10 STEP LANGUAGE RECOVERY PROGRAM

      
    This is a 10 step program to recover the text for a Telegard language
    file where the compiled .tgl is up-to-date but the original uncompiled 
    .txt file has been deleted or damaged.
    
    This program does not require any tools that you don't already have at 
    your disposal.

    THE 10 STEPS (+1) TO RECOVERY
        
        0. Make backups of your language files (.txt and .tgl)... (jic)

        1. Rename your lost .tgl file to 'recover.tgl'
        
        2. Open a text editor, start a new file 'emptylng.txt', add one 
           line '; this is a blank language file' and save

        3. Execute 'makelang emptylng.txt' (if makelang is not in your
           path, run '\tgpath\makelang emptylng.txt' instead)

        4. Unzip the release english.txt file;
 
           a) Change to a Telegard temp directory (\temp, \temp1, etc.)
   
           b) GAMMA/RELEASE VERSIONS: Extract the language.tws file into 
              this directory ('pkunzip tg_309g1.zip install.tg', 'pkunzip 
              install.tg -sREADYTOGO language.tws').  Unpack the .tws file 
              into this directory ('unpack language.tws .'). 
      
              BETA VERSIONS: Unzip the english.txt file into this directory 
              from the latest __update.zip file ('pkunzip __update.zip 
              english.txt').
        
           c) Rename english.txt to release.txt, and copy to your languages 
              directory.
   
        5. Execute 'makelang release.txt'

        6. Execute 'cmprlang emptylng recover'

        7. Open a text editor, open 'cmprlang.txt', and then delete the 
           lines at the top of the file 'CMPRLANG results file:' to the 
           0001 line (not including 0001 line), and at the end of the file 
           'Checking for different strings' and the associated blank lines.

        8. Rename cmprlang.txt to recover.txt

        The language file recover.txt has all the lines from your original 
        .tgl, recovered back to their text (uncompiled) form.  While this 
        is sufficient recovery, it sure would be nice to get the comments 
        of what variables are, etc. updated eh?  Sure, no problem....

        9. Execute 'makelang recover -M release'.
        
        Your language is now as good as new...

        10. Rename 'recover.NEW' to whatever your (lost) .tgl file was 
            called.  Recompile and check things out...

        * * * IMPORTANT NOTE * * *   Depending on the last time you updated 
        the text of the recovered language, you should also make the 
        modifications to the language that occurred from the time you last 
        updated the text to the date of the release language.  Grab all the 
        appropriate LANGUAGE.* files, and make the appropriate changes 
        (note, you should not have to add or remove any lines, since the -M 
        merge automatically took care of that portion for you).
        
    
    WHY DOES THIS WORK?
        
        The Telegard language tools are extremely powerful.
          
        When 'cmprlang' runs, it is checking an empty language against a 
        complete, compiled language.  Each line that exists in the compiled 
        language does not exist in the empty language, and is considered 
        new.  Thus, the resulting cmprlang.txt file is all of the language 
        lines from your original compiled language listed as 'new'.

        When 'makelang -M' runs, it is checking for new/removed lines, and 
        also restoring all of the comments.  So your uncommented language 
        file recover.txt becomes a commented language file recover.new.  
        This file also has been updated with new (or missed entries; if 
        they were blank entries) from the release language, and all deleted 
        language id lines have also been removed.  So when your language 
        file comes out of the makelang process, it's as good as new . . .
        
    
    WHAT IS DIFFERENT FROM MY OLD LANGUAGE FILE AND THIS NEW ONE?
    
        If you added your own comments, those were lost.  Unfortunately the 
        comments are not stored in the .tgl file, and thus could not be 
        recovered.
        
        Lines that were removed since you last updated the language were 
        removed.  Lines that were added now exist (check out the lines that 
        the makelang -M returns--some of those lines might be blank lines 
        that the compiled .tgl did not have, but it's quite possible that 
        there are a couple of new lines too...).
        
        The comments in the language are up-to-date (so if you didn't add 
        variable comments/descriptions/etc. from language change to 
        language change, you'll be happy to know they've magically 
        appeared).
        
        Otherwise, the file is as good as your old one.  Honest.  And all 
        for less than a nickel.
        
    
    CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

        The author of this document can be contacted as follows:

        Echomail                Tim Strike, TG_SUPPORT (fidonet)
        Netmail                 Tim Strike @ 1:259/423 (fidonet)
        Internet Email          tim@telegard.net