[Freeciv-Dev] Client/Server localization problem

[Dirk Stoecker <stoecker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

Freeciv has a general design problem in case server and client run with
different languages. As the server also sends formated texts, this cannot
be solved easily.

Possible solutions would be:

1) The strings are no longer sent, but new packets are introduced and the
clients create the strings from packet data.

2) The server does no longer format the strings itself, but sends the
string and the arguments and the client formats them.

3) Anything I have forgotten????

Both solutions aren't that easy (Well would have been better to design the
first versions of Freeciv with localization in mind).

The first solution seems to be much cleaner to me, so here an example
transfer structure (I do not know much about current design, so this
reflects a way I would do it):

  - int size of block  /* These two are for identification */
  - int type of block  /* I think freeciv has already a system for it */

  - int Number of arguments
    - int argument type
    - int argument

Where argument type stores the data type:
#define TRANSFERTYPE_STRING           0 (string id)
#define TRANSFERTYPE_VALUE            1 (a number)
#define TRANSFERTYPE_UNITNAME         2 (data is unit id, result is unit name)
#define TRANSFERTYPE_CITYNAME         3 (data is city id, result is city name)
#define TRANSFERTYPE_PLAYERNAME       4 (data is player id, result is city name)
#define TRANSFERTYPE_TECHNAME         5
#define TRANSFERTYPE_NATIONNAME       6
#define TRANSFERTYPE_NATIONSNAME      7
#define TRANSFERTYPE_IMPROVEMENTNAME  8
...

The strings are then stored in a larger field on client side and addressed
with the field index.

On the client side this could be changed into a text and afterwards be printed.

P.S. This should at least be added to TODO file.
Maybe called: "Seperate server and client texts".

Ciao
 ____  _ _  ____  _ _    _ _  ____
|    |  |  |    |  | \  / |  |    | the cool Gremlin from Bischofswerda
|  __   |   ____|  |  \/  |  |    | WWW: http://home.pages.de/~stoecker/
|    |  |  |       |      |  |    | PGP key available on www page.
|____| _|_ |____| _|_    _|_ |____| I hope AMIGA never ends to make fun!