Re: [PATCH] Poison gettext with the Ook language

SZEDER Gábor [off-list ref] writes:

On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 05:36:33PM +0200, Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy wrote:

quoted

The current gettext() function just replaces all strings with
'# GETTEXT POISON #' including format strings and hides the things
that we should be allowed to grep (like branch names, or some other
codes) even when gettext is poisoned.

This patch implements the poisoned _() with a universal and totally
legit language called Ook [1]. We could actually grep stuff even in
with this because format strings are preserved.

Once upon a time a GETTEXT_POISON build job failed on me, and the
error message:

  error: # GETTEXT POISON #

was not particularly useful.  Ook wouldn't help with that...

So I came up with the following couple of patches that implement a
"scrambled" format that makes the poisoned output legible for humans
but still gibberish for machine consumption (i.e. grep-ing the text
part would still fail):

  error:  U.n.a.b.l.e. .t.o. .c.r.e.a.t.e. .'./home/szeder/src/git/t/trash directory.t1404-update-ref-errors/.git/packed-refs...l.o.c.k.'.:. .File exists...

I have been running GETTEXT_POISON builds with this series for some
months now, but haven't submitted it yet, because I haven't decided
yet whether including strings (paths, refs, etc.) in the output as
they are is a feature or a flaw.  And because it embarrassingly leaks
every single translated string... :)

There is similar technique called "pseudolocalization", meant for
testing i18n aspect of software.

In one of most common forms, the string

  Edit program settings

woukd be translated to

  [!!! εÐiţ Þr0ģЯãm səTτıИğ§ !!!]

(possibly using mirrored locale, i.e. right-to-left order).

The brackets [!!! ... !!!] are used as a "poison", to detect
translatable text, and to spot issues with truncation; it also helps
with finding "lego" translation.

It would also stress-test Unicode handling...

Regards,
-- 
Jakub Narębski