GNU gettext Reaches Version 1.0 After 30 Years (phoronix.com) 20
After more than 30 years of development, GNU gettext finally "crossed the symbolic 'v1.0' milestone," according to Phoronix's Michael Larabel. "GNU gettext 1.0 brings PO file handling improvements, a new 'po-fetch' program to fetch translated PO files from a translation project's site on the Internet, new 'msgpre' and 'spit' pre-translation programs, and Ocaml and Rust programming language improvements." From the report: With this v1.0 release in 2026, the "msgpre" and "spit" programs do involve.... Large Language Models (LLMs) in the era of AI: "Two new programs, 'msgpre' and 'spit', are provided, that implement machine translation through a locally installed Large Language Model (LLM). 'msgpre' applies to an entire PO file, 'spit' to a single message."
And when dealing with LLMs, added documentation warns users to look out for the licensing of the LLM in the spirit of free software. More details on the GNU gettext 1.0 changes via the NEWS file. GNU gettext 1.0 can be downloaded from GNU.org.
And when dealing with LLMs, added documentation warns users to look out for the licensing of the LLM in the spirit of free software. More details on the GNU gettext 1.0 changes via the NEWS file. GNU gettext 1.0 can be downloaded from GNU.org.
No GNU/LLM? (Score:1)
I just wish RMS was technical enough to release a GNU/LLM.
Re: (Score:2)
I am now re-skimming the GNU Manifesto that was updated in 1987.
What does an LLM do that fits the goals of GNU? Possibly the last two paragraphs about "a step towards the postscarcity world".
But explain to me how that would work with "free", "Free", improving, available sources, handholding-versus-abandoning, co-operation-versus-competition...
Re:What's it do? (Score:5, Funny)
produce multi-lingual messages
The diacritics of which will crash Slashdot.
Re: What's it do? (Score:4, Funny)
If a thought can't be expressed in the king's english with ascii characters, it isn't really a thought. More of a primitive grunt.
At some point in the distant future, Man will cease to learn language. A custom LLM will just translate between everyone's infantile babbling.
Re: (Score:3)
I used to think that, but then I learned Japanese.
I suppose with enough time and effort you could explain those concepts, but it's not easy.
LLMs and even human translators struggle with it. Conversations flow differently, people view the world differently, and accurately conveying their meaning is quite difficult. One of the things you have to learn when studying Japanese is to stop trying to translate it back into English for understanding.
Re: What's it do? (Score:2)
This is true with every language barrier and my hypothesis is that language is merely a barrier for communication of common cultural features. The Russian culture (as distinct from the Russian language) has enough differences from American or British cultures that there are a few untranslatables in both directions. Even British and American vernaculars have some bits of lost in translation because even though the language is the same, the cultural contact is limited by geography.
Call it the inverse Sapir-Wo
Re: (Score:2)
LLMs and even human translators struggle with it.
It's not really that difficult. Just insert an occasional silent "round-eyed gaijin" into the translation.
Re: (Score:2)
This Friday just gone, 30 January 2026, I was at work.
Bad crap in the laptop build meant that a particular folder had its ACLs changed so that not even the service desk or desktop staff could view the contents of a log folder. And scripts that were supposed to install applications broke hard (even if the stupid PowerShell system had been told to ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).
There's a script in the SCCM script library to fix that. One of the engineers wrote it. It had emoji unicode ticks in there I know fro
Re: (Score:2)
It's about time for Slashdot to support those weird characters MacOS users type into these comments.
Re: (Score:2)
MacOS users are weird characters.
Re: (Score:2)
_("Finally!") (Score:3)
A number is just a number (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
I actually prefer the trend of making the #year.month the version number. That way, we don't have to avoid the version .00 releases: every version will be whatever its date of actual release (not the date work on it starts) turns out to be. That way, if something is released in February 2026, its version number can be 26.2, but let's say there are bugs which are fixed in April, then that release can be 26.4. Then let's say that later in April, say 25th April, there is another update of some kind, that ca
Congratulations! 30 years to version 1.0... (Score:2)
You beat the hurd!
Re: (Score:2)
Bingo! (Score:2)