Internationalizing Swift Apps: Best Practices for Localization
Developers have been leveraging Swift to build powerful and engaging applications for Apple’s platforms for years. With the rise of global markets, it has become increasingly important to ensure that your app is localized and can be used by people speaking different languages. In this article, we’ll look at best practices for internationalizing your Swift apps so they can be localized for different markets.
Localization is the process of adapting an application or website to a specific language or locale. This involves translating all of the text, images, sounds, and videos in an app into other languages. It also involves adjusting any features that are based on cultural conventions, such as dates, times, currencies, and measurements.
An important part of localization is internationalization, which is the process of making sure that an app can be easily localized. This includes making sure that all text is stored in external files and not hard-coded in the code, using standard formats for dates, times, and numbers, and providing support for right-to-left languages.
When internationalizing a Swift app, there are a few best practices that you should keep in mind:
1. Use Strings Files
The first step in internationalizing a Swift app is to store all of the text in the app in external strings files. This makes it easy to translate the text into different languages, as the translator only needs to edit the strings file and not the code. To create a strings file, simply create a text file with the .strings extension and add the text for each language. For example, here is a strings file for English and Spanish:
/* English */
"hello" = "Hello";
/* Spanish */
"hello" = "Hola";
The strings file can then be loaded into the app using the Bundle.localizedString() method.
let helloString = Bundle.main.localizedString(forKey: "hello", value: nil, table: nil)
print(helloString) // Prints "Hello" in English or "Hola" in Spanish
2. Use Standard Formats for Dates, Times, and Numbers
When displaying dates, times, and numbers, it is important to use standard formats so that the values are displayed correctly in different locales. For dates and times, you should use the ISO 8601 format, which is a standardized format that is recognized by all locales. For numbers, you should use the NumberFormatter class to format the number according to the user’s locale.
// Date Formatter
let dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssZ"
// Number Formatter
let numberFormatter = NumberFormatter()
numberFormatter.numberStyle = .decimal
let number = 12345
let formattedNumber = numberFormatter.string(from: NSNumber(value: number))
3. Support Right-to-Left Languages
Right-to-left (RTL) languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, are written and read from right to left. When localizing an app for an RTL language, you need to make sure that all of the UI elements are flipped so that they appear in the correct order. This can be done using the isLayoutDirectionRTL property of the UIView class.
if UIView.isLayoutDirectionRTL {
// Flip UI elements for RTL languages
}
Conclusion
Localizing an app for different languages and locales can be a daunting task. But by following the best practices outlined in this article, you can make sure that your app is properly internationalized and ready to be localized for any market. By taking the time to internationalize your app, you can ensure that your app can reach a global audience.