L10n:Updating Localizations in CVS

This document describes the mechanics of updating your localized version of Firefox or Thunderbird in CVS. It assumes you have already registered your l10n project; you have a working installation of CVS; and you've already committed your localisation to the CVS l10n repository.

The aim is to bring your localisation up-to-date with the en-US version. There are various methods to do this. It is easiest if you have local parallel versions of your ab-CD locale and the en-US files.

1. cvs diff the en-US files
2. cvs update your local en-US files (this ensures the next cycle of this process starts where this one left off)
3. use the diff file as a basis to alter your ab-CD files
4. run compare-locales.pl to ensure you haven't missed any build-breaking changes
5. commit your ab-CD changes

If you don't have en-US files, you can use Bonsai to find the changes:

1. Put the list of directories into the Directory box (alternatively, use the links below)
   • Bonsai with Firefox and toolkit directories filled in
   • Bonsai with Thunderbird directories filled in
2. In the Date box, select the Between, and set the dates to the time of your last update and now (or some time in the future, which Bonsai appears to be quite happy with).
3. On the results page, click the "Show me ALL the diffs" button to get a single diff of all the changes listed.
4. Otherwise, use the links in the "Rev" column to show the changes between the revision listed and the previous one.
5. use the diff file(s) as a basis to alter your ab-CD files
6. run compare-locales.pl to ensure you haven't missed any build-breaking changes
7. commit your ab-CD changes

New files, obsolete files, binary files

New files must be added with cvs add (binary files–ones you can't edit in a text editor—must be added using the -kb switch). Obselete files, removed in the en-US locale can be removed using cvs delete.

Committing your files post-freeze

Fairly soon, we'll branch for 1.1. When this happens, everyone has to be more careful about the changes they commit. For the /l10n repository, approval is required before committing changes.

cvs diff -u8 > file.txt

creates a diff of the current directory and all sub-directories against what is in the CVS repository, and saves it as file.txt. Attach this to a bug, request approval-[whatever]

Errm, what happens then? I assume it's something like

• make sure you don't change your local copy;
• get approval;
• commit changes;

Need to point out which product/component to post bugs in.