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Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 22:24:27 +0100
From: "Serguei Belov"@FreeBSD.ORG, oznob@au.ru
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Subject: Console localization problem
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Trying to switch from Linux to FreeBSD I've found out that the
documented way of FreeBSD console localization for Russian does not
cover some of the common needs. As you may know the majority of users
here in Russia are being forced by Micro$oft to use the CP1251
encoding while the standard encoding for Russian in *nix world is
KOI8-R. Let alone the question of which encoding is _right_, Russian
*nix users still have to take one alternative or the other, and many
of us consider using CP1251 more comfortable, since it really
simplifies data exchange with Windows-based systems.

Setting up X Window for CP1251 is not a problem at all. The same is
true about, for example, using CP1251 in Linux console. But FreeBSD
console setup for Russian turned out to be somewhat troublesome.
There are three main problems:

1) I see no documented way to make FreeBSD console speak CP1251, even
at the price of creating a new locale.

2) The documented method of setting up the console for KOI8-R includes
defining two environment variables: LANG and MM_CHARSET. The first of
them causes the whole lot of apps, including nvi, WindowMaker, KDE and
so on to switch their interface to Russian. This is probably good for
some purpose, but IMO there should be a way to make console handle
Russian right without switching the interface! If you simply do not
set the variables, the console refuses to take input in KOI8-R.

3) Is this a joke that the only method of switching the input language
is CapsLock?! Don't Russians need CapsLock anymore? I wasn't able to
find any reasons for it neither an explanation how one could change
it.

So, my questions are these:

1) Is there a how-to or the like of creating a new (Russian CP1251)
locale?

2) Can someone explain how one can make FreeBSD console speak KOI8-R
without switching the interface of most apps, i.e. without setting the
LANG variable?

3) What exactly should be done to change the lang swithcing key for
the FreeBSD console?

Serguei Belov

mailto:oznob@au.ru




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