To internationalize and localize a Laravel application for multiple languages, you can follow these steps:
Set up language files: Laravel provides a convenient way to store language strings in separate files. Create a directory called resources/lang in your project root and create a subdirectory for each language you want to support. For example, create a en directory for English and a fr directory for French.
Create language files: Within each language directory, create a PHP file for each page or component of your application that requires translation. For example, create a messages.php file within the en and fr directories. Inside these files, define an array of key-value pairs where the key represents the string to be translated and the value represents the translated text. For example:
// resources/lang/en/messages.php
return [
'welcome' => 'Welcome to our website!',
'contact' => 'Contact us',
];
// resources/lang/fr/messages.php
return [
'welcome' => 'Bienvenue sur notre site web!',
'contact' => 'Contactez-nous',
];
Utilize translation helper functions: Laravel provides helper functions to retrieve the translated strings. Use the trans() or __('') helper functions in your views, controllers, or any other part of your code where translation is required. For example:
// Within a view or blade template
{{ __('messages.welcome') }}
// Within a controller
$welcome = __('messages.welcome');
Set the application locale: In the config/app.php file, specify the default application locale. For example, set 'locale' => 'en' for English. You can also set the locale dynamically in your application based on user preferences or other factors.
Set up language routing: If you want to support language-specific routes, you can define language prefixes for your routes. For example, you can define a route group with a prefix parameter that specifies the language. This way, each language version of your application will have its own set of routes.
Route::prefix('{locale}')->group(function () {
// Your routes here
});
Then, you need to create middleware to set the application's locale based on the language prefix in the URL. For example:
public function handle($request, Closure $next)
{
$locale = $request->segment(1);
if ($locale && in_array($locale, ['en', 'fr'])) {
app()->setLocale($locale);
} else {
app()->setLocale(config('app.locale'));
}
return $next($request);
}
Use language switcher: If you want to provide a language switcher for your users, you can create a dropdown or any other UI element to allow them to select their preferred language. Then, you can store the user's language preference in a session or database and set the application's locale accordingly.
By following these steps, you can internationalize and localize your Laravel application to support multiple languages.