Table of contents

• Where are the locale files?
• Backend translation
  • Translate static string in .pug files
  • Translate string in Node.js files
• Frontend translation
  • Translate Angular variable in .pug files
  • Translate string in Javascript files
• Translation validator

Internationalization (i18n) is the process of developing products in such a way that they can be localized for languages and cultures easily. OpenPaaS supports i18n completely in both backend and frontend sides:

• In backend, we use i18n-node
• In frontend, we use angular-translate

Where are the locale files?

Locale files of the core module can be found in backend/i18n/locales directory. Each module can have its own locale files, usually placed in backend/lib/i18n/locales directory as in Calendar module for example.

Currently, supported languages are English, French and Vietnamese.

Backend translation

When to use:

• Translate static string in .pug files
• Translate string in Node.js files, for example: translate an email before sending it to recipients.

Translate static string in .pug files

It is pretty easy to translate phrases in .pug files:

h2 #{__('Good morning!')}

Simple string interpolation:

h2 #{__('Hello %s, good morning!', 'John')}

Angular expression string interpolation:

h2 #{__('Hello %s, good morning!', '{{user.name}}')}

HTML string interpolation:

p.empty-text !{__('No application, click %s to add a new one', '<span class="mdi mdi-plus"></span>')}

Translate string in Node.js files

Simply require the module in backend/core/i18n:

const i18n = require('...');
const subject = i18n.__('Your password has been changed!');

Check the documentation of i18n-node for more examples.

Frontend translation

When to use:

• Translate Angular variable in .pug files
• Translate string in Javascript files

You can either use esnI18n filter or esnI18nService of esn.i18n module to translate your phrases.

Translate Angular variable in .pug files

span {{mailbox.name | esnI18n}}

Translate string in Javascript files

// inject the esnI18nService service
var subject = esnI18nService.translate('Email sent to %s', $scope.recipient.email).toString();

The esnI18nService.translate function returns an instance of EsnI18nString, which will be useful when you want to know whether the string is translated or not:

function notify(message) {
  message = esnI18nService.isI18nString(message) ? message.toString() : esnI18nService.translate(message).toString();
  window.alert(message);
}
// Usage
notify('Hello world!');
// OR
notify(esnI18nService.translate('Hello %s!', user.name));

Translation validator

OpenPaaS uses a built-in validator based on i18n-checker package to ensure the quality of internationalization in product.

To use the validator, simply run: grunt i18n