config file vs. file headers

[Dormilich]

Hi,

I could need some advice. In my script I'm reading a language translation file (some hundred entries). which file I select depends on the user selections (i.e. $_GET['lang']). my problem is currently, how to decide which file to load. additionally, if there's ever a new file added (or changed), I don't want the user to have to dig through a lot of code to get it working.

way 1: make a configuration file, which lists which values (the short language names like de, en, …) map to which file.

$map = parse_ini_file(config.lang.ini);
/* giving:
$map = array
(
    "en" => "English.ini",
    "de" => "German.ini",
    …
); */
$translation = parse_ini_file($map[$language]);

Drawback: I need an additional config file/the config file must be updated

way 2: the language files contain a value of the appropriate abbreviation so I could read that value and decide, if I use this file or not.

// English.ini
; some preceding lines 
; of comment
…
lang_short = "en"
…

// PHP
foreach ($files_from_readdir as $ini_file)
{
    $file = parse_ini_file($ini_file);
    if ($file['short_lang'] == $language) 
    {
        $translation = $file;
        break;
    }
}

Drawback: in the worst case I have to parse all files, before I get the right one.

way 3: I could think of some code using fread() or file() and stop after the "lang_short " line.

any ideas what the best/most elegant way is?

thanks

[Ciary]

if al your language-files are in the same directory you can use this:

$array = glob($path."/*");

foreach($array as $k => $v){
   $array[$k] = str_replace(".ini","",$v);
}

after this, $array will contain all languages

then you can simply let your user select the right file. i dont know if this is exacly what you need, but i think it might be useful.

[Dormilich]

then you can simply let your user select the right file. i dont know if this is exacly what you need, but i think it might be useful.

well, not exactly. the problem is not to get the file names (if I want to display them to the user, I need to translate them before that) but to select the correct file once I have the URL parameter value.

currently I'm using

	/**
	 * set the $lang property by looking for a "lang" attribute (URL).
	 * read the appropriate language file.
	 */
	private function getLanguage()
	{
		# read language parameter from $_GET
		if (isset($_GET['lang']) and strlen($_GET['lang']) == 2)
		{
			# gets me "en", "de", … or "" (mostly "")
			$this->lang = $_GET['lang'];
		}

[B]// that's what I currently use but is this the best way?
[/B]		# read language configuration
		[B]$lang_conf = parse_ini_file(MYPHP_GB_DIR . 'lang/' . 'config.language.ini');[/B]
		
		$lang_file = MYPHP_GB_DIR . 'lang/';
		
		# select system language
		if (array_key_exists($this->lang, $lang_conf))
		{
			[B]$lang_file .= $lang_conf[$this->lang];[/B]
		}
		elseif ($this->properties['language'])
		{
			# read default from DB
			$lang_file .= $this->properties['language'] . '.ini';
		}
		else
		{
			# if everything else fails…
			$lang_file .= 'German.ini';
		}

[B]// how to  get $lang_file best?
[/B]		# read translation table
		$this->translation = parse_ini_file([U]$lang_file[/U]);
	}

[Ciary]

srr, can't help you with that. never used language-files

[Markus]

I think it'd be best to name the files en.ini, fr.ini, etc. Makes locating the file much easier.

[Dormilich]

besides that, is there any other reasonable way (I'd like to preserve the file names for various reasons)?

[Markus]

How about naming the files en.English.ini.. that would make parsing easier.

Something like:

// Assuming you won't have multiple files prefixed with [b]en.[/b]
// this should return only one file or no files.
$file = glob("path/to/files/{$lang}.*.inc");
// $file[0] might hold something like: path/to/files/en.English.inc

[Dormilich]

hmm, that's worth looking into…

[Markus]

hmm, that's worth looking into…

It's not ideal, though. It's a shame you can't use * in file_exists().

[Dormilich]

on the other hand, I could auto-generate the config file if the language files have changed…