Should handle Qt/KDE '.ts' Translation Source files in addition to '.po'

[Paul Sladen]

Recent KDE or Qt applications have started having their translation saved and updated in the '.ts' Translation Source format. This format is different to the '.po' format that Rosetta currently supports.

The following pages has some information about Qt Linguist, a translation application that speaks this file format:

  http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/linguist-translators.html
  http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/linguist-ts-file-format.html

According to the following page, the "web-based Pootle" supported several formats, including '.ts' files:

  https://sourceforge.net/projects/translate/

This is an XML-based format that looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE TS>
<TS version="2.0" language="en_GB">
  <context>
    <name></name>
    <message>
        <source>Colors</source>
        <translation>Colours</translation>
    </message>
  </context>
</TS>

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

 pkgbinarymangler (39) feisty; urgency=low
 .
   * pkgstriptranslations: Collect .ts files (KDE XML translation source
     format). (LP: #68959)

[Swistak (swistakers)]

It's a pity that .ts is not supported. It prevents Qt apps from using Rosetta.

[patpi (patpi)]

Yes, this feature would be great to have. Qt apps also would like to use launchpad translations system ;-]

[Swistak (swistakers)]

Any plans on that?
Is there a workaround for that problem?

[Данило Шеган (danilo)]

You should be able to use ts2po tool (part of translate-toolkit) to convert .ts files to .po files and then upload that to Launchpad. Translate-Toolkit likely has a "reverse" script as well.

[Geoff Hutchison (geoffh-pitt)]

This has not been fixed.

The ts2po tool can convert to po files for Launchpad. I've done this (and contributed a new patch to ts2po to facilitate). But the po2ts simply doesn't work with recent Qt versions (i.e., Qt4 and later).

[Georges Dubus (madjar)]

New Qt 4.5 comes with lconvert, which can convert translation files from ts to po and vice versa (also handles xlf). This enable to convert Qt translations and upload them to Launchpad. Still, that's nothing but a workaround.

[Nick Andrik (andrikos)]

Any progress with that?
What should we do in order to help fix that?