SayWhat.Forms 1.0.403

SayWhat.Forms

Dynamic localization framework for Xamarin.Forms. Using wrapper classes for controls and pages, applications are able to update localized text to the UI regardless of chosen design patterns or UI implementation (c# or xaml).

Supported Controls

• The framework supports titles on all pages
  • LocalizedCarouselPage
  • LocalizedContentPage
  • LocalizedFlyoutPage
  • LocalizedNavigationPage
  • LocalizeTemplated
• As well as text and placeholders (if the control supports it) for:
  • LocalizedButton
  • LocalizedEntry
  • LocalizedLabel

Usage

Click here For a full example and demo.

Initialization

var resourceManager = new ResourceManager("SayWhat.Forms.Demo.Resources.AppResources", Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(Main Page))); Utilities.SayWhat.Settings.Initialize(resourceManager, CurrentCulture);

It is recommended to initialize in the app.xaml.cs or app.cs file as it is done here.

Xaml

File on GitHub

In Xaml, create a variable from the namespace. Here I have assigned it to 'sw' for SayWhat". However, it can be anything such as: il8n, localization, translations, etc.

Now you can use controls and set the resource name of the string you want translated to the resourcename property on each control. </p>

<sw:LocalizedContentPage
xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
xmlns:sw="clr-namespace:SayWhat.Forms.Controls;assembly=SayWhat.Forms"
x:Class="SayWhat.Forms.Demo.MainPage"
TitleResourceName="TranslatedTitle">
 <StackLayout 
    HorizontalOptions="Center"
    VerticalOptions="Center">
    <sw:LocalizedLabel
      TextResourceName="HelloWorld" 
        FontSize="18"/>
    <sw:LocalizedEntry
      PlaceHolderResourceName="PlaceholderText" />
    <sw:LocalizedButton 
        TextResourceName="UpdateLanguage" 
        Clicked="Button_Clicked" />
 </StackLayout>
</sw:LocalizedContentPage>

C#

Translation of the above example in C#.

Using SayWhat.Forms
public MainPage : LocalizedContentPage
{
    public MainPage()
    {
        TitleResourceName = "TranslatedTitle"
        Content = new StackLayout
        {
            Children = 
            {
                new LocalizedLabel { TextResourceName="HelloWorld", FontSize="18"},
                new LocalizedEntry { PlaceHolderResourceName="PlaceholderText" },
                new LocalizedButton { TextResourceName="UpdateLanguage",   Clicked="Button_Clicked"}
                } 
            }
        }
    }
}

Code Behind

The idea is a fairly simple one. Basically wrap the original control or page, take items that are translatable and when the culture is updated notify the control to retrieve the updated value. And of course, allow the garbage collector to clean up when no longer in use.

using SayWhat.Forms.Messages;
using SayWhat.Forms.Utilities;
using System;
using Xamarin.Forms;

namespace SayWhat.Forms.Controls { public class LocalizedLabel : Label, IDisposable { public static readonly BindableProperty TextResourceNameProperty = BindableProperty.Create( nameof(TextResourceName), typeof(string), typeof(LocalizedLabel), null, BindingMode.Default, propertyChanged: TextResourceNameChanged);

    public LocalizedLabel()
    {
        MessagingCenter.Subscribe<object>(new object(), CultureChangedMessage.Message, (o) => UpdateText(this));
    }

    public string TextResourceName
    {
        get => GetValue(TextResourceNameProperty) as string;
        set => SetValue(TextResourceNameProperty, value);
    }

    public static void TextResourceNameChanged(BindableObject bindable, object oldValue, object newValue)
    {
        LocalizedLabel label = (LocalizedLabel)bindable;
        label.TextResourceName = (string) newValue;
        SetText(label);
    }

    public static void SetText(LocalizedLabel label)
    {
        label.Text = DynamicLocalizer.GetText(label.TextResourceName);
    }

    public void UpdateText(LocalizedLabel label)
    {
        label.Text = DynamicLocalizer.GetText(label.TextResourceName);
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        MessagingCenter.Unsubscribe<object>(new object(), CultureChangedMessage.Message);
    }
}
}

Future Updates

In the future, I hope to support more localized items such as images, but if you want to jump in the game, feel free to fork the repository too! Hopefully, this framework will make someone's life a little easier if the requirement of dynamic localization ever comes their way.

When Maui is fully released, I look forward to updating the framework to accommodate it, if applicable.