I18N: INternationalisation

Table of Contents

  1. General
  2. PEAR Packages
  3. Translation Types
    1. Content Translations
      1. Translating
      2. Search Engines
      3. Links
    2. Template Translations
  4. Data Storage
    1. Data Stores
  5. URL Shortcut
  6. Language Negotiation
  7. Caching
  8. Flags
  9. How other translate
  10. Roadmap

General

The purpose of this RFC is discuss the integration of PEAR::Translation2 and PEAR::I18Nv2 into various parts of seagull.

PEAR Packages

  • PEAR Category Internationalisation
  • http://pear.php.net/package/Translation2
  • http://pear.php.net/package/I18Nv2

Translation Types

  • GUI (Current translations)
  • Category
  • Content
  • Error Message
  • Navigation
  • Template

Content Translations

Translating

  • Add - User will use their default language for adding items with an option to provide additional area for other languages.
  • Edit - To allow translations to be easily managed a translator will select a reference language from a select box. Then they will select the target language(s) from a multiple select box. If the translator leave the reference language blank the language in their preferences will be used.

Search Engines

Content items may need to display a list of links for each available translation. This will allow search engines to index all of the content in multiple languages.

There needs to be a link manger to provide the proper internal or external link depending on locale. If there is not a link available for the current locale a link for the sites default language will be returned. A new item type can be created to handle this.

Template Translations

PEAR::HTML_Flexy will use Translation2 to replace User Defined Translation Blocks (UDTB)

o For blocks that include HTML and flexytags - that the autoparser cant pick up, or you want to use 'placeholders' that are a bit more verbose. o These blocks are translated/replaced, prior to Tag tokenizing (so the translation can include tags - variable markers or HTML)

Data Storage

Translation2 offers two ways to store tranlsations.

  • Separate Table for each language.
  • Create an additional column for each language in an existing table.

Data Stores

  • Single - Generate a single translation table with a column for each installed languages.
  • Multiple - Generate individual translation tables for each installed language.
  • Single+Multiple - Generate a single translation table to store application specific data (translation_app) using seperate columns for each installed language and generate individual tables for each installed language to store content translations (translation_content). *
  • Extended Multiple - Generate individual tables for each installed language for application data (translation_app) and content data(translation_content). *

* Currently undeveloped.

URL Shortcut

Create a php array that maps url shortcuts to their longer name. Examples:

  • http://www.example.com/article/frmArticleID/1/lang/de
  • http://www.example.com/article/frmArticleID/1/lang/en
  • http://www.example.com/article/frmArticleID/1/lang/pl

Here you can find two-letter Language Codes.

Language Negotiation

Use SGL_Locale (PEAR::I18Nv2 wrapper) to negotiate the language. Using the set languages in the browser first, then the prefered language if a user is logged in and last the default language set in the site preferences.

Caching

All translations will be cached using PEAR::Translation2's Cache_Lite Decorator.

Flags

Sodipodi has a flag-gallery with nearly every flag in the world, with preview as png. http://www.sodipodi.com/index.php3?section=clipart see also: http://www.openclipart.org/cgi-bin/navigate/signs_and_symbols/flags

How other translate

http://drupal.org/node/5503#8413 drupal is definitely worth an install, you'll probably like the way they translate stuff.

Roadmap

  • Create additional storage drivers
  • Modify Installer to allow selection of language to install
  • Move current application translations into db (during install)
  • Translation2 Wrapper
  • Implemant use of wrapper
    1. SGL_String
    2. SimpleNav
    3. CategoryMgr
    4. PageMgr
    5. MaintenanceMgr
    6. SGL_Item.