Messages - HP 9000 User Manual

Messages
The ability to customize messages for different countries is an important aspect
of using NLS. NLS enables you to choose the language for prompts, responses
to prompts, and error messages. All of this can be done at run time. And,
since messages are kept in catalogs separate from the program code, it is not
necessary to recompile the source code when you are using the program in
another language.
It is, however, necessary to work closely with your translator to ensure that
the semantics of system or program messages are correctly conveyed in the
translation. In practice, the syntax of another language may force a change in
the sentence structure of a translated message.
For example, an English message for a given command might be interpreted
two ways in German.
The original in English is:
cannot read at directory
("at" is an HP-UX directory)
In German, this message could be interpreted as:
Kann das Verzeichnis nicht lesen.
(Literally: "cannot read the directory" , with "at" misinterpreted as an
untranslatable preposition)
If the meaning of "at" is pointed out to the translator in a "cookbook"
accompanying the message catalog, the message would be correctly translated
as:
at Verzeichnis nicht lesbar.
(Li terally:
"c
at' directory not readable." -the intended meaning.)
Handling messages in message catalogs helps ensure that the messages are
accessible for editing, updating, and translating into other languages, as
required.
For details on the use of message catalogs, see the section "Localizing Message
Catalogs" in Chapter 5.
Introduction to NLS 2-9
2