translate-strings

name	translate-strings
description	TRIGGER when user asks to externalize, internationalize, or translate user-facing strings. Moves hardcoded display text into a text.yaml resource bundle for i18n support.

CRITICAL: Read and analyze this microservice before starting. Do NOT explore or analyze other microservices. The instructions in this skill are self-contained to this microservice.

Workflow

Copy this checklist and track your progress:

Externalizing and translating strings:
- [ ] Step 1: Create string bundle
- [ ] Step 2: Transfer strings
- [ ] Step 3: Translate strings for requested languages
- [ ] Step 4: Update references in Go files
- [ ] Step 5: Update references in templates
- [ ] Step 6: Housekeeping

Step 1: Create String Bundle

Create resources/text.yaml, if one does not already exist.

Step 2: Transfer Strings

Locate static strings in the microservice that are ultimately shown to the end user. These are likely to be in service.go or in HTML or text templates in the resources directory.

For each string, create an entry in resources/text.yaml that maps a unique key to its localized value on a per language basis. Use PascalCase for the string key (e.g. MyString) and ISO 639 language codes for each language (e.g. en-US).

HelloWorld:
  en: Hello World

Step 3: Translate Strings for Requested Languages

Update resources/text.yaml and add a localized value for each explicitly requested language. Use the ISO 639 language code under the key of each localization.

HelloWorld:
  en: Hello World
  en-AU: G'day World
  fr: Bonjour le Monde
  es: Hola Mundo

The en or en-US localizations are used by default when no other language matches the request's context. If neither localization is included, a default value should be provided instead.

HolaMundo:
  fr: Bonjour le Monde
  es: Hola Mundo
  default: Hola Mundo

Step 4: Update References in Go Files

Use svc.MustLoadResString to load strings in Go files such as service.go.

Before:

func (svc *Service) HelloWorld(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (err error) {
	w.Write([]byte("Hello World"))
	return err
}

After:

func (svc *Service) HelloWorld(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (err error) {
	ctx := r.Context()
	textHelloWorld := svc.MustLoadResString(ctx, "HelloWorld")
	w.Write([]byte(textHelloWorld))
	return err
}

Step 5: Update References in Templates

To use localized strings in HTML templates, load all strings with svc.MustLoadResStrings into a map, pass the map as part of the data to the template, and use the map in the template to obtain the string by key, instead of the static string.

Before:

func (svc *Service) HelloWorld(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (err error) {
	data := struct{
		OtherData int
	}{
		OtherData: 5,
	}
	err = svc.WriteResTemplate(w, "mytemplate.html", data)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Trace(err)
	}
	return nil
}

<b>Hello World</b>

After:

func (svc *Service) HelloWorld(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (err error) {
	ctx := r.Context()
	data := struct{
		OtherData int
		Text map[string]string
	}{
		OtherData: 5,
		Text: svc.MustLoadResStrings(ctx),
	}
	err = svc.WriteResTemplate(w, "mytemplate.html", data)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Trace(err)
	}
	return nil
}

<b>{{ .Text.HelloWorld }}</b>

Step 6: Housekeeping

Follow the housekeeping skill.