Regen ld/po/BLD-POTFILES.in
Remove commented-out file from POTFILES.in and clarify translation process.
Jan Beulich proposed removing a commented-out file entry from ld/po/BLD-POTFILES.in. Alan Modra agreed the file needed updating and questioned why generated files are listed for translation. Modra clarified that specific shell script quoting issues in related files necessitate the explicit listing in BLD-POTFILES.in.
- proposer
Removed a commented-out file from ld/po/BLD-POTFILES.in and questioned the need to enumerate generated files for translation.
“Otoh - why do generated files need enumerating here? Aren't translations done on the sources (i.e. the templates and whatever massages them)?”
- reviewer
Confirmed the need for the change and explained that specific quoting issues in shell scripts require the explicit file enumeration for the translation process.
“See commit 33589acbfe Shell script quoting in .em files confuses xgettext.”
Technical Tradeoffs
- Removing an obsolete file entry simplifies maintenance.
- Explicitly listing generated files for internationalization adds complexity but ensures correct string extraction.
In Details
This discussion concerns the ld/po/BLD-POTFILES.in file within the GNU Binutils project. This file lists the template files that xgettext processes to extract translatable strings for the linker (ld). The change removes an obsolete entry and a contributor clarifies why certain generated files, despite not being source code, must be explicitly listed due to how xgettext handles shell script syntax within them.
- ld
- The GNU linker, responsible for combining object files and libraries into an executable or shared library.
- po
- Portable Object file, a standard format for translated messages used by the gettext internationalization system.
- BLD-POTFILES.in
- A file used in GNU build systems that lists source files from which translatable strings should be extracted.
- xgettext
- A command-line tool that scans source code files to find translatable string literals and writes them into a template PO file (.pot).
- gettext
- A widely used internationalization and localization (i18n and l10n) system for software, providing tools and libraries to translate messages.