buy a new version
+--------------------------------+ I ever heard. - Bill Gates
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