L10n:Updating Localizations in CVS

L10n:Home Page | Firefox:1.5 Localization

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This document describes the mechanics of updating your localized version of Firefox or Thunderbird in CVS. It assumes you have already registered your l10n project; you have a working installation of CVS; and you've already committed your localisation to the CVS l10n repository.

Updating localization

Basic method

There are various methods to bring your localisation up-to-date with the en-US version. It is easiest if you have local parallel versions of your ab-CD locale and the en-US files.

1. cvs diff the en-US files bother, this doesn't work.
2. cvs update your local en-US files, noting which files have changed (P or U in the output from cvs update)
3. either:
   1. compare the changed files with your ab-CD files
   2. use cvs diff -D date1 -D date2 <files> to get a diff of changes
4. change your ab-CD files
5. run compare-locales.pl to ensure you haven't missed any build-breaking changes
6. commit your ab-CD changes

Bonsai for finding changes

If you don't have en-US files, you can use Bonsai to find the changes:

1. Put the list of directories into the Directory box (alternatively, use the links below)
   • Bonsai with Firefox and toolkit directories filled in
   • Bonsai with Thunderbird directories filled in
2. In the Date box, select the Between, and set the dates to the time of your last update and now (or some time in the future, which Bonsai appears to be quite happy with).
3. On the results page, click the "Show me ALL the diffs" button to get a single diff of all the changes listed.
4. Otherwise, use the links in the "Rev" column to show the changes between the revision listed and the previous one.
5. use the diff file(s) as a basis to alter your ab-CD files
6. run compare-locales.pl to ensure you haven't missed any build-breaking changes
7. commit your ab-CD changes

Watching for l10n-related bugs

Please check your bugzilla account settings, Edit: Prefs in the footer, Email Settings and make sure that you're watching firefoxl10n@hotmail.com. You can watch l10n@mozilla.com too but this may send unneeded bug notifications. Watching both will not send bugmail twice.

New files, obsolete files, binary files

New files must be added with cvs add (binary files–ones you can't edit in a text editor—must be added using the -kb switch). Obselete files, removed in the en-US locale can be removed using cvs delete.

Committing your files post-freeze

Fairly soon, we'll branch for 1.5. When this happens, everyone has to be more careful about the changes they commit.

APPROVAL PROCESS FOR FIREFOX AND THUNDERBIRD LOCALES

After we branch, you will still be allowed to make localized checkins without approval. Before locales are ready for release, however, they must go through a freezing and review process. The process for finalizing locales is as follows:

1. The locale owner should finish all translation work. The locale tinderbox must be green and producing working nightly builds.
2. The locale owner should mark their locale as ready for review at
   • L10n:Firefox 1.5 Status
   • L10n:Thunderbird 1.5 Status
   Once the locale has been marked "ready for review", it is frozen and no further changes are allowed in that locale without review. To request review, post a patch in bugzilla and mark the "approval-l10n?" flag on the patch. Please note that Firefox and Thunderbird teams should coordinate before freezing a locale, to make sure that there are not shared strings (in dom/ or toolkit/) which need to be changed.
3. Reviewers (TBD) will review the locale files. They will use a checklist (which hasn't been written yet). This checklist will include basics like making sure the tinderbox is green and the nightly builds run, to checking URLs, search plugins, and other l10n items for correctness. The review items and the final review status will be marked on the wiki for reference.

Benjamin Smedberg, in n.p.m.l10n

To make a patch to apply to your locale:

cvs diff -u > file.txt

creates a diff of the current directory and all sub-directories against what is in the CVS repository, and saves it as file.txt. Attach this to a bug, request approval for the current branch. Check the tinderbox for tree rules and appropriate approval flags.

File bugs in Product:Mozilla Localizations, with the Component of your locale, or "Other".