[swift-users] Localization in Swift.

[Dave Abrahams]

on Wed Nov 02 2016, Jens Alfke <jens-AT-mooseyard.com> wrote:

>> On Nov 2, 2016, at 12:50 PM, Dave Abrahams via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org> wrote:
>> 
>> In my opinion, we can and must do much better for Swift.  If there's
>> something about “%” formatting that you particularly value, I'd like to
>> know about it, so I can make sure it's accomodated.
>
> It offers more control over formatting, like min/max widths, number
> base, decimal places, etc. Yes, you can do this in the code inside the
> interpolated string, but IMHO it’s awkward because it requires knowing
> a bunch of extra methods for string conversion, truncation, etc. It’s
> a lot easier for me to remember and type “%x” than it is to remember
> and type the method that converts an int to a hex string.

In my view this should look like 

  "... \(x.format(radix: 16, width: 12))... "

Where the possible arguments to format() are statically known to the
compiler (and code completion!) based on the type of x.

>
> Also (and more importantly for localization) the formatting details
> are part of the localizable format string, not hardwired. One example
> of this is formatting currency, where a US localization would use
> “$%.2f” but other currencies might call for more or fewer decimal
> places. 

Yep, I'm paying attention to that, thanks.

> There are other examples where one might swap format strings for other
> purposes like different-width layouts for monospaced/terminal output.

I think we can leverage the same mechanisms used for localization to
handle those.

> There’s also a nonstandard extension used by Cocoa/CF’s formatters,
> that allows the parameters to be reordered. (I haven’t used it so I
> don’t know the syntax offhand.) This is of course important for
> localization, to follow a language’s grammar.

Right, that's crucial.

> I think these features could be added to interpolation. Just as a
> quick idea, maybe a syntax that allows formatting metacharacters to be
> added at the start of the interpolation, like “Please pay $\((.2)
> total)” where the “(.2) specifies two decimal places, or “The address
> is \((x) addr)”.

I think the “.format(...)” approach is better, but it's equally
important that there are sufficient outside-the-Swift-source knobs for
localizers to add language-specific formatting parameters.

-- 
-Dave