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From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: Tools for manipulating message catalogs
Message-ID: <__WA68C@xds13.ferranti.com>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
References: <1991Apr7.190119.24825@motcad.portal.com> <1991Apr8.191035.13836@alphalpha.com> <1991Apr10.122642.3991@dg-rtp.dg.com> <1991Apr19.103905.486@dce.ie>
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 91 18:07:28 GMT

In article <1991Apr19.103905.486@dce.ie> ch@dce.ie (Charles Bryant) writes:
> 	a) symbolic names allow messages to get out of sync with the
> 	program (e.g. swap two lines in the message file, or add a new
> 	one in the wrong place)

Well, actually, they let newer message files get out of sync with older
ones. But you need to check this anyway, to handle accidental deletions
or improper changes in messages... as well as improper use of messages
in the source (as, for example, the classic case where a constant with
the initial value of "10" was used as a numeric base in base conversions,
and when the constant (which had nothing to do with base conversion)
changed everything went higgledy-piggledy).

> 	b) it is easy to forget or get confused over which number
> 	corresponds to each message

Why should you have to know?

> Why not get the benefits of both? Have the input be:
> 	1	MSG_NUMTOOBIG	"Number too big"

Sounds good. You have to watch out for stuff like:

	15698	MSG_EMACS	"Editor too big"
	...
	15968	MSG_SWAPPER	"Out of swap space in message file"
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"