What Does locale-gen Generate In Linux by William

What is a locale on Linux?
On Linux, a locale is an abstraction for all the settings and information that is specific to a particular place.

What is the locale infrastructure provided by on Linux?
On Linux, the locale infrastructure is provided by the C library.

What three things are provided by the C library for managing the locale?
Three things that are provided by the C library for managing the locale include:

  1. A set of functions whose behavior changes based on the specific function and the current locale.
  2. A database with information on how to behave in different locales.
  3. A way to set the current locale.

What does the locale-gen script do?
The locale-gen script compiles the locale information by invoking localedef.

How is the locale information presented and why?
The locale information is presented in a textual format because it's easier to edit.

What must be done to the locale information before it can be used by the C library since it's presented in a textual format?
Since the locale information is presented in a textual format, it must be compiled to a binary format with locale-gen and localedef before it can be used by the C library.

Why are the locales which are actually being used the only ones which are compiled to a binary format?
The locales which are actually being used are the only ones which are compiled to a binary format because the binary format can take a lot of disk space.