What is Flutter Multi-Language Support with Improved Internationalization?

What is Flutter Multi-Language Support with Improved Internationalization?

Flutter’s guide for multiple languages ​​is prime to making the application beneficial worldwide. This feature allows developers to centralize programs in one type of language and offer users content in their local language.

Developed by Google, Flutter embraces multilingual support and allows customers to access the applications in their favorable languages. To this end, Flutter offers many features and capabilities that facilitates businesses to make a global presence effortlessly.

Using multilingual assistance in Flutter makes it easy for internationalization in the app. Multilingual programs are to be had for users chatting in unique languages.

Presenting your products in the nearby language is vital for any worldwide business to create an emotional connection.

Understanding Internationalization

Internationalization, often abbreviated as “i18n,” is a way to easily lay out and optimize results for several languages ​​and cultures. The basic goal of internationalization is to get easy translation and localization of an app’s user interface, ensuring distinctiveness. Users from different regions can talk in their native local language.

Flutter’s Early Internationalization Support

Since its inception, Flutter has recognized the significance of internationalization and provided primary support to the intl package. This package included the ability to lay out dates, currencies, and messages in a locale-specific manner. While this was right step, it required developers to address translations manually and did not offer a complete answer for complex internationalization desires.

Check the below code for practical implementation.

1.Create a new Flutter Application Project.

Open your pubspec.yaml file and add the following dependency under the dependencies section:

Also, enable the generate flag in pubspec.yaml file.

Save the file, and run flutter packages get in your terminal.

Note: ‘Flutter_localizations’ – This package supports 77 languages.

Create New l10n.yaml in the root directory of the Flutter project. And add the following content:
arb-dir: lib/l10n
template-arb-file: app_en.arb
output-localization-file: app_localizations.dart

Create a directory in lib Folder to store your translation languages file. Create individual files for each language you want to support in your project inside that directory.

Like: if you’re supporting languages English & Spanish, Create app_en.arb and  app_es.arb files, respectively.

Supporting language translation arb file, define key-value pairs where key & value represent original language & translations.

For example, in app_en.arb, you could have:

For example, in app_es.arb, you could have:

Add all the required translations for each language in their respective files.

You can also run flutter gen-l10n to generate the same files without running the app.

Create a new directory in the lib Folder ‘Localization.’ After this, we created a model class named LanguageData to organize and manage data in Flutter applications.

2. Configuration in the main file:

Configure localization delegates: In your main.dart file, import the necessary packages:

import ‘package:flutter_localizations/flutter_localizations.dart’;

3. Localization adds for MaterialApp:

Add the following localization delegates:

• AppLocalizations.delegate: It provides translations and localized strings for your app. It is part of the Flutter intl package and is used with the Localizations widget. used AppLocalizations Import following

import ‘package:flutter_gen/gen_l10n/app_localizations.dart’

• GlobalMaterialLocalizations.delegate : It provides localized strings and resources specific to the material design language.
• GlobalCupertinoLocalizations.delegate : It is used for localization purposes, specifically for providing localized strings for Cupertino-style widgets.
• GlobalWidgetsLocalizations.delegate : It handles formatting and rendering of various UI elements based on the user’s selected locale.

4. Add supportedLocales :

• The flutter localization app, the supportedLocales property, defines the list of locales your application supports. Each locale represents a specific language and region combination.

5. Locale :

• The Locale class represents a specific language and an optional country or region you use in our app.
• Locale is used to represent a specific language and region combination. It is a key component of internationalization and localization in Flutter apps.

6.Language data set & get in SharedPreference :

SharedPreference is a simple and easy-to-use key-value storage system provided by Flutter. It allows you to store small amounts of data, such as the user’s language preference, persistently.

Multiple languages support in-app advantage & disadvantages :

• Advantage

1. User Interaction: In the multi-language support refers to how users interact with an app localized in multiple languages. Users can select their preferred language.
2. Increased Revenue: You can earn more money by supporting more languages ​​in the app as more people can engage with your business.
3. Competitive advantage: Multilingual support can give your app a competitive advantage over other apps that support only one language.
4. Localization: Using multiple languages ​​can help you tailor your app to specific regions or countries, and it can be essential for localization efforts.
5. Internationalization: With different locations supporting different languages, you can provide a better experience for users in different regions.

• Disadvantages

1. Increased Development Time: Creating an app with multiple language support can take more time and resources because you’ll need to translate all of your app’s content into multiple languages. Adding multi-language support to an app can complicate the development process.
2. Maintenance: Supporting Multi-language requires ongoing maintenance to ensure that all languages translator & other localized assets are up-to-date and that app is working as expected for users in different languages.
3. App Size and App Performance: Supporting multiple languages usually increases the overall size of the app. This is because each additional language requires the inclusion of language-specific resources such as translation files, localized strings, assets, etc. These resources to app size increase & impact download & installations more time.
4. Developer Testing Complex: Multi-language support for app testing is more complex than single-language apps. You may need to test the app with different language settings and ensure that text and other assets are displayed correctly in each language.

Conclusion : 

Multilingual help for the Flutter app can be good to increase users and enhance the users experience for multilingual customers.

So, multilingual support is crucial for Flutter App Developers who need to make apps target global audience.