Writing a catalog from a script: the layout Xcode expects, measured on a
970-key catalog where a generic JSON writer produced a 26,531-line diff
that buried the actual translation. The two Apple writers order the
top-level keys differently — the editor by `localizedStandardCompare`,
`xcstringstool` by code point — so a sync over an editor-maintained
catalog re-sorts every key.
`xcstringstool` is the headless path in and out of a catalog, through
`xcrun`. It prunes: an entry missing from the `.stringsdata` is marked
stale if it has translations and deleted outright if it has none, exit 0
and no warning, which makes `--skip-marking-strings-stale` the guard
worth knowing before the first run. It re-emits the canonical layout
only when it has something to write.
Key styles: the source string is `localizations[sourceLanguage]` if
present, else the key itself — a tool has to handle both, and
`sourceLanguage` is not always `en`.
Homographs: a comment gives a translator context, it does not split a
key. One English word used for two concepts is one entry with one
translation and merged comments; each meaning needs its own key with the
English in a default value.
Terminology: the simulator runtime ships Apple's own localized bundles,
which are the exact UI strings, alongside hundreds of AppShortcuts
phrase files — more precise than a support page for the form of a
string, though the support pages still win for what a user says aloud.
Charles Wiltgen
e8a51cace9