On 29/10/2025 17:39, Patrick Cardona wrote:
Hello,
Seemingly, duplicating gorm files in *.lproj folders could not be a
good practice.
So, if we should use only Localizable.strings, what should be the good
expected practice.
Recently, we had some experiences with the need to duplicate gorm
files (like within SimpleAgenda: see:
https://github.com/poroussel/simpleagenda/issues/14) and in the same
time that this choice could lead us in inconsistency (see French UI
issue within AddressManager before svn revision 4073).
So I am sorry to ask again, but wee need to know approved practices to
be efficient and helpful with Localization contribution.
Just my opinion:
I do not believe that there is a single 'good practice' here. The
differences in the lengths of phrases in different languages can mean
that a layout that suits one language may not suit another language, so
sometimes an app developer may want to provide multiple gorm files. The
standard resource loading mechanism supports this, picking the correct
gorm file for the currently selected locale in preference to any
unlocalised file.
I think an app developer should always provide a gorm file (or
equivalent xib etc) which will be used if there is no specifically
localised file for the current locale.
While locale specific files may provide the best possible UI, it's a lot
more work for the developer/maintainer of an app, so it's optional.
Carefully designed interfaces can generally be made to work with a small
amount of text and be designed so that the necessary text will look good
in all (or almost all) languages.
So I would say that, while the common practice is to have a single gorm
file and a set of strings files (one for each locale), that does not
mean that there is anything wrong with also having different gorm files
for different locales.
