commit: b8ed2dab17d5748eb9220128a968ae961d33cf27 Author: Kerin Millar <kfm <AT> plushkava <DOT> net> AuthorDate: Wed Jan 7 17:36:10 2026 +0000 Commit: Kerin Millar <kfm <AT> plushkava <DOT> net> CommitDate: Wed Jan 7 17:37:15 2026 +0000 URL: https://gitweb.gentoo.org/proj/locale-gen.git/commit/?id=b8ed2dab
locale.gen.5: simplify the wording throughout Reduce the word count by approximately 202. The resulting document is intended to be easier to digest and understand, while remaining erudite. Further, the EXAMPLES section has been amended so as to make it clear that the first field no longer needs to incorporate a codeset part. See-also: fc0c62e2a69cd2e15910f407a4092487c78c63d8 Signed-off-by: Kerin Millar <kfm <AT> plushkava.net> locale.gen.5 | 39 +++++++++++++++++++++------------------ 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-) diff --git a/locale.gen.5 b/locale.gen.5 index 05049da..8ba7786 100644 --- a/locale.gen.5 +++ b/locale.gen.5 @@ -1,45 +1,48 @@ -.TH locale.gen 5 "August 2025" "Gentoo" +.TH locale.gen 5 "January 2026" "Gentoo" .SH "NAME" locale.gen - configuration file for locale\-gen .SH "DESCRIPTION" The \fBlocale\-gen\fR(8) utility compiles the locales specified by the \fI/etc/locale.gen\fR file and integrates them into a locale archive. .P -If present, the file must be comprised by zero or more lines, each of which must be comprised by two fields, separated by one or more <blank> characters. Leading and trailing <blank> characters are permitted. The first field shall be considered as a \fIlocalename\fR and the second field as a \fIcharmap\fR. The <slash> character is forbidden within both fields. The \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file contains a complete list of the supported combinations. +The file is comprised of zero or more lines containing two fields separated by one or more <blank> characters. The first field defines the \fIlocalename\fR. The second field defines the \fIcharmap\fR, also known as a character set or codeset. The <slash> character is forbidden within both fields. .P -Lines that are empty, or which contain only <blank> characters, shall be disregarded. Lines that begin with zero or more <blank> characters, followed by a <number\-sign> character, shall be considered as comments and disregarded. Further, the two fields that form a locale definition may be followed by a comment, provided that its leading <number\-sign> character is enclosed by <blank> characters. +Empty lines and lines beginning with zero or more <blank> characters followed by a <number\-sign> character shall be ignored. +.P +A <number\-sign> character surrounded by <blank> characters may appear after the second field and shall also be ignored, along with the remainder of the line. .P The definition of a <blank> character is that it is either the <tab> or <space> character. +.P +Consult the provided \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file for all valid combinations of the \fIlocalename\fR field and \fIcharmap\fR field. +.P .SH "LOCALE NAMES" -A locale defines a set of cultural conventions, including the writing system, the calendar used, and the means by which dates and numbers are formatted. The GNU C Library employs a locale naming scheme that is based upon the X/Open Common Applications Environment (CAE) Portability Guide Issue 4 (XPG4) specification. A \fIlocalename\fR is composed of between one and four parts. +A valid \fIlocalename\fR is of the following format: .P .RS .EX -language[_territory][.codeset][@modifier] +language[_territory][.charmap][@modifier] .EE .RE .P -A complete list of supported \fIlocalename\fR values can be obtained by reading the first column of the \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file. Its values map directly to the names of files residing in the \fI/usr/share/i18n/locales\fR directory, provided that codeset parts are stripped. +The complete list of supported \fIlanguage[_territory][@modifier]\fR values can be obtained by reading the first column of the \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file. The values map directly to the names of files within the \fI/usr/share/i18n/locales\fR directory. .P -Assuming that a given locale is available, it can be effected by assigning its \fIlocalename\fR to the LANG environment variable, provided that a codeset part is incorporated. .SH "CHARACTER MAPS" -A \fIcharmap\fR, also known as a character set or codeset, is a mapping of character symbols and collating element symbols to actual character encodings, allowing for computers to encode and decode text in a standard way. -.P -A complete list of supported \fIcharmap\fR values can be obtained by reading the second column of the \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file. Its values map directly to the names of files residing in the \fI/usr/share/i18n/charmaps\fR directory, notwithstanding that the names may have a suffix as a consequence of having been compressed. +A \fIcharmap\fR represents a mapping of character symbols and collating element symbols to actual character encodings that enables a standard way to decode, process, and encode text. .P -Given that not all supported values of \fIlocalename\fR incorporate a codeset, the configuration file requires for the second field of each line to define a \fIcharmap\fR. +The complete list of supported \fIcharmap\fR values can be obtained by reading the second column of the \fI/usr/share/i18n/SUPPORTED\fR file. The values map directly to the names of files within the \fI/usr/share/i18n/charmaps\fR directory. .SH "EXAMPLES" .EX # This is a comment, followed by some valid locale declarations. -en_US.UTF\-8 UTF\-8 -zh_CN.UTF\-8 UTF\-8 -de_DE.UTF\-8 UTF\-8 -hi_IN.UTF\-8 UTF\-8 -ja_JP.UTF\-8 UTF\-8 # trailing comments are permitted +en_US UTF\-8 # trailing comments are permitted +en_US.UTF-8 UTF\-8 # considered as identical to the preceding entry +zh_CN UTF\-8 +de_DE UTF\-8 +hi_IN UTF\-8 +ja_JP UTF\-8 .sp -# This is invalid because the localename/charmap combination is unsupported. +# Invalid because the localename/charmap combination is unsupported. en_US GB2312 .sp -# This is invalid because the charmap field is missing. +# Invalid because the charmap field is missing. en_US .EE .SH "FILES"
