Ensure Correct CDE NLS Environment

You must make sure that the NLSPATH environment variable is set properly. This ensures that your application will find message catalogs.

If your application calls DtInitialize() before catopen(), then NLSPATH is set. Otherwise, make sure that it understands the NLSPATH variable. For example, you can set it explicitly in your code.

Message Catalog Functions

Solaris CDE applications must use the catopen(), catclose(), and catgets() family of messaging functions (instead of gettext() and so on). See the man pages for information on how to use these functions.

Also, if the system on which you are writing your application does not define NL_CAT_LOCALE in a header file, you must define it in your application. This ensures that the application is portable to other UNIX XPG4-compliant platforms.

Locale Announcement

So that your application knows what locale it is running in, use:

• XtSetLanguageProc()--If your application is Motif/Xt GUI-based
• setlocale()--If your application is not GUI-based

Character Strings and XmStrings

This section describes how to convert between character strings and XmStrings.

To Convert from Character String to XmString

In Motif, you must make an explicit call to convert a string to XmString, an internal representation of the string. If you internationalize your application, use XmStringCreateLocalized() to perform this conversion.

In CDE Motif--unlike in Motif 1.2.3--XmStringCreateLocalized() recognizes \n as a line separator, so a string can have multiple lines.

To Convert from XmString to Character String

To convert from XmString to a character string, you must traverse the compound string and retrieve each segment individually. See section 19.3.3 of the Motif Programming Manual, Volume 6A, which contains a code sample that performs this conversion.

Do not use XmStringGetLtoR() to convert from XmString to a character string. This function assumes the text is oriented left-to-right.

Include app-defaults File

If your application uses resources, make sure to include an app-defaults file. Refer to the X Toolkit Intrinsics Programming Manual (Volume 4, Section 2.3.3) for details on setting up an app-defaults file.

Localize Motif Resources

Localize any Motif resource that represents something that must be customized for a particular locale by putting the resource in your app-defaults file. These include, but are not limited to:

• XmNmnemonic
• XmNfontList
• XmNcolumns
• XmNinputMethod
• XmNpreeditType

Deliver Message Catalog

Every SVR4 UNIX platform contains the gencat utility. Run gencat on the translated message catalog file to produce a binary form of the message catalog. The resulting file is a formatted message database.

CDE and gencat

Each platform has its own implementation of gencat. Follow these rules for message catalogs to ensure that each message catalog's format does not cause different gencat utilities to break:

1. Use a $quote directive if you have trailing spaces (see the gencat man page).

2. Do not put more than one space between the message id and the message string.

3. Insert a space between $ and the comments.

4. Message IDs need to be sorted in ascending order.

.msg Files

A .msg file is a message catalog containing translatable text that appears in your application code. It is the file that you give to a translator for translation. See the gencat man page for its format. Use gencat to turn a translated message catalog to a message database.

.cat Files

A .cat file is a message catalog that results when you run gencat on a .msg file. This is a binary file.

Fonts

In the OpenWindows environment, font alias names differ depending on the application locale. In Solaris CDE, the font alias names are independent of locale. Refer to CDE Internationalization Programmer's Guide or CDE Programmer's Guide for information on CDE font names.