mkmsgs(1)            (System Administration Utilities)            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/LCMESSAGES 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/LCMESSAGES
                     directory.  Only someone who is super-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 new-line
         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.

         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


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   mkmsgs(1)            (System Administration Utilities)            mkmsgs(1)


               %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/LCMESSAGES/UX.
               mkmsgs -i french FR.str UX

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

   FILES
         /usr/lib/locale/locale/LCMESSAGES/*   message files created by
                                                mkmsgs(1M)

   SEE ALSO
         exstr(1), gettxt(1), srchtxt(1).
         gettxt(3C), setlocale(3C) in the Programmer's Reference Manual.
























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