Re: msgfmt checking

[Bruno Haible]

Hi,

Djihed Afifi wrote:
> 
> With c-format strings, it is valid to shuffle around variables in a
> string to make the translated strings grammatically correct in the host
> language. For example, in :
> 
> 
> "%d item, with size %s"  (a string from nautilus),
> 
> we would use %2$s to place the string first in the translated string.
> 
> In Arabic, for some plural forms, it is more appropriate to remove the
> number all together and express it with words. Something like:
> 
> "two items, with size %2$s". 

Thank you for reporting this. Incidentally, the same issue was already
reported two weeks ago in the gettext bug tracker:
  http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?23183

The gettext manual was changed to recommend that the programmer use
  "%2$d item, with size %1$s"
in this case.

> "two items, with size %2$s". 
> which, to my knowledge, is valid C. 

Unfortunately, no, this is not a valid C format string. All printf
implementations must fail when they receive such a format string.
You find a description of what a valid C format string looks like at
  http://www.opengroup.org/susv3/functions/fprintf.html

Bruno