mkmsgs(1)                                                  mkmsgs(1)


       NAME
             mkmsgs - create message files for use by gettxt

       SYNOPSIS
             mkmsgs [-o] [-i locale] inputstrings msgfile

       DESCRIPTION
             The mkmsgs utility is used to create a file of text strings
             that can be accessed using the text retrieval tools [see
             gettxt(1), srchtxt(1), exstr(1), and gettxt(3C)].  It will
             take as input a file of text strings for a particular
             geographic locale [see setlocale(3C)] and create a file of
             text strings in a format that can be retrieved by both
             gettxt(1) and gettxt(3C).  By using the -i option, you can
             install the created file under the
             /usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES directory (locale
             corresponds to the language in which the text strings are
             written).

             inputstrings
                         the name of the file that contains the original
                         text strings.

             msgfile     the name of the output file where mkmsgs writes
                         the strings in a format that is readable by
                         gettxt(1) and gettxt(3C).  The name of msgfile can
                         be up to 14 characters in length, but may not
                         contain either \0 (null) or the ASCII code for /
                         (slash) or : (colon).

             -i locale   install msgfile in the
                         /usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES directory.
                         Only a privileged user or a member of group bin
                         can create or overwrite files in this directory.
                         Directories under /usr/lib/locale will be created
                         if they don't exist.

             -o          overwrite msgfile, if it exists.

             The input file contains a set of text strings for the
             particular geographic locale.  Text strings are separated by a
             newline character.  Nongraphic characters must be represented
             as alphabetic escape sequences.  Messages are transformed and
             copied sequentially from inputstrings to msgfile.  To generate
             an empty message in msgfile, leave an empty line at the
             correct place in inputstrings.


                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1

      mkmsgs(1)                                                  mkmsgs(1)


            Strings can be changed simply by editing the file
            inputstrings.  New strings must be added only at the end of
            the file; then a new msgfile file must be created and
            installed in the correct place.  If this procedure is not
            followed, the retrieval function will retrieve the wrong
            string and software compatibility will be broken.

      EXAMPLES
            The following example shows an input message source file
            C.str:
                  File %s:\t cannot be opened\n
                  %s: Bad directory\n
                        .
                        .
                        .
                  write error\n
                        .
                        .

            The following command uses the input strings from C.str to
            create text strings in the appropriate format in the file UX
            in the current directory:
                  mkmsgs C.str UX

            The following command uses the input strings from FR.str to
            create text strings in the appropriate format in the file UX
            in the directory /usr/lib/locale/french/LC_MESSAGES/UX.
                  mkmsgs -i french FR.str UX

            These text strings would be accessed if you had set the
            environment variable LC_MESSAGES=french and then invoked one
            of the text retrieval tools listed at the beginning of the
            DESCRIPTION section.

      FILES
            /usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/uxsysadm
                  language-specific message file used by mkmsgs [See LANG
                  in environ(5).]

      REFERENCES
            exstr(1), gettxt(1), gettxt(3C), setlocale(3C), srchtxt(1)







                          Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 2