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Invoking the msgfmt Program

Usage: msgfmt [option] filename.po ...

`-a number'

`--alignment=number'

Align strings to number bytes (default: 1).

`-h'

`--help'

Display this help and exit.

`--no-hash'

Binary file will not include the hash table.

`-o file'

`--output-file=file'

Specify output file name as file.

`--strict'

Direct the program to work strictly following the Uniforum/Sun implementation. Currently this only affects the naming of the output file. If this option is not given the name of the output file is the same as the domain name. If the strict Uniforum mode is enable the suffix `.mo' is added to the file name if it is not already present. We find this behaviour of Sun's implementation rather silly and so by default this mode is not selected.

`-v'

`--verbose'

Detect and diagnose input file anomalies which might represent translation errors. The msgid and msgstr strings are studied and compared. It is considered abnormal that one string starts or ends with a newline while the other does not. Also, if the string represents a format sring used in a printf-like function both strings should have the same number of `%' format specifiers, with matching types. If the flag c-format or possible-c-format appears in the special comment #, for this entry a check is performed. For example, the check will diagnose using `%.*s' against `%s', or `%d' against `%s', or `%d' against `%x'. It can even handle positional parameters. Normally the xgettext program automatically decides whether a string is a format string or not. This algorithm is not perfect, though. It might regard a string as a format string though it is not used in a printf-like function and so msgfmt might report errors where there are none. Or the other way round: a string is not regarded as a format string but it is used in a printf-like function. So solve this problem the programmer can dictate the decision to the xgettext program (see section Special Comments preceding Keywords). The translator should not consider removing the flag from the #, line. This "fix" would be reversed again as soon as msgmerge is called the next time.

`-V'

`--version'

Output version information and exit.

If input file is `-', standard input is read. If output file is `-', output is written to standard output.

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