gettext-style keys with i18next, and general workflow - javascript

We would like to exchange PO files with translators, and convert these to i18next's native JSON format. This sounds pretty straightforward using the i18next-conv utility.
However, i18next expects more or less special keys; for example the dot has special meaning with regard to i18next namespaces. In contrast, gettext PO files are intended to carry source strings (in the original language) for their message IDs.
We know that message IDs can be arbitrary, and can thus be mapped to i18next keys directly, but we would like to use source strings and use PO files as they were intended for various reasons.
The main reason is that all the translation tools we would like to use, and probably those of all our translators, expect this. Using symbolic keys would make translating a real pain. In any case, we figured from the debates around this that this is mainly a matter of opinion; we kind of made ours, and we would like to put this restriction as a requirement for this question.
Is it really a bad idea to use source strings as i18next keys from a technical standpoint? How hard is it to escape them? Is there anything else than the dot and namespaces that we should care about?
If we determine that we want to keep using symbolic keys, is there an alternative to i18next-conv that can generate i18next JSON translation files from PO files using source strings as message IDs? We understand that we would most likely need to maintain a separate mapping between the symbolic names and the original language strings, and we're prepared to do so.
Moreover, we wonder about the general workflow. How is the original PO file generated? How are the translation files maintained?
If we use source strings as keys in i18next, what are the best tools to extract strings from the codebase? xgettext doesn't seem to support Javascript.
If we use symbolic keys in i18next, how can we best generate the original PO file? Is writing a POT file by hand a good practice?
Again, if we use symbolic keys, how can we easily invalidate translations whenever we update the original language strings? Are there tools for that?
We understand these questions are very basic, but we were a bit surprised at how little information we could find about i18next-gettext integration. The i18next-conv tool exists and works perfectly as advertised, but is it actually useful? Do people actually use it? If so, are our questions relevant?
Finally, are our expectations about the maturity of the system a little too high?

if you like to use source strings as keys just change the
nsseparator = ':::'
keyseparator = '::'
so . and : could be used inside the key without fear.

You could try using https://github.com/cheton/i18next-text. It allows you using i18next translation without having the key as strings, and you do not need to worry about i18n key naming. Furthermore, you can also register the i18n helper with Handlebars.
Following is a simple example:
var i18n = require('i18next');
// extends i18n object to provide a new _() method
i18n._ = require('i18next-text')._;
i18n._('Save your time and work more efficiently.');
Check out the demo on JSFiddle.

Related

Why to cast all the values in an object to strings in Javascript?

Disclaimer: My experience is mainly development with statically typed languages, and even if I understand how dynamic types works, I'm not very familiar with the common practices, neither I'm very aware of the usual tips and tricks yet.
I recently started to work in a project where we use serverless and deploy some lambdas in AWS with javascript. After deep diving the existing code I found out a common practice that shocked me a bit:
When a lambda is invoked and it receives a JSON payload, there is an initial pre-processing, converting all the values in the object to strings.
const mapValues = require('lodash/mapValues')
const escape = require('validator/lib/escape')
...
const body = mapValues(requestBody, value => escape('' + value))
...
Then after that pre-processing, the real work begins (validation, processing, invoking other services, etc...)
My first thoughts this are:
Benefit: Helps to reduce the cognitive load of the possible different types, enabling to assume that everything will be always a string.
Downside: Extra complexity dealing with non-string values, such as numbers.
Q1: Are there any other benefits and pitfalls to using this approach?
Q2: Could this be considered a bad practice? If so, why? (facts, not opinions please)
Thanks in advance! :)
Interesting question. I suggest you to ask the author if they 're available. Here are some of my thoughts:
I argue having string values does not reduce but increase cognitive load, as you have to watch out to convert them when doing basic arithmetics. I am sure all of us have seen at least once 1+1 being 11.
Also, handling every data as strings is a so bad practice it even has its own mock name: stringly typed. This is the cookbook example of that.
The only valid reason I can possibly imagine is to prevent various injection attacks against the service. In some scenarios, if the user is allowed to send in arbitrary json, it is possible to make the service execute code paths that it would not do normally. (something whacky like {"__proto__":[],"length":1,"0":"foo"} coerects to "foo" but is typeof object, this could bypass some flawed validation logic. mongodb is also prone to some attacks alike). But even in this case, proper validation would be much better than converting every value to string.

ternJS - Generate JSON type definition file

ternJS have several. JSON files defs which contains the definition of librarys. Can someone explain to me how I can best generate my own to my javascript libraries / or only definition objects?
I can not see that there is no common procedure for this?
There's a tool for this included in Tern. See condense at http://ternjs.net/doc/manual.html#utils . It runs Tern on your file and tries to output the types that it finds. It's far from flawless, but for simple programs it works well. For files with a complicated structure or interface, you'll often have to hand-write the definitions.
There are three ways I have thought about to solve your problem:
Using Abstract Syntax Tree Parser and Visitor
One way to solve your problem would be to use abstract syntax tree parser and visitor in order to automate the task of scanning through the code and documenting it.
The resources here will be of help:
-http://ramkulkarni.com/blog/understanding-ast-created-by-mozilla-rhino-parser/
-What is JavaScript AST, how to play with it?
You usually use a parser to retrieve a tree, and then use a visitor to visit all the nodes and do your work within there.
You will essentially have a tree representing the specific library and then you must write the code to store this in the def format you link to.
Getting a Documentation Generator and Modifying
Another idea is to download the source code for a documentation generator, e.g. https://github.com/yui/yuidoc/
By modifying the styling/output format you can generate "documentation" in the appropriate json format.
Converting Existing Documentation (HTML doc) into JSON
You can make a parser that takes a standard documentation format (I'm sure as Javadoc is one for java there should be one for javascript), and write a converter that exctracts the relevant information and stores in a JSON definition.

JSON diff of large JSON data, finding some JSON as a subset of another JSON

I have a problem I'd like to solve to not have to spend a lot of manual work to analyze as an alternative.
I have 2 JSON objects (returned from different web service API or HTTP responses). There is intersecting data between the 2 JSON objects, and they share similar JSON structure, but not identical. One JSON (the smaller one) is like a subset of the bigger JSON object.
I want to find all the interesecting data between the two objects. Actually, I'm more interested in the shared parameters/properties within the object, not really the actual values of the parameters/properties of each object. Because I want to eventually use data from one JSON output to construct the other JSON as input to an API call. Unfortunately, I don't have the documentation that defines the JSON for each API. :(
What makes this tougher is the JSON objects are huge. One spans a page if you print it out via Windows Notepad. The other spans 37 pages. The APIs return the JSON output compressed as a single line. Normal text compare doesn't do much, I'd have to reformat manually or w/ script to break up object w/ newlines, etc. for a text compare to work well. Tried with Beyond Compare tool.
I could do manual search/grep but that's a pain to cycle through all the parameters inside the smaller JSON. Could write code to do it but I'd also have to spend time to do that, and test if the code works also. Or maybe there's some ready made code already for that...
Or can look for JSON diff type tools. Searched for some. Came across these:
https://github.com/samsonjs/json-diff or https://tlrobinson.net/projects/javascript-fun/jsondiff
https://github.com/andreyvit/json-diff
both failed to do what I wanted. Presumably the JSON is either too complex or too large to process.
Any thoughts on best solution? Or might the best solution for now be manual analysis w/ grep for each parameter/property?
In terms of a code solution, any language will do. I just need a parser or diff tool that will do what I want.
Sorry, can't share the JSON data structure with you either, it may be considered confidential.
Beyond Compare works well, if you set up a JSON file format in it to use Python to pretty-print the JSON. Sample setup for Windows:
Install Python 2.7.
In Beyond Compare, go under Tools, under File Formats.
Click New. Choose Text Format. Enter "JSON" as a name.
Under the General tab:
Mask: *.json
Under the Conversion tab:
Conversion: External program (Unicode filenames)
Loading: c:\Python27\python.exe -m json.tool %s %t
Note, that second parameter in the command line must be %t, if you enter two %ss you will suffer data loss.
Click Save.
Jeremy Simmons has created a better File Format package Posted on forum: "JsonFileFormat.bcpkg" for BEYOND COMPARE that does not require python or so to be installed.
Just download the file and open it with BC and you are good to go. So, its much more simpler.
JSON File Format
I needed a file format for JSON files.
I wanted to pretty-print & sort my JSON to make comparison easy.
I have attached my bcpackage with my completed JSON File Format.
The formatting is done via jq - http://stedolan.github.io/jq/
Props to
Stephen Dolan for the utility https://github.com/stedolan.
I have sent a message to the folks at Scooter Software asking them to
include it in the page with additional formats.
If you're interested in seeing it on there, I'm sure a quick reply to
the thread with an up-vote would help them see the value posting it.
Attached Files Attached Files File Type: bcpkg JsonFileFormat.bcpkg
(449.8 KB, 58 views)
I have a small GPL project that would do the trick for simple JSON. I have not added support for nested entities as it is more of a simple ObjectDB solution and not actually JSON (Despite the fact it was clearly inspired by it.
Long and short the API is pretty simple. Make a new group, populate it, and then pull a subset via whatever logical parameters you need.
https://github.com/danielbchapman/groups
The API is used basically like ->
SubGroup items = group
.notEqual("field", "value")
.lessThan("field2", 50); //...etc...
There's actually support for basic unions and joins which would do pretty much what you want.
Long and short you probably want a Set as your data-type. Considering your comparisons are probably complex you need a more complex set of methods.
My only caution is that it is GPL. If your data is confidential, odds are you may not be interested in that license.

Is metaprogramming possible in Javascript?

During my routine work, i happened to write the chained javascript function which is something like LINQ expression to query the JSON result.
var Result = from(obj1).as("x").where("x.id=5").groupby("x.status").having(count("x.status") > 5).select("x.status");
It works perfectly and give the expected result.
I was wondering this looks awesome if the code is written like this (in a more readable way)
var Result = from obj1 as x where x.status
groupby x.status having count(x.status) > 5
select x.status;
is there a way to achieve this??
Cheers
Ramesh Vel
No. JavaScript doesn't support this.
But this looks quite good too:
var Result = from(obj1)
.as("x")
.where("x.id=5")
.groupby("x.status")
.having(count("x.status") > 5)
.select("x.status");
Most people insist on trying to metaprogram from inside their favorite language. That doesn't work if the language doesn't support metaprogramming well; other answers have observed that JavaScript does not.
A way around this is to do metaprogramming from outside the language, using
program transformation tools. Such tools can parse source code, and carry out arbitrary transformations on it (that's what metaprogramming does anyway) and then spit the revised program.
If you have a general purpose program transformation system, that can parse arbitrary languages, you can then do metaprogramming on/with whatever language you like. See our DMS Software Reengineering Toolkit for such a tool, that has robust front ends for C, C++, Java, C#, COBOL, PHP, and ECMAScript and a number of other programming langauges, and has been used for metaprogramming on all of these.
In your case, you want to extend the JavaScript grammar with new syntax for SQL queries, and then transform them to plain JavaScript. (This is a lot like Intentional Programming)
DMS will easily let you build a JavaScript dialect with additional rules, and then you can use its program transformation capabilities to produce the equivalent standard Javascript.
Having said, that, I'm not a great fan of "custom syntax for every programmer on the planet" which is where Intentional Programming leads IMHO.
This is a good thing to do if there is a large community of users that would find this valuable. This idea may or may not be one of them; part of the problem is you don't get to find out without doing the experiment, and it might fail to gain enough social traction to matter.
although not quite what you wanted, it is possible to write parsers in javascript, and just parse the query (stored as strings) and then execute it. e.g.,using libraries like http://jscc.jmksf.com/ (no doubt there are others out there) it shouldnt be too hard to implement.
but what you have in the question looks great already, i m not sure why you'd want it to look the way you suggested.
Considering that this question is asked some years ago, I will try to add more to it based on the current technologies.
As of ECMAScript 6, metaprogramming is now supported in a sense via Symbol, Reflect and Proxy objects.
By searching on the web, I found a series of very interesting articles on the subject, written by Keith Kirkel:
Metaprogramming in ES6: Symbols and why they're awesome
In short, Symbols are new primitives that can be added inside an object (without practically being properties) and are very handy for passing metaprogramming properties to it among others. Symbols are all about changing the behavior of existing classes by modifying them (Reflection within implementation).
Metaprogramming in ES6: Part 2 - Reflect
In short, Reflect is effectively a collection of all of those “internal methods” that were available exclusively through the JavaScript engine internals, now exposed in one single, handy object. Its usage is analogous to the Reflection capabilities of Java and C#. They are used to discover very low level information about your code (Reflection through introspection).
Metaprogramming in ES6: Part 3 - Proxies
In short, Proxies are handler objects, responsible for wrapping objects and intercepting their behaviors through traps (Reflection through intercession).
Of course, these objects provide specific metaprogramming capabilities, much more restrictive compared to metaprogramming languages, but still can provide handy ways of basic metaprogramming, mainly through Reflection practices, in fact.
In the end, it is worth mentioning that there is some worth-noticing ongoing research work on staged metaprogramming in JavaScript.
Well, in your code sample:
var Result = from(obj1)
.as("x")
.where("x.id=5")
.groupby("x.status")
.having(count("x.status") > 5)
.select("x.status");
The only problem I see (other than select used as an identifier) is that you embed a predicate as a function argument. You'd have to make it a function instead:
.having(function(x){ return x.status > 5; })
JavaScript has closures and dynamic typing, so you can do some really nifty and elegant things in it. Just letting you know.
In pure JS no you can not. But with right preprocessor it is possible.
You can do something similar with sweet.js macros or (God forgive me) GPP.
Wat you want is to change the javascript parser into an SQL parser. It wasn't created to do that, the javascript syntax doesn't allow you to.
What you have is 90% like SQL (it maps straight onto it), and a 100% valid javascript, which is a great achievement. My answer to the question in the title is: YES, metaprogramming is possible, but NO it won't give you an SQL parser, since it's bound to use javascript grammar.
Maybe you want something like JSONPath if you've got JSON data. I found this at http://www.json.org/. Lots of other tools linked to from there if it's not exactly what you need.
(this is being worked on as well: http://docs.dojocampus.org/dojox/json/query)

How to do localizable javascript?

I have a web application that uses TONS of javascript, and as usual, there are a lot of textual constants that will be displayed to the user embedded in the code itself.
What do you think is the best way to make this localizable?
I know I need to take those strings off of the code and replace them with constants, which will be defined into some external place.
For the server side, ASP.Net provides some very neat capabilities for dealing with this.
What's the best to do this in Javascript?
The best idea I have is to have a JS file with ALL the string constants of the JS of the site (i'd have different copies of this, for each language), and then on each page, I include this script first, before all the others.
This seems like the most centralized way, that also wastes the least bandwidth.
Are there any other better approaches?
Thanks!
here's how we did it (in ASP.net), pretty much along the lines of what you've mentioned:
1) Created two javascript files: one which defines all javascript functions/DOM manipulations as required by the site, and, second called Messages.js: this defines all the string literals that need to be localized, something like var ALERT_MSG = "Alert message in english".
2) Created different version of the Messages.js, one for each locale that we are supporting and localized the strings. The localized js files were named using messages.locale.js naming convention (for eg. messages.fr-FR.js).
3) Included the js files within the "ScriptManager" and provided the ResourceUICultures for the Messages.js file: this ensures that the correct localized file is embedded in the html output (if you are not using ASP.net you can build this basic functionality by doing some culture sniffing and including the appropriate js file).
4) Voila!
Your approach makes sense. Details:
I'd have the strings for each language in an object.
localized={"cat":"chat","dog":"chien"};
Then in code:
localized["cat"]
The quotations around of the keys and the array notation (rather than the more common object dot notation) are to avoid collisions with JavaScript reserved words.
There is a gettext library but I haven't used it.
Your approach sounds good enough.
If you have lots of strings and you are concerned about the bulkiness of the file you may want to consider a script that creates a single javascript file for each language by concatenating the code javascript and the locale javascript and then applying something like Minify.
You'll waste some CPU cycles on publishing but you'll save some round trips...
There's a library for localizing JavaScript applications: https://github.com/wikimedia/jquery.i18n
The strings are stored in JSON files, as pretty much everybody else suggests, but it has a few more features:
It can do parameter replacement, supports gender (clever he/she handling), number (clever plural handling, including languages that have more than one plural form), and custom grammar rules that some languages need.
The only requirement is jQuery.

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