Purpose: information relating to the message catalog interface. ---- Documentation can be found at http://www.purl.org/tcl/home/man/tcl8.5/TclCmd/msgcat.htm ---- The msgcat package (standard with Tcl since 8.1) addresses the problem of hard coded application text. Instead of ====== label .x -text Files ====== if you write ====== label .x -text [mc Files] ====== then you can create catalog entries for various languages for the term "Files". Also, ''mc'' will apply formatting to the string, so ====== puts [mc "Directory contains %d files" $nfiles] ====== will allow a translator to work with the string "Directory contains %d files". The above example assumes you have once invoked ====== package require msgcat ;# and done namespace import msgcat::* ;# (or msgcat::mc). ====== Provided you have .msg files containing ====== ::msgcat::mcset de Files Dateien ::msgcat::mcset fr Files Fichiers ====== (notice that the rootname part has the naming convention that it shall be the contained language - for e.g. locale "en_us_funky", ''msgcat'' searches the contents of first ''en_us_funky.msg'', then ''en_us.msg'', then ''en.msg'') then either automagically (when env(LANG) is accordingly set) or by ====== ::msgcat::mclocale fr ====== .x will have the text "Fichiers". If you want to package your messages into the application file, you can as well do this with ''mcset''. See [Multilingual menu] and [A little stopwatch] for examples. <> Note that msgcat 1.3 (comes with Tcl 8.4) also initializes the locale from ''::env(LC_ALL)'' or ''::env(LC_MESSAGES)''. [LES]: I don't have ''::env(LC_ALL)'' and ''::env(LC_MESSAGES)'' on [Slackware] 11. ---- [Arjen Markus] This came up in the newsgroup: The utility [frink] is able to adjust the source code so that the new code uses the msgcat package. ---- The 8.3.4 release of the [PPC] binary is broken in that it lacks msgcat and [bgerror] implementations. [Melissa Schrumpf] explains the situation with her customary clarity ... bgerror and msgcat are contained in tcl/library/msgcat/msgcat.tcl. Do this: Copy "Simply Tk (PPC)" to "Simply Tk (PPC).edit" Run ResEdit (or Resourcer, or whathaveyou). Open a "Simply Tk (PPC).edit" in ResEdit. Open the "TEXT" resources. Open resource ID "package require msgcat" This will be right at the top. Next, open tcl/library/msgcat/msgcat.tcl in a text editor. Copy from the beginning of the line: package provide msgcat 1.1.1 through to the end of the file. Return to ResEdit. Delete the line "package require msgcat" and, in its place, paste the code you copied from msgcat.tcl. Close all resources and save. You now have a fixed stand-alone Tk shell. ---- [Anton Kovalenko] has written, "Also, there is a small but useful script, which converts non-ascii characters from current system encoding to \uXXXX sequences. I think it would be useful to anyone who works often with tcl message catalogs. http://kovalenko.webzone.ru/unicodize.tcl (A/AK: chat.ru is down, so my page migrated) " LES: "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /unicodize.tcl on this server." ---- A/AK: there are some things about [msgcat and shortcut keys], that are important for GUI application writers. [EKB] And this seems to have been continued into [ampersand magic]. ---- [KHM] Any Idea where to download this tool? [LV] KHM - msgcat is a part of Tcl itself. Or are you talking about some other tool? ----- GNU gettext has support (since V 0.13 [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tcl_announce/message/1750]) for Tcl msgcat and conversion tools from and to PO format. http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext/ ----- Simple Tk example of switching languages, complements of [dgp]: ====== package require Tk bgerror 123 msgcat::mclocale "fr" msgcat::mcload [file join $::tk_library msgs] bgerror 123 msgcat::mclocale "en_gb" msgcat::mcload [file join $::tk_library msgs] bgerror 123 ====== ---- Now, how can I determine what languages are available for mclocale? ---- ''[escargo] 8 Dec 2003'' - What if you want to do some form of parameter substitution in the strings that you might use with '''msgcat'''? In some systems I have developed, messages were somewhat macro-like; you might pass a number or a name (of a file, for example) that should be part of the message. Is there anything in the '''msgcat''' that does the substitution internally, or do I have to add my own layer on top of it? [RS]: Easy, for instance with [format]: ====== msgcat::mcset fr "Directory contains %d files" "Il y a %d fichiers" ... puts [format [mc "Directory contains %d files"] $nfiles] ====== '''[DGP]''' Even easier. There's a [format] already built-in to [mc]: ====== puts [mc "Directory contains %d files" $nfiles] ====== [EKB] I moved this example up to the top of the page and combined it with the intro text so it's easier to find. [AM] Also very useful: the %1$s type format codes - with this you can interchange variables if needed. ====== % mc "this is a %s test for %s" first anything this is a first test for anything % mc {this is a %2$s test for %1$s} first anything this is a anything test for first ====== Note the {} around the text to prevent the $ to be interpreted and looking for the variable $s. ---- [RS] 2007-01-08: Here's a simple self-contained example for testing: ====== #!/usr/bin/env tclsh package require msgcat msgcat::mcset de yes Ja msgcat::mcset de no Nein msgcat::mcset fr yes Oui msgcat::mcset fr no Non proc localbool value { if {$value} {msgcat::mc yes} else {msgcat::mc no} } puts [localbool 0]/[localbool 1] That's all. Save that to a file, and run it with different LANG settings: $ /Tcl/msgcat.tcl Nein/Ja $ LANG=fr /Tcl/msgcat.tcl Non/Oui $ LANG=en /Tcl/msgcat.tcl no/yes ====== <> ---- <> Dynamic mode - change locale on run-time [HaO] 2012-07-17: [http://www.tcl.tk/cgi-bin/tct/tip/399.html%|%TIP 399%|%] contains a patch to use msgcat in an environment which dynamically changes languages. A file `msgcat-1.4.5.tm` is available in the linked feature request at [https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3511941&group_id=10894&atid=360894%|%Sourceforge%|%]. This file may be put to the tcl lib to be tested. In my experience, it is not sufficient, to have the file within the own project. It must be copied to the tcl installation beside the present file `msgcat-1.4.4.tm`. At this place, there were an alternate implementation and some use instructions. Please use the upper version now and refer to the tip about the usage. <> <> Add notion of MC file locale to simplify mc files [HaO] 2012-07-17: I find it anoying and error-prone to repeate the locale for each mcset-command, even if it could already be known by the file name of the message catalog file. As a consequence, one may try the extension of msgcat in the feature request [https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3544988&group_id=10894&atid=360894%|%3544988%|%] on sourceforge. This extension basicly adds variants of the mcset and mcmset commands to use the locale given by the file name of the current sourced message cataloge file. ***Example message file*** Here is an example file contents with the file name `de.msg`: ====== mcflset File Datei mcflset Exit Verlassen ====== The command name `mcflset` is an abreviation of "'''m'''essage '''c'''atalogue with '''f'''ile '''l'''ocale '''set'''". ***Set and get mc file locale*** The '''mc file locale''' is set by the `mcload` command before a message file is sourced. The msgcat subcommand `mcconfig` is extended to get and set this locale: ====== % puts [mcconfig -mcfilelocale] de % mcconfig -mcfilelocale en en ====== The new command `mcflset` is identical to: ====== mcset [mcconfig -mcfilelocale] ====== Old and new syntax may be mixed, for example to set local variations (this is IMHO not recommended at all, better use two message files, but I didn't find a better example): ====== mcflset Hello "Hallo" mcset de_CH Hello "Salü" ====== ***Setting mc file locale by command*** The set-ability of the mc file locale is not important. It might be used, to set the default value for a bunch of values within program code (and not in an msg file). ====== mcconfig -mcfilelocale de mcflset File Datei mcflset Exit Verlassen ====== One must take care, that any mcload command may set it to another value. Specially `package require` commands may invoke `mcload` commands. <> <> Use tags instead of text [HaO] 2012-07-17: Given the code with a localised error message: ====== if {[catch {open $File r} Err]} { puts stderr [mc "File error accessing '%s': %s" $File $Err] } ====== and the German translation: ====== --de.msg-- msgcat::mcset de "File error accessing '%s': %s" "Zugriffsfehler Datei '%s': %s" --eof-- ====== I use tags instead of a default translation. The default (english) text is contained in the root translation: ====== --de.msg-- msgcat::mcset de errFile "Zugriffsfehler Datei '%s': %s" --eof-- --ROOT.msg-- msgcat::mcset {} errFile "File error accessing '%s': %s" --eof-- if {[catch {open $File r} Err]} { puts stderr [mc errFile $File $Err] } ====== Why that ? * If I change the default text, I do not have to change the translation keys * It feels more systematic to me to separate text and code * If a text is the same in english but different in german, I may not make any difference * If I forget a translation, I get only a stupid tag. Nothing for lazy guys... <> <> Exchange package msgcat by a custom version [HaO] 2012-07-24: To use a newer `msgcat` Version, it is to my experience not sufficient to have a new package in a custom `auto_path`. There is always the original found, I don't know why. A new package must be set to the default location. Thus the new `msgcat.tcl` is renamed to `msgcat-1.x.x.tm` (1.x.x: version greater 1.4.5 which will be the version in tcl 8.5.12) and saved to: * `/lib/lib8/8.5` If the program is wrapped to an executable starkit (not .kit), one may save it to: * `.vfs/lib/lib8/8.5` If an application is wrapped using ActiveState TclApp, I did not found any way to wrap anything to the upper path. But I made a custom tap file containing a `pckIndex.tcl` and a `msgcat.tcl` and this worked (at least for a console application). <> ---- **Examples of using `msgcat`** * [simple text editor] * [HiLo-international] * [multilingual menu] * [Tk internationalization] **See also** * [msgcat magic] * [msgcat and shortcut keys] * [msgcat-Ready Script Utility] * [msgcat-x] * [ampersand magic] * [locale] * [localization] * [message catalog] * [Tk and msgcat] <> Tcl syntax help | Arts and crafts of Tcl-Tk programming | Command | Local | String Processing | Package