[Etoys] How to distribute amd install MO for Apps

[Bert Freudenberg]

On Nov 11, 2007, at 2:22 , korakurider at yahoo.co.jp wrote:

> Hi, bert.
>
> While I am still working on stabilizing runtime-translation stuff to
> make smooth to integrate add-on applications with base Etoys,
> I hit fundamental question: how to distribute and install addon
> application with translation.

An important question, and I have more ideas than time to implement :/

> We need to do following that seem difficult on OLPC if I understand
> correctly:
>    - EToys use installed MOs for translation, so additional MOs for
>      the apps need to be installed onto file system.

They can be put in the app's .xo bundle.

>    - Additional domains/MOs need to be registered by API call, and
>      that registration is stored in image in current implementation.

It would be added by the code in the bundle.

> We have had great apps for Squeak, but..
>    - the last version of DrGeoII is packaged as SAR.  It is possible
>      to execute almost anything in preamble, but MOs installation
>      seems impossible in Rainbow-enabled environment.

A SAR may or may not be the best packaging. It could actually extract  
a .mo to the default directory, so we would just have to support an  
additional path for .mo files.

>    - the last version of BotInc is packaged as project.  How to  
> package
>      MOs in tt?

I guess it would have to be distributed in the same .xo (or .xol?)  
bundle as the project. Adding the .mo to the project file itself  
would also be possible (it's just a zip file), making the projects  
self-contained. Not sure that is advisable though.

>    - For both case, can domain registration be stored in Journal and
> restored ?  it is easy for squeakland-OLPC user to save image...

No, it is not easy to save the image. If we make it easy, we would  
also have to provide an equally easy way of restoring the default image.

> So only way to provide translation for apps is that preload apps and
> rename image and package them as RPM.  I would like to hear your  
> thought.

No, apps must be packaged as .xo files. We will just have to find a  
way to support this. SImilar to what I did with the DiceWars xo  
bundle a while ago.

> (I understand we have similar issue with additional font...)

The font can simply be saved in the default directory, just as we do  
now I think.

- Bert -