localized Packages and debconf templates
The situation with localized debian is improving all the time,
and soon it will be possible to have the installation completely
in one's national language.
There are two major fields required to be translated:
debconf templates and Packages file (= Description in debian/control)
These two fields have very similar position, and having a unified way of
handling translations could be beneficial.
Currently, debconf templates translations are handled by bugging
individual maintainers (by filling wishlist bugs) to include them
in their packages.
Translators of Packages file have taken other approach (possibly because
there is no other infrastructure for handling localized Packages, unlike
debconf): there is a central database with translated Descriptions,
updated by translating teams, and individual maintainers have nothing in
common with this.
Clearly, both these aproaches have their advantages and disadvantages:
debconf way's advantage is that maintainer is in control and if he
understands the translation at least a bit, he can spot mistakes and
translator's misunderstandings (happened to me).
With centralized Packages files, maintainer is out of the way.
In my opinion, Packages could be handled via the following way:
Description-lang could be added to debian/control by an individual
maintainer - presumably this will be used for languages the
maintainer speaks, and feels competent to write the description in.
Translating team then translates only those descriptions not having
the translation for the language in question. For packages having the
description in target language, they just take Description-lang
verbatim (+- correcting mistakes), and create translated
Packages file.
This would require changes in dpkg.
As for debconf templates, they would benefit from centralized
database too, but unfortunately they _have to_ be present in a
package, so I see no clear way of improving current situation.
With growing number of target languages, situation can however
become rather unpleasant (think of >20 languages - maintainer
would end up doing nothing else except of maintaining submitted
translations)
Comments?
--
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| Radovan Garabik http://melkor.dnp.fmph.uniba.sk/~garabik/ |
| __..--^^^--..__ garabik @ melkor.dnp.fmph.uniba.sk |
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