how to offer languages plus choice of words in plugin

[ewel]

In my efforts to extend the functionality of a plugin that I am converting to Joomla 1.5 I have come to a standstill for lack of understanding how to best deal with language. The plugin I am working on takes the departure address filled into a one-field form and displays a Google map with the route from that departure point to a pre-defined destination.

I am trying to achieve three things:
1. I would like to offer the possibility that administrators can change pieces of text (which are the text before a text field, the text on a button and an error text if the text field is empty). This is not important if it is easy enough for administrators to make translations, but would be nice.
2. I have made two language files (English and Dutch) and would like to fully use the ability of Joomla to switch between languages.
3. I would like to present the Google map in the right language dependent on the current language on a page.

Ad 1. I achieved this by way of some paramters showing the default wording which can be changed, but I am not sure if and how to combine this with point 2.
Ad 2. I achieved this too, but again I am not sure how well it combines with point 1. If I did not have the parameters of point 1 in the plugin installation and settings xml file, how would I implement the translations?
Ad 3. Google maps comes in many languages, and to get the right page all I need to do is to insert "hl=en" or "hl=nl" etc. I could put use a php variable but this variable would need to be filled. Ideally I would be able to get the lower case two character language code out of the Joomla system, but I have no idea how to do this.
Also I would need to change "to" and "from" in the search string (if that is the right term of art); if one were to try 'from London to Dublin' in the Dutch version of Google maps a search error will result while the same addresses will return a map if 'van' and 'naar' are used. For this I would be dependent on the language files, but I do not know how to use these without creating parameters, and doing so seems to defeat the purpose of the language files.
A side question: how easy is it to change a language file for someone who does not have ftp and an html editor?

I am attaching the installation file of the otherwise functional plugin by way of illustration (please consider it a work in progress however). Any push in the right direction would be welcome..

Met dank, thanks in advance, merci beaucoup, vielen Dank, grazzi hafna etc!

[infograf768]

these should be quite easy
$prompt = $pluginParams->def( 'prompt', 'Enter your start address: ');
  $buttonTxt = $pluginParams->def( 'buttonTxt', 'Get Directions' );
  $errorMsg = $pluginParams->def( 'errorMsg', 'Start location is empty ' );

for example:
$prompt = JText::_($pluginParams->def( 'prompt', 'Enter your start address: '));

and add the strings to the ini file

Can't reply for the rest, except concerning the editing of the ini files.
One just need a good text editor and save the files as utf8 no bom
http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Software/BabelPad.html on windows
Textwrangler on Mac

[ewel]

Ok, that is helpful, thanks.

If a user of the plugin changes the parameters and changes the prompt wording from, say, 'Enter your start address: ' to 'Departure point: ', I suppose then the stings in the ini file will not work anymore, will they? I am assuming the system would look for 'Departure point: ' which as a user-changed parameter would not be in the ini file.

If they don't then adding the option to change the wording would diminish the option to change language, so then I should probably forget about the change fo wording options and just work with the ini files. In that case, I would have no parameter but something like this in the php code: $prompt = "Enter your start address: ";. How would I ensure that this works with the ini files? Would I simply put the strings in like this: 'ENTER YOUR START ADDRESS=Enter your start address: ' ?

[infograf768]

If a user of the plugin changes the parameters and changes the prompt wording from, say, 'Enter your start address: ' to 'Departure point: ', I suppose then the stings in the ini file will not work anymore, will they? I am assuming the system would look for 'Departure point: ' which as a user-changed parameter would not be in the ini file.

Exact.

If they don't then adding the option to change the wording would diminish the option to change language, so then I should probably forget about the change fo wording options and just work with the ini files. In that case, I would have no parameter but something like this in the php code: $prompt = "Enter your start address: ";. How would I ensure that this works with the ini files? Would I simply put the strings in like this: 'ENTER YOUR START ADDRESS=Enter your start address: ' ?

It could be anything in the first part of the string, i.e.

if, in code, you have:

$prompt = JText::_($pluginParams->def( 'prompt', 'ENTERSTARTAD'));
or
$prompt = JText::_($pluginParams->def( 'prompt', 'enterstartad'));

the ini file should be:
ENTERSTARTAD=Enter your start address:
which a user could change to
ENTERSTARTAD=Anything the user wants to put here except a hard return.

Using the Translation Manager component would let this be edited on the fly.
See: http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla_1_5_tr1/

[ewel]

Thanks! I think now it dawned on me how it works. I'll rewrite the whole thing in terms of language so that everything an administrator or visitor might see can be translated.

I will do it in the following way, please let me know if I am wrong...
    If in my code I have:
          $prompt = JText::_($pluginParams->def( 'prompt', 'ENTERSTARTAD')); 
    in the English language file I would have:
          ENTERSTARTAD=Enter your start address:
    and in the, say, Dutch language file this would be:
          ENTERSTARTAD=Vul uw vertrekadres in:

The translation component looks very nice, what a great piece of convenience. I evidently have not done the language files right because my plugin is not in the list, so Í will have to look more closely at some other extensions as examples.

Thanks again!

[infograf768]

What is interesting to know is that the Translation Manager will display and let add to any language present a new ini file present in en-GB.
Thus making it a real easy task to translate to one's own language, whichever it is.

[ewel]

The translation manager component is one of those few that should be advertised in the Joomla installation process or cpanel!

I thought I had grasped how to work with languages but then I decided to try and go one step further and failed. I had hoped to use descriptors for text to be used instead of the actual text.

Here are two parameters showing what I did in my xml file:
 
 
    Yes
    No
 

In my php I tried this:
  $link_text = JText::_('LINK TEXT');
  echo "";

In the en-GB ini file I have these corresponding lines:
  BORDER COLOUR LABEL=Border colour
  BORDER COLOUR DESCRIPTION=Border colour (example: silver)
  INITIAL NOTE TEXT=Make, view and save your personal notes!
  INITIAL NOTE LABEL=Display initial message for new users
  INITIAL NOTE DESCRIPTION=Display initial message for new users (Make, view and save your personal notes!)
  YES=Yes
  NO=No
  LINK TEXT=Save

The result is that my settings show labels in capitals and my form shows 'LINK TEXT' instead of 'save'.

In my xml I think I could solve this by replacing 'BORDER COLOUR LABEL' by 'Border colour' with a corresponding change of the ini file to 'BORDER COLOUR=Border colour'. I suppose in my php file I should do $link_text = JText::_('Save'); with 'SAVE=Save' in the ini.

But is there a way to do it in a way similar to what I was trying? I liked the idea of working with descriptors for text sort of like variables are used.