path: root/doc/plugins/po.mdwn

[[!template id=plugin name=po core=0 author="[[intrigeri]]"]]
[[!tag type/format]]

This plugin adds support for multi-lingual wikis, translated with
gettext, using [po4a](http://po4a.alioth.debian.org/).

It depends on the Perl `Locale::Po4a::Po` library (`apt-get install po4a`).

[[!toc levels=2]]

Introduction
============

A language is chosen as the "master" one, and any other supported
language is a "slave" one.

A page written in the "master" language is a "master" page. It can be
of any page type supported by ikiwiki, except `po`. It does not have to be
named a special way: migration to this plugin does not imply any page
renaming work.

Example: `bla/page.mdwn` is a "master" Markdown page written in
English; if `usedirs` is enabled, it is rendered as
`bla/page/index.en.html`, else as `bla/page.en.html`.

Any translation of a "master" page into a "slave" language is called
a "slave" page; it is written in the gettext PO format. `po` is now
a page type supported by ikiwiki.

Example: `bla/page.fr.po` is the PO "message catalog" used to
translate `bla/page.mdwn` into French; if `usedirs` is enabled, it is
rendered as `bla/page/index.fr.html`, else as `bla/page.fr.html`

(In)Compatibility
=================

This plugin does not support the `indexpages` mode. If you don't know
what it is, you probably don't care.


Configuration
=============

Supported languages
-------------------

`po_master_language` is used to set the "master" language in
`ikiwiki.setup`, such as:

        po_master_language => { 'code' => 'en', 'name' => 'English' }

`po_slave_languages` is used to set the list of supported "slave"
languages, such as:

        po_slave_languages => { 'fr' => 'Français',
                                'es' => 'Castellano',
                                'de' => 'Deutsch',
        }

Decide which pages are translatable
-----------------------------------

The `po_translatable_pages` setting configures what pages are
translatable. It is a [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]], so you have lots of
control over what kind of pages are translatable.

The `.po` files are not considered as being translatable, so you don't need to
worry about excluding them explicitly from this [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]].

Internal links
--------------

The `po_link_to` option in `ikiwiki.setup` is used to decide how
internal links should be generated, depending on web server features
and site-specific preferences.

### Default linking behavior

If `po_link_to` is unset, or set to `default`, ikiwiki's default
linking behavior is preserved: `\[[destpage]]` links to the master
language's page.

### Link to current language

If `po_link_to` is set to `current`, `\[[destpage]]` links to the
`destpage`'s version written in the current page's language, if
available, *i.e.*:

- `foo/destpage/index.LL.html` if `usedirs` is enabled
- `foo/destpage.LL.html` if `usedirs` is disabled

### Link to negotiated language

If `po_link_to` is set to `negotiated`, `\[[page]]` links to the
negotiated preferred language, *i.e.* `foo/page/`.

(In)compatibility notes:

- if `usedirs` is disabled, it does not make sense to set `po_link_to`
  to `negotiated`; this option combination is neither implemented
  nor allowed.
- if the web server does not support Content Negotiation, setting
  `po_link_to` to `negotiated` will produce a unusable website.


Server support
==============

Apache
------

Using Apache `mod_negotiation` makes it really easy to have Apache
serve any page in the client's preferred language, if available.
This is the default Debian Apache configuration.

When `usedirs` is enabled, one has to set `DirectoryIndex index` for
the wiki context.

Setting `DefaultLanguage LL` (replace `LL` with your default MIME
language code) for the wiki context can help to ensure
`bla/page/index.en.html` is served as `Content-Language: LL`.

lighttpd
--------

lighttpd unfortunately does not support content negotiation.

**FIXME**: does `mod_magnet` provide the functionality needed to
 emulate this?


Usage
=====

Templates
---------

When `po_link_to` is not set to `negotiated`, one should replace some
occurrences of `BASEURL` with `HOMEPAGEURL` to get correct links to
the wiki homepage.

The `ISTRANSLATION` and `ISTRANSLATABLE` variables can be used to
display things only on translatable or translation pages.

### Display page's versions in other languages

The `OTHERLANGUAGES` loop provides ways to display other languages'
versions of the same page, and the translations' status.

One typically adds the following code to `templates/page.tmpl`:

	<TMPL_IF NAME="OTHERLANGUAGES">
	<div id="otherlanguages">
	  <ul>
	  <TMPL_LOOP NAME="OTHERLANGUAGES">
	    <li>
	      <a href="<TMPL_VAR NAME="URL">"><TMPL_VAR NAME="LANGUAGE"></a>
	      <TMPL_UNLESS NAME="MASTER">
	        (<TMPL_VAR NAME="PERCENT">&nbsp;%)
	      </TMPL_UNLESS>
	    </li>
	  </TMPL_LOOP>
	  </ul>
	</div>
	</TMPL_IF>

The following variables are available inside the loop (for every page in):

- `URL` - url to the page
- `CODE` - two-letters language code
- `LANGUAGE` - language name (as defined in `po_slave_languages`)
- `MASTER` - is true (1) if, and only if the page is a "master" page
- `PERCENT` - for "slave" pages, is set to the translation completeness, in percents

### Display the current translation status

The `PERCENTTRANSLATED` variable is set to the translation
completeness, expressed in percent, on "slave" pages.

One can use it this way:

	<TMPL_IF NAME="ISTRANSLATION">
	<div id="percenttranslated">
	  <TMPL_VAR NAME="PERCENTTRANSLATED">
	</div>
	</TMPL_IF>

Additional PageSpec tests
-------------------------

This plugin enhances the regular [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]] syntax with some
additional tests that are documented [[here|ikiwiki/pagespec/po]].

Automatic PO file update
------------------------

Committing changes to a "master" page:

1. updates the POT file and the PO files for the "slave" languages;
   the updated PO files are then put under version control;
2. triggers a refresh of the corresponding HTML slave pages.

Also, when the plugin has just been enabled, or when a page has just
been declared as being translatable, the needed POT and PO files are
created, and the PO files are checked into version control.

Discussion pages and other sub-pages
------------------------------------

Discussion should happen in the language in which the pages are
written for real, *i.e.* the "master" one. If discussion pages are
enabled, "slave" pages therefore link to the "master" page's
discussion page.

Likewise, "slave" pages are not supposed to have sub-pages;
[[WikiLinks|wikilink]] that appear on a "slave" page therefore link to
the master page's sub-pages.

Translating
-----------

One can edit the PO files using ikiwiki's CGI (a message-by-message
interface could also be implemented at some point).

If [[tips/untrusted_git_push]] is setup, one can edit the PO files in one's
preferred `$EDITOR`, without needing to be online.

Markup languages support
------------------------

Markdown is well supported. Some other markup languages supported by
ikiwiki mostly work, but some pieces of syntax are not rendered
correctly on the slave pages:

* [[reStructuredText|rst]]: anonymous hyperlinks and internal
  cross-references
* [[wikitext]]: conversion of newlines to paragraphs
* [[creole]]: verbatim text is wrapped, tables are broken
* [[html]] and LaTeX: not supported yet; the dedicated po4a modules
  could be used to support them, but they would need a security audit
* other markup languages have not been tested.


TODO
====

Security checks
---------------

### Security history

The only past security issues I could find in GNU gettext and po4a
are:

- [CVE-2004-0966](http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2004-0966),
  *i.e.* [Debian bug #278283](http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=278283):
  the autopoint and gettextize scripts in the GNU gettext package
  1.14 and later versions, as used in Trustix Secure Linux 1.5
  through 2.1 and other operating systems, allows local users to
  overwrite files via a symlink attack on temporary files.
- [CVE-2007-4462](http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2007-4462):
  `lib/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm` in po4a before 0.32 allows local users to
  overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the
  gettextization.failed.po temporary file.

**FIXME**: check whether this plugin would have been a possible attack
vector to exploit these vulnerabilities.

Depending on my mood, the lack of found security issues can either
indicate that there are none, or reveal that no-one ever bothered to
find (and publish) them.

### PO file features

Can any sort of directives be put in po files that will cause mischief
(ie, include other files, run commands, crash gettext, whatever)?

> No [documented](http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/gettext.html#PO-Files)
> directive is supposed to do so. [[--intrigeri]]

### Running po4a on untrusted content

Are there any security issues on running po4a on untrusted content?

To say the least, this issue is not well covered, at least publicly:

- the documentation does not talk about it;
- grep'ing the source code for `security` or `trust` gives no answer.

On the other hand, a po4a developer answered my questions in
a convincing manner, stating that processing untrusted content was not
an initial goal, and analysing in detail the possible issues.

#### Already checked

- the core (`Po.pm`, `Transtractor.pm`) should be safe
- po4a source code was fully checked for other potential symlink
  attacks, after discovery of one such issue
- the only external program run by the core is `diff`, in `Po.pm` (in
  parts of its code we don't use)
- `Locale::gettext`: only used to display translated error messages
- Nicolas François "hopes" `DynaLoader` is safe, and has "no reason to
  think that `Encode` is not safe"
- Nicolas François has "no reason to think that `Encode::Guess` is not
  safe". The po plugin nevertheless avoids using it by defining the
  input charset (`file_in_charset`) before asking `Transtractor` to
  read any file. NB: this hack depends on po4a internals to stay
  the same.

##### Locale::Po4a modules

The modules we want to use have to be checked, as not all are safe
(e.g. the LaTeX module's behaviour is changed by commands included in
the content); they may use regexps generated from the content.

`Chooser.pm` only loads the plugin we tell it too: currently, this
means the `Text` module only.

`Text` module (I checked the CVS version):

- it does not run any external program
- only `do_paragraph()` builds regexp's that expand untrusted
  variables; they seem safe to me, but someone more expert than me
  will need to check. Joey?

  > Freaky code, but seems ok due to use of `quotementa`.

#### To be checked

##### Text::WrapI18N

`Text::WrapI18N` can cause DoS (see the
[Debian bug #470250](http://bugs.debian.org/470250)), but it is
optional and we do not need the features it provides.

> I proposed a patch based on Joey's to po4a-devel, allowing to fully
> disable this module's use. When it is merged upstream, we'll need to add
> `use Locale::Po4a::Common qw(nowrapi18n)` to `po.pm`, before loading
> any other `Locale::Po4a` module. A versioned dependency may be needed.
> --[[intrigeri]]

##### Term::ReadKey

`Term::ReadKey` is not a hard dependency in our case, *i.e.* po4a
works nicely without it. But the po4a Debian package recommends
`libterm-readkey-perl`, so it will probably be installed on most
systems using the po plugin.

`Term::ReadKey` has too far reaching implications for us to
be able to guarantee anything wrt. security.

> The option that disables `Text::WrapI18N` also disables
> `Term::ReadKey` as a consequence. [[--intrigeri]]

### msgmerge

`refreshpofiles()` runs this external program.

A po4a developer answered he does "not expect any security issues from
it". I did not manage to crash it with `zzuf`, nor was able to find
any past security holes.

### msgfmt

`isvalidpo()` runs this external program.

* I could not manage to make it behave badly using zzuf, it exits
  cleanly when too many errors are detected.
* I could not find any past security holes.

### Fuzzing input

Test conditions:

- a 21M file containing 100 concatenated copies of all the files in my
  `/usr/share/common-licenses/`; I had no existing PO file or
  translated versions at hand, which renders these tests
  quite incomplete.
- po4a was the Debian 0.34-2 package; the same tests were also run
  after replacing the `Text` module with the CVS one (the core was not
  changed in CVS since 0.34-2 was released), without any significant
  difference in the results.
- Perl 5.10.0-16

#### po4a-gettextize

`po4a-gettextize` uses more or less the same po4a features as our
`refreshpot` function.

Without specifying an input charset, zzuf'ed `po4a-gettextize` quickly
errors out, complaining it was not able to detect the input charset;
it leaves no incomplete file on disk.

So I had to pretend the input was in UTF-8, as does the po plugin.

Two ways of crashing were revealed by this command-line:

        zzuf -vc -s 0:100 -r 0.1:0.5 \
          po4a-gettextize -f text -o markdown -M utf-8 -L utf-8 \
            -m LICENSES >/dev/null

They are:

        Malformed UTF-8 character (UTF-16 surrogate 0xdcc9) in substitution iterator at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm line 1443.
        Malformed UTF-8 character (fatal) at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm line 1443.

and

        Malformed UTF-8 character (UTF-16 surrogate 0xdcec) in substitution (s///) at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm line 1443.
        Malformed UTF-8 character (fatal) at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm line 1443.

Perl seems to exit cleanly, and an incomplete PO file is written on
disk. I not sure whether if this is a bug in Perl or in `Po.pm`.

> It's fairly standard perl behavior when fed malformed utf-8. As long as it doesn't
> crash ikiwiki, it's probably acceptable. Ikiwiki can do some similar things itself when fed malformed utf-8 (doesn't crash tho) --[[Joey]]

#### po4a-translate

`po4a-translate` uses more or less the same po4a features as our
`filter` function.

Without specifying an input charset, same behaviour as
`po4a-gettextize`, so let's specify UTF-8 as input charset as of now.

        zzuf -cv \
          po4a-translate -d -f text -o markdown -M utf-8 -L utf-8 \
            -k 0 -m LICENSES -p LICENSES.fr.po -l test.fr

... prints tons of occurences of the following error, but a complete
translated document is written (obviously with some weird chars
inside):

        Use of uninitialized value in string ne at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/TransTractor.pm line 854.
        Use of uninitialized value in string ne at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/TransTractor.pm line 840.
        Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at /usr/share/perl5/Locale/Po4a/Po.pm line 1002.

While:

        zzuf -cv -s 0:10 -r 0.001:0.3 \
          po4a-translate -d -f text -o markdown -M utf-8 -L utf-8 \
            -k 0 -m LICENSES -p LICENSES.fr.po -l test.fr

... seems to lose the fight, at the `readpo(LICENSES.fr.po)` step,
against some kind of infinite loop, deadlock, or any similar beast.

The root of this bug lies in `Text::WrapI18N`, see above for
possible solutions.

gettext/po4a rough corners
--------------------------

- fix infinite loop when synchronizing two ikiwiki (when checkouts
  live in different directories): say bla.fr.po has been updated in
  repo2; pulling repo2 from repo1 seems to trigger a PO update, that
  changes bla.fr.po in repo1; then pushing repo1 to repo2 triggers
  a PO update, that changes bla.fr.po in repo2; etc.; quickly fixed in
  `629968fc89bced6727981c0a1138072631751fee`, by disabling references
  in Pot files. Using `Locale::Po4a::write_if_needed` might be
  a cleaner solution. (warning: this function runs the external
  `diff` program, have to check security)
- new translations created in the web interface must get proper
  charset/encoding gettext metadata, else the next automatic PO update
  removes any non-ascii chars; possible solution: put such metadata
  into the Pot file, and let it propagate; should be fixed in
  `773de05a7a1ee68d2bed173367cf5e716884945a`, time will tell.

Better links
------------

### Page title in links

Using the fix to
[[bugs/pagetitle_function_does_not_respect_meta_titles]] from
[[intrigeri]]'s `meta` branch, the generated links' text is based on
the page titles set with the [[meta|plugins/meta]] plugin. This has to
be merged into ikiwiki upstream, though.

Robustness tests
----------------

### Enabling/disabling the plugin

- enabling the plugin with `po_translatable_pages` set to blacklist: **OK**
- enabling the plugin with `po_translatable_pages` set to whitelist: **OK**
- enabling the plugin without `po_translatable_pages` set: **OK**
- disabling the plugin: **OK**

### Changing the plugin config

- adding existing pages to `po_translatable_pages`: **OK**
- removing existing pages from `po_translatable_pages`: **OK**
- adding a language to `po_slave_languages`: **OK**
- removing a language from `po_slave_languages`: **OK**
- changing `po_master_language`: **OK**
- replacing `po_master_language` with a language previously part of
  `po_slave_languages`: needs two rebuilds, but **OK** (this is quite
  a perverse test actually)

### Creating/deleting/renaming pages

All cases of master/slave page creation/deletion/rename, both via RCS
and via CGI, have been tested.

### Misc

- general test with `usedirs` disabled: **OK**
- general test with `indexpages` enabled: **not OK**
- general test with `po_link_to=default` with `userdirs` enabled: **OK**
- general test with `po_link_to=default` with `userdirs` disabled: **OK**

Misc. bugs
----------

Documentation
-------------

Maybe write separate documentation depending on the people it targets:
translators, wiki administrators, hackers. This plugin may be complex
enough to deserve this.