intltool mit Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper installieren

Projektlinks

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream-Dokumentation
• Paketmanager-Seite

Befehle und Aliase

• intltool-extract
• intltool-merge
• intltool-prepare
• intltool-update
• intltoolize

Projektgeschichte

The freedesktop project page presents intltool as a centralizing layer around GNU gettext-compatible PO files. Older distribution references and the project page point to Launchpad and older GNOME FTP downloads, which matches its role as a long-lived GNOME/freedesktop build dependency rather than an application-facing tool.

The tool's later history is tied to deprecation by capability growth in GNU gettext. GNOME's migration guide says intltool was invented to bridge the gap between what gettext supported and what modern GNOME application files needed, and that gettext support for formats such as GtkBuilder XML, .desktop files, GSettings schemas, AppData, and ITS-backed XML made intltool increasingly unnecessary.

Adoptionsgeschichte

intltool became common because desktop projects needed translations in metadata and UI description files, not only in C or header sources. Its presence in package managers such as Homebrew and traditional Linux distributions reflects its status as a build-time dependency carried forward for older autotools projects.

As gettext absorbed more file-format support, adoption shifted from new use toward compatibility. GNOME's migration guide is explicitly written for removing intltool from build chains and replacing its macros, generated files, and desktop/XML merge rules with direct gettext rules.

Wie es verwendet wird

Package builders usually encounter intltool through commands such as intltoolize, intltool-extract, intltool-merge, intltool-update, and intltool-prepare. The important operational detail is that it participates in the source tree's translation build flow rather than acting as an end-user localization editor.

Warum Paket-Nerds sich dafür interessieren

intltool is package-nerd archaeology: a small dependency that explains why many older GNOME and freedesktop tarballs have m4 macros, .in files, and translation merge steps that look unlike modern gettext-only projects. Knowing why it existed helps maintainers decide whether to patch it in, keep it as a build dependency, or migrate it away.

Zeitleiste

• GNOME/freedesktop era: intltool is used to bridge gettext PO files with translatable XML, Glade, .desktop, .server, and OAF files.
• 2010-2015: gettext gains support for several file types that intltool had commonly handled.
• 2016: GNOME publishes migration guidance for moving intltool-using projects to pure gettext.
• 2021: The freedesktop intltool page points users to Launchpad for downloads and bugs, with older versions on GNOME FTP.

Related projects

• GNU gettext is the translation system intltool wraps and eventually yields to for many use cases.
• itstool is called out by GNOME as the fallback path for XML formats not covered by gettext's native handling.
• GNOME and freedesktop desktop application build systems are the ecosystem where intltool mattered most.

Quellen

• https://code.launchpad.net/intltool
• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/intltool
• https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/intltool/
• https://wiki.gnome.org/MigratingFromIntltoolToGettext