Re: GDB 6.4 and translations

[Daniel Jacobowitz <drow@false.org>]

On Thu, Nov 04, 2004 at 12:52:43AM -0500, Paul Schlie wrote:
> No, I don't think you're missing anything. I was simply speculating, being
> ignorant of GDB's longer term internationalization plans, that it may be
> wise to try to avoid the potential complications associated with the default
> use of Unicode left/right quote character codes as tentatively chosen to be
> used in GCC 4.0 quoted output message text on unicode supported platforms;
> as although it may seem aesthetically pleasant, it's likely to create
> otherwise unnecessary complications in circumstances where interface,
> status, warning, and/or error messages may be parsed by subsequent tools
> which may not be unicode aware.

And I think you're just as wrong here as you were when you said this on
the GCC list.

Eli, the background is that GCC has adopted a new mechanism (the 'q'
qualifier to its internal diagnostics machinery, which takes
printf-like formats).  This allows GCC to output Unicode quotes when
using the untranslated (i.e. English) messages - if the current locale
supports them.  A user with UTF-8 locales and non-UTF-8 terminals
complained, and Paul also objected on machine-parseability grounds.  So
fix your locale and move on... I think the nicety of providing the
quote characters the user's locale requested is a very nice touch.

> Where given your statements, it doesn't seem to be part of GDB's present
> plans, which I suspect is good; but still suspect that any translated
> message text containing ASCII symbols which are anticipated to be
> potentially utilized by other programs for whatever purpose, should likely
> retain the original ASCII symbol codes in the text were possible by default
> (even on Unicode platforms) to prevent potential subsequent complications,
> if there's a choice in the matter.

People do still parse the CLI.  They will no matter what we tell them.
Well, it's never been intended as a machine parseable interface (that's
what MI is for nowadays), so if they have to add locale workarounds I'm
entirely unsympathetic.

-- 
Daniel Jacobowitz