APPENDIX E - Language localization
In VEGA and VEGA ZZ, the language localization is provided by
AmigaOS
Locale Technology.
This method allows to translate the character strings without recompile the source code,
editing a text file and compiling it with a tool included in VEGA ZZ or in
localization packages.
Each language requires a translation file (called catalog) which file name
is that of the program that use it followed by .catalog extension (e.g. VEGA.catalog,
WINDD.catalog). The translation files must be placed in subdirectories named with
the language
(e.g. italiano, français, deutsch, etc) of the Catalogs folder that
must be present in
the program root directory .
All programs that uses this technology, can run without catalog files, because
the default language (usually english) is built-in.
What you need to translate a catalog:
In order to translate all VEGA messages into your preferred language, you need the language localization (VEGA_XX_Locale.tar.gz) or the source code (VEGA_XX_Source.tar.gz) or VEGA ZZ package. If you are using the former package, please remember that the localization tools aren't installed if you performed the installation using the default settings. Before to start the translation, you must identify:
FlexCat:
the catalog builder.
AmigaOS, Irix 6.2 Linux and Windows 32 bit executables are included. If your
operating system is another one, you must compile the included source code (© Marcin Orlowski).
Catalogs/VEGA.cd file.
This is the text file used to generate the built-in language.
Catalogs/VEGA.ct file.
This is the catalog template to edit to do the translation.
A text editor compatible with your operating system.
How to build a new VEGA.catalog file:
Open the VEGA.ct file with your text editor.
Change the first three lines:
## version $VER: XX.catalog XX.XX ($TODAY)
## language X
## codeset 0
with:
## version $VER: VEGA.catalog 1.0 (compilation_date)
## language your_language
## codeset 0
The compilation_date must be in DD.MM.YYYY format and your_language must
be in lower case.
In each blank line, translate the string in the next line. Please use ANSI/ISO character set only.
Make sure to keep the C formatting characters in your translation (e.g. %s, %.4f, \n, etc).
Save the VEGA.ct file.
Build the VEGA.catalog typing:
flexxcat VEGA.cd VEGA.ct CATALOG VEGA.catalog
Copy VEGA.catalog to the suitable directory (e.g. Catalog/YOUR_LANGUAGE/). Please note that YOUR_LANGUAGE directory must be lower-case, otherwise the Unix systems can't find the file.
Set LANGUAGE key of VEGA prefs file to YOUR_LANGUAGE. This step is needed for VEGA command line, if your operating system is Unix-like or if your PC doesn't recognize the operating system language. To change the language in VEGA ZZ, use the Preferences dialog.
For more information about FlexxCat, please consult the documentation included in the language package.
The catalog file is a binary file with a standard IFF structure. More information about Interchange File Format (IFF) can be found in Native Developer Kit of Amiga Inc.