i18n: The Type-Safe Approach

Internationalization

19/07/2024

Internationalization (i18n) is a crucial aspect of modern web development. This article explores how to implement a type-safe i18n solution using the typed-locale library in a React application.

Introduction to typed-locale

typed-locale is a lightweight, type-safe internationalization library designed to work with TypeScript. It provides an API for managing translations with type safety for both keys and variables.

Setting Up the Project

Let's create a new React project using Vite with TypeScript:

npm create vite@latest my-i18n-app -- --template react-ts
cd my-i18n-app
npm install

Now, install typed-locale:

npm install typed-locale

Defining Translations

Create a new file called translations.ts in the src folder:

// src/translations.ts
import { InferTranslation, plural } from "typed-locale";

export const en = {
  greeting: "Hello, {{name}}!",
  itemCount: plural({
    none: "You have no items.",
    one: "You have one item.",
    other: "You have {{count}} items.",
  }),
  nav: {
    home: "Home",
    about: "About",
    contact: "Contact",
  },
} as const;

export type Translation = InferTranslation<typeof en>;

export const fr: Translation = {
  greeting: "Bonjour, {{name}} !",
  itemCount: plural({
    none: "Vous n'avez aucun article.",
    one: "Vous avez un article.",
    other: "Vous avez {{count}} articles.",
  }),
  nav: {
    home: "Accueil",
    about: "À propos",
    contact: "Contact",
  },
};

Creating the Translator

Now, let's create a custom hook to use our translations. Create a new file called useTranslator.ts:

// src/useTranslator.ts
import { createTranslatorFromDictionary } from "typed-locale";
import { useMemo } from "react";
import { en, fr, Translation } from "./translations";

const dictionary = { en, fr };

export const useTranslator = (locale: keyof typeof dictionary) => {
  return useMemo(
    () =>
      createTranslatorFromDictionary<Translation>({
        dictionary,
        locale,
        defaultLocale: "en",
      }),
    [locale]
  );
};

Using the Translator in Components

Now, let's use our translator in a React component. Update your App.tsx:

// src/App.tsx
import React, { useState } from "react";
import { useTranslator } from "./useTranslator";

const App: React.FC = () => {
  const [locale, setLocale] = useState<"en" | "fr">("en");
  const [itemCount, setItemCount] = useState(0);
  const translator = useTranslator(locale);

  return (
    <div>
      <select
        value={locale}
        onChange={(e) => setLocale(e.target.value as "en" | "fr")}
      >
        <option value="en">English</option>
        <option value="fr">Français</option>
      </select>

      <nav>
        <ul>
          <li>{translator((t) => t.nav.home)}</li>
          <li>{translator((t) => t.nav.about)}</li>
          <li>{translator((t) => t.nav.contact)}</li>
        </ul>
      </nav>

      <h1>{translator((t) => t.greeting, { name: "World" })}</h1>

      <p>{translator((t) => t.itemCount, { count: itemCount })}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setItemCount(itemCount + 1)}>Add Item</button>
      <button onClick={() => setItemCount(Math.max(0, itemCount - 1))}>
        Remove Item
      </button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

Type Safety Features

typed-locale provides several type safety features:

Autocomplete for translation keys: The IDE provides autocomplete suggestions for all available translation keys.
Type checking for variables: TypeScript catches incorrect variable usage:

// This will cause a TypeScript error translator((t) => t.greeting, { wrongVariable: "World" });
Nested translations: The type system understands nested translations, allowing translator(t => t.nav.home).
Pluralization: The itemCount translation demonstrates how typed-locale handles pluralization, automatically selecting the correct plural form based on the count value.

Technical Advantages

The type-safe approach using typed-locale offers several technical advantages:

Compile-time error detection: Translation-related errors are caught during compilation rather than at runtime.
Improved developer experience: Autocomplete for translation keys enhances productivity.
Refactoring support: TypeScript's refactoring tools work seamlessly with the translation keys.
Prevents key typos: The callback approach eliminates string typos in translation keys.
Small bundle size: At 1kB, typed-locale has minimal impact on application size.
Framework agnostic: While this example uses React, typed-locale can be used with any JavaScript framework or vanilla JS.

Conclusion

Implementing i18n with a type-safe approach using typed-locale provides a robust solution for managing translations in TypeScript projects. By leveraging the type system, developers can create more reliable internationalized applications while maintaining code quality and productivity.