MSGFMT

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: July 2020
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NAME

msgfmt - compile message catalog to binary format

SYNOPSIS

msgfmt [,OPTION/] ,filename.po /...

DESCRIPTION

Generate binary message catalog from textual translation description.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. Similarly for optional arguments.

Input file location:

filename.po ...: input files
-D, --directory=,DIRECTORY/: add DIRECTORY to list for input files search

If input file is -, standard input is read.

Operation mode:

-j, --java: Java mode: generate a Java ResourceBundle class
--java2: like --java, and assume Java2 (JDK 1.2 or higher)
--csharp: C# mode: generate a .NET .dll file
--csharp-resources: C# resources mode: generate a .NET .resources file
--tcl: Tcl mode: generate a tcl/msgcat .msg file
--qt: Qt mode: generate a Qt .qm file
--desktop: Desktop Entry mode: generate a .desktop file
--xml: XML mode: generate XML file

Output file location:

-o, --output-file=,FILE/: write output to specified file
--strict: enable strict Uniforum mode

If output file is -, output is written to standard output.

Output file location in Java mode:

-r, --resource=,RESOURCE/: resource name
-l, --locale=,LOCALE/: locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY
--source: produce a .java file, instead of a .class file
-d DIRECTORY: base directory of classes directory hierarchy

The class name is determined by appending the locale name to the resource name, separated with an underscore. The -d option is mandatory. The class is written under the specified directory.

Output file location in C# mode:

-r, --resource=,RESOURCE/: resource name
-l, --locale=,LOCALE/: locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY
-d DIRECTORY: base directory for locale dependent .dll files

The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .dll file is written in a subdirectory of the specified directory whose name depends on the locale.

Output file location in Tcl mode:

-l, --locale=,LOCALE/: locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY
-d DIRECTORY: base directory of .msg message catalogs

The -l and -d options are mandatory. The .msg file is written in the specified directory.

Desktop Entry mode options:

-l, --locale=,LOCALE/: locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY
-o, --output-file=,FILE/: write output to specified file
--template=,TEMPLATE/: a .desktop file used as a template
-d DIRECTORY: base directory of .po files
-kWORD, --keyword=,WORD/: look for WORD as an additional keyword
-k, --keyword: do not to use default keywords

The -l, -o, and --template options are mandatory. If -D is specified, input files are read from the directory instead of the command line arguments.

XML mode options:

-l, --locale=,LOCALE/: locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY
-L, --language=,NAME/: recognise the specified XML language
-o, --output-file=,FILE/: write output to specified file
--template=,TEMPLATE/: an XML file used as a template
-d DIRECTORY: base directory of .po files

The -l, -o, and --template options are mandatory. If -D is specified, input files are read from the directory instead of the command line arguments.

Input file syntax:

-P, --properties-input: input files are in Java .properties syntax
--stringtable-input: input files are in NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings syntax

Input file interpretation:

-c, --check: perform all the checks implied by --check-format, --check-header, --check-domain
--check-format: check language dependent format strings
--check-header: verify presence and contents of the header entry
--check-domain: check for conflicts between domain directives and the --output-file option
-C, --check-compatibility: check that GNU msgfmt behaves like X/Open msgfmt
--check-accelerators[=,CHAR/]: check presence of keyboard accelerators for menu items
-f, --use-fuzzy: use fuzzy entries in output

Output details:

-a, --alignment=,NUMBER/: align strings to NUMBER bytes (default: 1)
--endianness=,BYTEORDER/: write out 32-bit numbers in the given byte order (big or little, default depends on platform)
--no-hash: binary file will not include the hash table

Informative output:

-h, --help: display this help and exit
-V, --version: output version information and exit
--statistics: print statistics about translations
-v, --verbose: increase verbosity level

AUTHOR

Written by Ulrich Drepper.

REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs in the bug tracker at <https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gettext> or by email to <bug-gettext@gnu.org>.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 1995-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.