UPDATE-LOCALE-CONFIG(8) 				  Debian GNU/Linux User's Manual				   UPDATE-LOCALE-CONFIG(8)

NAME

       update-locale-config - Update differnt programs' language settings

SYNOPSIS

       update-locale-config [--preinst|-p] [--list|-l] <language>

DESCRIPTION

       update-locale-config  is  a script that automatically updates the language settings of different programs based on the language code passed
       as parameter.  This script is run by base-config throughout the Debian installation process so that the user  language  selection  is  made
       visible	to packages and thus preventing debconf interfaces from asking questions related to language settings and adjusting packages' sys-
       tem-wide configuration files to the user selection.

       update-locale-config can run in two modes, pre-inst or post-inst (the default). Pre-inst mode will run all scripts under /usr/lib/localiza-
       tion-config  with  a  preinst suffix, most of these scripts will do debconf preseeding and will run before packages are actually installed.
       The postinst mode (default) will run all scripts under the same directory with a postinst suffix, most of these will  modify  configuration
       files that are available once the package has been installed on the system.

       System administrators should not need to run update-locale-config by hand, although this option is available. Notice, however, that running
       update-locale-config in pre-inst mode will not affect the system unless the packages whose debconf configuration has changed are  reconfig-
       ured (with dpkg-reconfigure PACKAGE).

       Users  should  not run update-locale-config as all the changes this script makes are systemwide.  If a user wants to change his locale con-
       figuration and adjust the language configuration of his own configuration files set-language-env (available in  the  language-env  package)
       should be used instead.

OPTIONS

       -d | --debug
	      Debugging mode

       -l | --list
	      List supported locales.

       -p | --preinst
	      Run the pre-install scripts instead of the (default) postinst scripts.

       language
	      specify your favorite native language.  Here are some of the supported languages:
	      ca_ES@euro Catalan (Spain)
	      da_DK Danish
	      de_BE@euro German (Belgium)
	      de_DE@euro German (Germany)
	      el_GR.UTF-8 Greek (Greece, UTF-8 mode)
	      es_ES@euro Spanish (Spain)
	      es_MX Spanish (Mexico)
	      fr_BE@euro French (Belgium)
	      fr_FR@euro French (France)
	      lv_LV Latvian
	      nb_NO or no_NO (depricated) Norwegian Bokmaal
	      nds_DE Low Saxon
	      nl_BE@euro Dutch (Belgium)
	      nl_NL@euro Dutch (The Netherlands)
	      nn_NO Norwegian Nynorsk
	      se_NO Northern Sami

PACKAGE SCRIPTS

       Support	for  new packages is based on scripts present in /usr/lib/localization-config. These scripts must analyse the official locale lan-
       guage code (language[_territory][.codeset][@modifier]) and modify the package as  appropriate.  Since  language	modifications  might  vary
       between	different  package versions, the scripts in that directory should just check the package version and call scripts in per-distribu-
       tion subdirectories (sarge, woody, etc.).

       These scripts take as input the locale language code and should do whatever modifications are need in order to configure the package.  Pos-
       sible modifications include:

       debconf-preseeding
	      If the package asks to the user through debconf settings that might depend on the language and charset, and if an accurate guess can
	      be made based on the users locale language code then the script should preseed the debconf values so that the user will not have	to
	      answer the questions himself upon package installation.  Debconf preseeding is usually done in the preinst phase.
	      configuration  file  modification  If the package has configuration files that can be modified to adjust for the user's selection of
	      locale language code, the script should make any reasonable changes in order to help the user configure the package. Conffiles  (see
	      Debian policy) should be treated with extreme care (to avoid prompts of configuration file changes by dpkg when upgrading).

       All changes done by the scripts should be idempotent.

LANGUAGE SUPPORT

       Language support is embedded in the scripts available at /usr/lib/localization-config. These scripts hold the knowledge on how to transform
       a given language code into a package's modification.  Adding support for a new language (or variant) should  be	done  by  modifying  these
       scripts.  The  code presently available that provides support for some languages could be used as a basis for new language support. In many
       scripts, adding support for a new language is just a matter of defining it and the values that need to be changed for it in a  database	of
       languages and changes (actually implemented in most cases as hash array in Perl)

FILES

       /usr/lib/localization-config
	      Location of the scripts that adjust programs to use the user configured locale.

SEE ALSO

       base-config(8), debconf(1), language-env(1), locale(1)

       Recommended  reading  also  includes  Debian  GNU/Linux - Install manual (available at http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual)
       which  descirbes  how  language	and  country  selection  works	in  the  debian  installer  and  Introduction  to   i18n   (available	at
       http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/intro-i18n/) which describes i18n (and locale) to developers.

BUGS

       Bugs regarding this software should be sent against the localization-config package, preferably using the report-bug script.

AUTHOR

       This software and a first version of the manpage was written by Dagfinn Ilmari Mannsaaker <ilmari@ping.uio.no> for the Skolelinux distribu-
       tion.  This manpage was later modified for the Debian GNU/Linux by Javier Fernandez-Sanguino. Minor changes by Konstantinos Margaritis

update-locale-config						    2004-10-20						   UPDATE-LOCALE-CONFIG(8)