PHP & ?? How to edit a "Message catalog binary file?" or "GNU Gettext..."

[Firefox Wins]

Need to change a string in a language file?
Should be easy, right?  
The filesize is ~24KB, but all that shows up is somewhat like this:

Code:

Þ•6

---

The file extension is = .mo
Searching...

mo - MM2 Output chemical modeller output file

mo - Dymola simulation file

mo - GNU Gettext machine object file   ?

mo - Pidgin instant messenger language file

mo - Audacity language file

mo - Message catalog binary file  >>> How to edit this file?

...or would a php script use a "GNU Gettext machine object file?"



EDIT:
Making some progress:
.mo files are created from .po files   (Duh!  )
Currently checking if this can read binaries, or only goes one-way:
Poedit is cross-platform gettext catalogs (.po files) editor...


EDIT#2:
This result...

(12-04-2010 04:42 PM)Firefox Wins Wrote:  The filesize is ~24KB, but all that shows up is somewhat like this:

Code:

Þ•6

---

... was when using WinSCP to view a remote file:

It might be time to take a second look at Notepad++

• Can regular Notepad re-save a binary file?
  

Thank you...


EDIT#3
In regular Notepad I can read most of the file, but still need to test if it will save properly as a binary.
In Notepad++ (w/ default settings) = Messed up garbage...

Oh well, too much fun  
Will check back later.

[ZiNgA BuRgA]

What the hell are you doing?

Notepad and co aren't designed to edit binary files, they're designed for text.  Hex editors are better suited for binary files.
But I have no idea what file you're trying to edit and where you got it from.  It may be visible as plaintext, or even as encoded (ie UCS-2) plaintext, but there's no guarantee.  For example, a simple layer of compression will stuff up your attempts.
But you can try a search with a hex editor if you wish though.

[Firefox Wins]

(12-04-2010 06:21 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:  What the hell are you doing?

Notepad and co aren't designed to edit binary files...

Well, I suppose Yahoo! Answers isn't designed to give very good answers.  
The attempt to use Notepad++ started there @ a Yahoo question/answer.
The Best Answer - Chosen by Voters, would work for most of the file-types mentioned, but not .mo

(12-04-2010 06:21 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:  But I have no idea what file you're trying to edit and...

Sure you do:

Quote:"...Making some progress:
.mo files are created from .po files"

^^^
The quote ".mo files are created from .po files" is based on what I saw at Wordpress.org.
FYI: There isn't much (easy) to find about .mo files with a quick Google search. They are used in Language files for some scripts.

(12-04-2010 06:21 PM)ZiNgA BuRgA Wrote:  ...and where you got it from...

Comes from an open source PHP script downloaded from sourceforge.net; Wordpress also seems to use similar files.

From Worpress
"MO (Machine Object) files
    The final step in the localization process is that the PO file is run through a program that turns it into an optimized machine-readable binary file (MO file). Compiling the translations to machine code makes the localized program much faster in retrieving the translations while it is running."

I'll look at a hex editor, thanks for the tip.
Update:
No luck yet with a final answer.
With WP (for example), they offer downloads of the source (.po) files, which can be converted, using Poedit, into .mo files.
Poedit does not open .mo files, only a one-way (export)


Do you (or anyone else) have a favorite hex editor, which works with different file extensions?

[ZiNgA BuRgA]

Oh okay, it's a Wordpress file.  That makes it much clearer.  As you mentioned "binary", I thought you were trying to edit a game related file or similar.
".mo" and ".po" make absolutely no sense to someone who doesn't use Wordpress (and possibly confuse people who do).

(12-04-2010 09:09 PM)Firefox Wins Wrote:  Do you (or anyone else) have a favorite hex editor, which works with different file extensions?

Makes no sense, cause hex editors edit any file.
I personally like the free HxD, though HexWorkshop and maybe UltraEdit are popular commercial editors.
However, unless you know what you're doing, a hex editor probably won't help.
Especially with editing binary files.

Taking a look at a sample Wordpress .mo file, there seems to be a bunch of 32-bit ints at the top of the file.  There's a good possibility that this is an index, so editing stuff below willy nilly will probably break the file. (if I were to take a 1 minute guess without checking, they're 2x 32-bit pairs, yielding an offset and length descriptor).