> Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2024 09:37:03 +0000 > From: Jean-Christophe Helary <[email protected]> > Cc: Stefan Kangas <[email protected]>, Vincent Belaïche > <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected], > [email protected] > > >> Would @author be also used for the translator? > > > > @author is a TeX command and goes into the printed version. For > > translation, we'd need a separate directive, I think, since a > > translator is not the author. Again, this is something for the > > Texinfo folks to handle. > > Legally speaking a translator is an author. Depending on the > jurisdiction (Anglo-Saxon right vs EU right for ex.), the translator > hold full copyright on the translation, unless it was a work for hire, > etc. That’s why there are contracts between publishing houses and > translators to allow or not the use of the translation is such and such > format. I am not an IP lawyer, but I know what’s written in the > contracts I’ve signed. > > Creating another directive for the translation author seems like > splitting hairs. But maybe not using @author at all and just adding a > sentence in the text regarding the translation is the way to go.
I don't know enough about this to have an opinion. I still think this is a GNU-wide decision that should be addressed by Texinfo folks. > >> Also, we will have to translate @node, because they appear in the > >> Section index. I see that they were kept in English in the SES manual. > > > > If we translate @node names, links from the doc strings and > > cross-manual links will not work. > > They will if they are translated in the other manuals. That’s what I’m > doing in the Emacs manuals at the moment. That means no fallback for when a translated manual doesn't exist to which the link points. Not sure this is better or what to do about that. Again, something Texinfo should address, I think. > > But, for such links to work, we > > need a facility to tell the Info reader that when a link goes to a > > manual named FOO.info, it should visit FOO-LANG.info instead. Again, > > something that involves a change in Texinfo and in all Info readers. > > What are the practical cases where translating nodes would be a problem? > > 1. I read a manual in English, there is a link with a node in English, > it directs to the other English manual. > > It’s the expected behaviour. > > 2. I read a manual in French, there is a link with a node in English, > it directs to the other English manual. > > If the other manual exists in French, it is not the proper behaviour. > > 3. I read a manual in French, there is a link with a node in French, it > directs to the other French manual. > > If the other manual exists in French, it is the proper behaviour. > > If it does not, we should have an error message that informs the reader > that the manual is not translated. I think case 3 should fall back to the English manual instead of erroring out. Having a manual without translation to an arbitrary language will be the usual case for quite some time, so an error message sounds like a harsh punishment to me.
