Re: POT file for cpplib

["Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v dot loewis dot de>]

Joseph S. Myers wrote:
> 3. Translator, working on other things, doesn't update the gcc-3.5
> translations, or the cpplib translations, so even though the text of the
> message hasn't changed the translation disappears in 3.5 because it is now
> in a different domain.

So what? Please consider the roles of the people involved here: the
maintainers of the software, the maintainers of translations, and the
users. It is the job of the maintainers of the software to correct bugs,
and release the software. It is the job of the translator to update
translations. If the translator doesn't make her job, the messages
don't get translated. Users of package will notice, and might
a) ignore that fact, and try to understand the English message, or
b) contact the translator, asking for an update to the translation, or
c) volunteer to take over the translation, becoming the translator

Eventually, all messages that people care about are translated to
all languages that people care about. There are transient issues all
the time, in the only way that they get corrected is by people doing
their jobs. If messages change, or appear in different places, it is
the translator's job to deal with that. Please let them make their
jobs.

> Having the domain set up now saves needing an 18th item on the branching
> checklist to be followed when 3.5 branches, but I think there should be a
> comment on the domain saying that translators shouldn't yet work on that
> domain; and when 3.5 branches (when the first gcc-3.5.0-byyyymmdd.pot is
> submitted), that comment should be removed and the .po files then
> initialized from the latest gcc.po files.

Would you like to submit an updated POT file that features such a
comment? It might be that translators don't read the comments on the
Web pages, and translate the catalog, anyway.

If you *really* don't want anybody do work on the catalog at this
moment, you need to withdraw the catalog.

Regards,
Martin