From: hertzog <hertzog@313b444b-1b9f-4f58-a734-7bb04f332e8d>
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 07:31:48 +0000 (+0000)
Subject: - Integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
X-Git-Url: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~ianmdlvl/git?p=developers-reference.git;a=commitdiff_plain;h=0c552242fa027c6682a6aca8314e422570bea0c8

- Integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
  Denis Barbier. Thanks Denis !


git-svn-id: svn://anonscm.debian.org/ddp/manuals/trunk/developers-reference@1709 313b444b-1b9f-4f58-a734-7bb04f332e8d
---

diff --git a/common.ent b/common.ent
index 1d34e0a..e947be2 100644
--- a/common.ent
+++ b/common.ent
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@
 
 <!entity url-rules-files "http://people.debian.org/~srivasta/rules">
 
+<!entity url-debconf-l10n-help "http://&www-debian-org;/intl/l10n/templates/hints">
+
 <!-- 
      URLs, non-debian
   -->
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index d9a282d..27cef41 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
       "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
       "The wise use of debconf". All those are quite simplistic, they
       can be improved ...
+    - Integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
+      Denis Barbier. Thanks Denis !
 
   * Antoine Hulin:
     - update French translation
diff --git a/developers-reference.sgml b/developers-reference.sgml
index ba883c6..811fa69 100644
--- a/developers-reference.sgml
+++ b/developers-reference.sgml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   <!entity % commondata  SYSTEM "common.ent" > %commondata;
 
   <!-- CVS revision of this document -->
-  <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.109 $">
+  <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.110 $">
   <!-- if you are translating this document, please notate the CVS
        revision of the developers reference here -->
   <!--
@@ -2643,7 +2643,35 @@ hand crafted rules file.
 
 	<sect1 id="handling-debconf-translations">Handling debconf translations
 	<p>
-	&FIXME; Denis Barbier is going to write it.
+Like porters, translators have a difficult task.  Since they work on many
+packages, they cannot keep track of every change in packages in order to
+be informed when a translated string is outdated.  Fortunately
+<package>debconf</package> can automatically report outdated translations,
+if package maintainers follow some basic guidelines described below.
+	<p>
+Translators can use <prgn>debconf-getlang</prgn> (package
+<package>debconf-utils</package>) to write a <file>templates.xx</file>
+file containing both English and localized fields (where <em>xx</em> is
+the language code, may be followed by a country code).  This file can be
+put into the <file>debian</file> subdirectory without any change.
+	<p>
+When building a binary package, <file>debian/templates.xx</file> files are
+merged along with <file>debian/templates</file> to generate the
+<file>templates</file> file contained in the binary package.  This is
+automatically done by <prgn>dh_installdebconf</prgn> (package
+<package>debhelper</package>). If you do not use debhelper, you can
+do the same with <prgn>debconf-mergetemplate</prgn>
+(package <package>debconf-utils</package>). 
+	<p>
+When the package maintainer needs to update the templates file, he only
+changes <file>debian/templates</file>.  When English strings in this file
+and in <file>debian/templates.xx</file> differ, translators do know that
+their translation is outdated.
+	<p>
+Please see the page about
+<url id="&url-debconf-l10n-help;" name="localizing debconf templates files">
+at the Debian web site, it contains more detailed instructions, including a
+full example.
 
 
     <sect id="specific-practices">