This document does not try to explain how to enable gettext support in an application. There are other documents that describe that process better. (Need links!)
Even as a developer, knowing some elementary stuff about the PO format, the format of the actual translations, is very useful.
The PO format is a really simple format, which probably at least partly explains its success and widespread use. The format is basically a hash list consisting of ''msgid'' and ''msgstr'' pairs, with the msgid being the original English string and key, and the msgstr being the translated value of it. As the English string is the key, all instances of the exact same English string in the code will be represented by exactly only one key/value pair, referred to as a ''message'', in the PO file. Usually this is not a problem, but instead a benefit of the format, as the exact same string won't have to be translated more than once by the translator. Below is