[Gdal-dev] GDAL on WinCE?

[Frank Warmerdam]

On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 18:43:55 +0100, Alain Rist <ar at navpoch.com> wrote:
>  
> Franck, 
>   
> WinCE systems are Unicode only. 
>   
> You can process char, char*, char& and char[] types as usual, but any string
> transfer with the system ( file names, error messages etc..) is Unicode. 
>
> Many places in GDAL code embed such strings. All these char* or char[]
> should be changed to TCHAR ( a macro that expands to wchar_t if Unicode is
> enabled ) , without touching the real char type used in the formats. 
>   
> By the way, Unicode enabling GDAL is a very good idea : if coupled with
> grouping of all message strings and hard-coded names in some resource
> location, it would open the possibility for non english speakers to use GDAL
> ! 
>   
> But if it is on your TODO list, I am afraid it gets a very bad scoring. 

Alain, 

I can't say unicode enabling GDAL has been high on my priority list. 
It is a sufficiently major job that I think I would need a paying client
who needs the capability enough to foot the bill.  And I hate to think
what complexities it would pose for "normal" applications using
the library the old way.  I would definately want to look at doing
such a conversion in a way not unduely incompatible with what is
done now. 

I am also not keen on translatability of messages.  I just find it hard
to imagine anyone wanting to get error messages from GDAL in
another language badly enough to justify the effort of translating and
trying to maintain all the error messages.  I also don't like messages
getting "too far away" from the code that issues them.  Generally I
have seen this be a recipe for "message rot" where it is too much 
trouble to find the messages and update them when the code changes. 
Knowing my own laziness in this regard I would need a strong 
motivation to make such a change.  Likewise, I do a crappy job at
keeping the format documentation up to date as it is now.  Imagine
how much less likely this would be done well in another language. 

I  guess my point is that I try hard to limit the amount of 
documentation work so as to prevent me and others from just
giving up on it.  I am leery of anything that complicates the effort. 

Best regards,
-- 
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