Re: CVS & Gettext

[Paul D. Smith]

%% Bruno Haible <address@hidden> writes:

  bh> You will find your suggestions addressed in gettext-0.11.3.

  >> but do not take any action to resolve these problems.  This could
  >> simply be another mode to whatever "fix-up" code exists in
  >> gettextize, which prints a message instead of trying to actually
  >> fix things.

  bh> I disagree, If one designs a tool to be automatic, then it must be
  bh> reliable and cannot leave around files in a wrong state. Only for
  bh> an interactive tool this is an option. gettextize is an
  bh> interactive tool, but the one you are asking for is an automatic
  bh> one.

My opinion is that it's always important to remember the audience when
designing a tool.  You wouldn't use 15-letter words when writing
programs meant to teach young kids, and similarly it's OK to expect a
certain level of programming acumen when designing tools for
programmers.

So, I don't have any problem with an automated tool printing out
messages regarding problems it finds _without_ making any attempt to fix
them.  As I believe I mentioned before, in complex situations it's
almost invariably the case that any automated attempt will fail at least
as often as it succeeds: far better to warn the user and let them manage
the situation as is most appropriate for them.

YM, of course, MV.

Anyway, the docs I read regarding autopoint sound fine, so thanks! :).
I'm happy to use that during normal build procedures, and use gettextize
when switching to a newer version of gettext.

  bh> 2) When it comes to making a release, it is more reliable. ...

  >> In the case above, and I believe on many other projects, testing is
  >> done is on the released package tarball.  No one ever tests out of
  >> the CVS tree.

  bh> I fear you are mistaken here. In all multi-developer projects I
  bh> know of, testing is done directly off the CVS contents.

I guess it also depends on what you mean by "testing".  In the context I
was referring to, I meant a set of pretests or beta tests; in all the
projects I'm working with there is always a daily snapshot or even a
hand-generated release snapshot, and testing by pre/alpha/beta testers
is done on those rather than directly from the CVS contents.  Most of
these "outer circle" testers don't have the time or interest to maintain
the toolsets required, regardless of whether gettext is included in CVS
or not.

  bh> As you like. But I will document the dangers of approach b) !

Excellent!  Thanks again.

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