Echoes

Features

• Change language at runtime (obviously - but hard with ResX)
• Translation keys are generated at compile time. Missing keys (from the invariant) will show up as compiler errors.
• Markup extension for simple usage
• Simple translation file format based on TOML
• Multiple translation files, so you can split translations by feature, ..

Getting Started

It's best to take a look at the Sample Project

Add references to the following packages:

<PackageReference Include="Echoes" Version=".."/>
<PackageReference Include="Echoes.Generator" Version=".."/>

Specify translations files (Embedded Resources, Source Generator)

<ItemGroup>
    <!-- Include all .toml files as embedded resources (so we can dynamically load them at runtime) -->
    <EmbeddedResource Include="**\*.toml" />

    <!-- Specify invariant files that are fed into the generator (Echoes.Generator) -->
    <AdditionalFiles Include="Translations\Strings.toml" />
</ItemGroup>

[!CAUTION] You currently have to place your translation (.toml) files and the generated code in a separate project. This is because Avalonia also generates code using their XAML compiler. In order for the xaml compiler to see your translations you need to put them in a different project. Otherwise you'll get a compiler error.

Translation Files

Translations are loaded from .toml files. The invariant file is special as it's structure included configuration data. Language files are identified by _{lang}.toml postfix.

Strings.toml
Strings_de.toml
Strings_es.toml

You can split translations in multiple toml files.

FeatureA.toml
FeatureA_de.toml
FeatureA_es.toml

FeatureB.toml
FeatureB_de.toml
FeatureB_es.toml

File Format

Example: Strings.toml

[echoes_config]
generated_class_name = "Strings"
generated_namespace = "Echoes.SampleApp.Translations"

[translations]
hello_world = 'Hello World'
greeting = 'Hello {0}, how are you?'

Example: Strings_de.toml

hello_world = 'Hallo Welt'
greeting = 'Hallo {0}, wie geht es dir?'

Is this library stable?

No, it's currently in preview. See the version number.

Why is it named "Echoes"?

The library is named after the Pink Floyd song Echoes.