localedef(1)localedef(1)NAMElocaledef - Builds a locale from locale and character map source files
SYNOPSISlocaledef [-C compiler_options] [-c] [-f character_map] [-i sourcefile]
[-L linker_options] [-m methodfile] [-P tool_path] [-v] [-w] localename
STANDARDS
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
dards as follows:
localedef: XCU5.0
See standards(5) for more information about industry standards and
associated tags.
OPTIONS
[Tru64 UNIX] Passes the specified options to the compiler that builds
the locale. If you are specifying more than one option, enclose the
list in double quotes. Forces the creation of locale tables. You must
use this option if you have received warning messages; otherwise, the
locale tables will not be created. Specifies a file that maps charac‐
ter and collating symbols to actual character encodings. Using the -f
option allows one source definition to be applicable to more than one
codeset. If this option is not specified, the Portable Character Set
(PCS) is used. The -f option must be used if symbolic names (other than
collating symbols defined in a collating-symbol keyword) are used. See
charmap(4) for more information about a character map file. Specifies
the pathname of a file containing the locale category source defini‐
tions. If this option is not present, source definitions are read from
standard input. See locale(4) for more information about sourcefile.
[Tru64 UNIX] Passes the specified link options to the ld command used
to build the locale. [Tru64 UNIX] Specifies the name of a method file
that describes which methods are to be overridden when constructing a
locale. The localedef command reads the method file and uses the entry
points when constructing the locale objects. The codeset methods spec‐
ified are also used in parsing the charmap file. [Tru64
UNIX] Prepends the specified path to the compiler and linker commands.
[Tru64 UNIX] Runs the command in verbose mode to display information
used for debugging. [Tru64 UNIX] Displays warnings when duplicate
definitions are encountered.
OPERANDS
Identifies the locale and determines where it will be built.
[Tru64 UNIX] Locales can be moved after they are created and
the presence or absence of slash (/) characters in localename
does not indicate whether a locale is later treated as public or
private. The default directory for public locales is
/usr/lib/nls/loc, to which, assuming the appropriate privileges,
a locale can be moved after it is created.
When running the localedef command on other operating systems,
you may have to omit slash (/) characters from localename when
creating a public locale and include them only when creating a
private locale. On these platforms, public locales are automati‐
cally created in the appropriate directory and may be the only
locales that system commands can access.
Note
Because a number of changes have been made to locales to enable
support for the latest version of the Unicode standard (see Uni‐
code(5)), locales you generate on Tru64 UNIX Version 5.1B and
later may not work under earlier versions of Tru64 UNIX. How‐
ever, locales you generate on earlier versions of Tru64 UNIX
will work under Version 5.1B.
DESCRIPTION
The localedef command converts source files that contain definitions of
the locale-dependent information (collation, date-and-time displays,
and character properties) into a run-time format. The command then
assigns the definitions a locale name to be used with commands and
functions that set the locale.
If a locale category source definition contains a copy statement and
the statement names a valid existing locale that is installed in the
system, localedef behaves as if the source definition had contained a
valid category source definition for the named locale.
[Tru64 UNIX] The localedef command can also process a file that speci‐
fies how to build a methods library to be used by character- and
string-conversion functions when they operate in the locale environ‐
ment. This library is necessary for locales based on multibyte code‐
sets, which require conversion methods that are different from the
default methods used by C library routines. A method file has the fol‐
lowing format:
METHODS method entry[package[library_path]] END METHODS
[Tru64 UNIX] The method file contains the following information: The
name of the method. The C function that implements the method. This
function is tailored to the locale's codeset. The optional package
name for the shared library. The package field is ignored; however, you
must specify it if you specify library_path. The pathname of the
shared-library or loadable object that contains the entry implementa‐
tions.
[Tru64 UNIX] The package and library_path fields are optional. If not
specified, these fields default to libc and /usr/shlib/libc.so, respec‐
tively. The localedef command retains the last value specified for
both of these fields, so you need to specify these values only once to
override the default for the entire methods file.
[Tru64 UNIX] The following example of a methods file lists all of the
valid values for the method field in the first column, along with the
default entry, package, and pathname values that are used with single-
byte locales other than the POSIX locale:
METHODS
__mbstopcs "__mbstopcs_sb" "libc" "/usr/shlib/libc.so"
__mbtopc "__mbtopc_sb" __pcstombs "__pcstombs_sb" __pctomb
"__pctomb_sb" mblen "__mblen_sb" mbstowcs
"__mbstowcs_sb" mbtowc "__mbtowc_sb" wctomb
"__wctomb_sb" wcstombs "__wcstombs_sb" wcwidth
"__wcwidth_latin" wcswidth "__wcswidth_latin"
fnmatch "__fnmatch_std" iswctype "__iswctype_std"
localeconv "__localeconv_std" nl_langinfo "__nl_langinfo_std"
regcomp "__regcomp_std" regexec "__regexec_std" regfree
"__regfree_std" rpmatch "__rpmatch_std" regerror
"__regerror_std" towupper "__towupper_std" towlower
"__towlower_std" strcoll "__strcoll_std" strfmon
"__strfmon_std" strftime "__strftime_std" strptime
"__strptime_std" strxfrm "__strxfrm_std" wcscoll
"__wcscoll_std" wcsftime "__wcsftime_std" wcsxfrm
"__wcsxfrm_std" wctype "__wctype_std"
END METHODS
[Tru64 UNIX] If you supply a methods file for your locale, the file
must contain entries for the following methods because, without them,
it is not possible to read the charmap file:
__mbstopcs __mbtopc __pcstombs __pctomb mblen mbstowcs mbtowc wcstombs
wcswidth wctomb wcwidth
[Tru64 UNIX] Entries for methods other than the preceding ones are
optional.
EXIT STATUS
The localedef command returns the following exit values: No errors
occurred and the locale was successfully created. Warnings occurred
and the locale was successfully created. The locale specification
exceeded limits or the coded character set or sets being used are not
supported, and no locale was created. The capability to create new
locales is not supported. Warnings or errors occurred and no output
was created.
If an error occurs on execution of the localedef command, it does not
create an output file.
If warnings occur, the command creates an output file only if the -c
option is specified. The following conditions cause warning messages
to be issued: A symbolic name not found in the charmap file was used
for the descriptions of the LC_TYPE or LC_COLLATE categories. (For
other categories, this condition is treated as an error.) The number
of operands to the order keyword exceeds the COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX limit.
Optional but unsupported keywords are present in the source input.
ERRORS
[Tru64 UNIX] To review localedef diagnostic messages, enter the fol‐
lowing commands: % cd /usr/lib/nls/msg/en_US.ISO8859-1 % dspcat
localedef.cat | more
EXAMPLES
To create a locale called Austin from standard input and to disregard
warnings, enter the following: localedef-c Austin To create a locale
called Austin from Austin.src as source input, enter the following:
localedef-i Austin.src Austin
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect execution of the localedef
command. See i18n_intro(5) and l10n_intro(5) for more information.
Provides a default value for the locale category variables that are not
set. If set to a nonempty string value, overrides the values of all
locale category variables and LANG. Specifies the locale used to
interpret byte sequences as characters in, for example, command parame‐
ters. The setting of this variable does not affect the processing of
the input source, for which the command always uses the POSIX locale.
Specifies the locale that determines which translations to use, if any
exist, for the command's messages. Determines the search path that the
command uses to find message catalogs needed for processing LC_MES‐
SAGES.
SEE ALSO
Commands: locale(1)
Files: charmap(4), locale(4)
Others: i18n_intro(5), iconv_intro(5), l10n_intro(5), standards(5)
Writing Software for the International Market
localedef(1)