ABOUT-NLS

1 Notes on the Free Translation Project
***************************************

Free software is going international!  The Free Translation Project is
a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all
together, so that free software will gradually become able to speak many
languages.  A few packages already provide translations for their
messages.

   If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may
assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally,
itself available at your nearest GNU archive site.  But you do _not_
need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using
this package with messages translated.

   Installers will find here some useful hints.  These notes also
explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
available translations.  They tell how people wanting to contribute and
work on translations can contact the appropriate team.

   When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be
related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of
`gettext' which is used.  The information can be found in the
`intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages.

1.1 Quick configuration advice
==============================

If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you
should configure it using

     ./configure --with-included-gettext

to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this
package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the
operating system where this package is being installed.  So far, only
the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as
many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic
charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here.
It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top
of a `catgets' implementation.  Future versions of GNU `gettext' will
very likely convey even more functionality.  So it might be a good idea
to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible.

   So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or
you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the
included `libintl'.

1.2 INSTALL Matters
===================

Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the programs
they contain can be made to speak your own native language.  Most such
packages use GNU `gettext'.  Other packages have their own ways to
internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'.

   By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
messages.  It will automatically detect whether the system already
provides the GNU `gettext' functions.  If not, the included GNU
`gettext' library will be used.  This library is wholly contained
within this package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior
installation of the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required.
Installers may use special options at configuration time for changing
the default behaviour.  The commands:

     ./configure --with-included-gettext
     ./configure --disable-nls

will, respectively, bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the
internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else,