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mateusz.vi |
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SVARLANG.LIB - THE SVARDOS TRANSLATION C LIBRARY
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Copyright (C) 2021-2023 Mateusz Viste
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SvarLANG is a library and toolset for enabling SvarDOS applications to easily
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support multiple languages. It is part of the SvarDOS project.
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Homepage: http://svardos.org/svarlang/
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### PREPARING TRANSLATION FILES ###############################################
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The translation files must be CATS-style text files in the usual format:
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1.1:Hello, World!
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1.2:Help screen
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2.0:Type /? for more options
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The files must be named as EN.TXT, DE.TXT, FR.TXT, etc. Then, they must be
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converted into SvarLANG's binary format using the TLUMACZ tool:
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tlumacz en fr pl (...)
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The first language provided in the command line is the reference language and
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is used both as the default (embedded in the application) language, as well as
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to substitute messages missing in other languages.
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TLUMACZ computes two files:
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* OUT.LNG - the binary file that contains all translations
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* DEFLANG.C - the default translations that will be embedded into the program
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Then, DEFLANG.C must be compiled and linked to your program along with
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SVARLNGx.LIB. From there you will be able to use SvarLANG calls, like this
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very basic example:
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svarlang_load("myprogram.lng", "pl"); /* load PL lang from myprogram.lng */
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puts(svarlang_str(2, 0)); /* display the string with id 2.0 */
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A more practical, real-world example would probably be this one:
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svarlang_autoload_exepath(argv[0], getenv("LANG"));
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puts(svarlang_str(2, 0));
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Read svarlang.h for more information about available functions.
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### ESCAPED CHARACTERS ########################################################
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Translation strings may contain some escaped characters. At this time only the
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following escaped characters are supported: \e \r \n \t and \\
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### DIRTY STRINGS #############################################################
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In the CATS-style source translation, lines may be prefixed with a '?' sign:
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?1.1:Hello, World!
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Such string is used by tlumacz like any other, but it is also reported on the
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command-line with a warning about the line being "dirty" (that is, requiring
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to be reviewed by a translator).
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### ENVIRONMENT ###############################################################
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The program translation file should be named "PROGNAME.LNG", where PROGNAME
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is the program's name. This file should be placed in a well-known location,
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typically the program's own directory.
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The %LANG% environment variable usually defines what language should be loaded,
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albeit the program can just as well provide its own controls for language
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selection and pass this information to svarlang_load() accordingly.
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### WHY IS IT BETTER THAN CATS? ###############################################
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The CATS library is heavier and slower, as it embeds a text-file parser.
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Translations also take more disk space since each language is stored in a
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separate file, leading to cluster waste. Finally, CATS requires default strings
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to be part of the application's source code, while SvarLANG keeps all strings
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in TXT files and embedds the default one inside the application in an automated
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way at compile time.
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There is also a licensing issue: CATS/Kitten libraries are published under the
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terms of a viral, corrosive license. SvarLANG, on the other hand, is published
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under a truly free, liberal MIT license.
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### FILE FORMAT ###############################################################
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File =
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magic : Char[4] := "SvL\x1a" (ie. "SvL" followed with a 0x1a char)
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; 0x1a is an end-of-file marker that prevents TYPE garbage
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num_strings : U16
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languages : array[num_languages] of Language
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Language =
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lang_id : Char[2]
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len_strings : U16 := SizeOf(strings)
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dictionary : StringDict
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strings : array[File.num_strings] of StringZ
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StringDict =
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elements : array[File.num_strings] of DictEntry
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; sorted by DictEntry.Id
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DictEntry =
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id : U16
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offset : U16
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; relative to Language.strings[0]
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StringZ = array[?] of Char ; zero-terminated string
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NOTE: All numeric values are stored in x86 (little endian) order.
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####################################################################### EOF ###
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