Internationalization

This guide covers CNML's internationalization (i18n) model: per-element language tagging, locale switching, and the planned language tiers.

Per-element language model

CNML XML uses xml:lang on individual elements. This follows the W3C convention and allows mixed-language documents:

<cnml:name xml:lang="en">Non-automatic weighing instruments</cnml:name>
<cnml:name xml:lang="fr">Instruments de pesage non automatiques</cnml:name>

<cnml:name xml:lang="en">Non-automatic weighing instruments</cnml:name>
<cnml:name xml:lang="fr">Instruments de pesage non automatiques</cnml:name>

The per-Recommendation schemas declare which fields are language-tagged. A field like cnml:name may appear multiple times with different xml:lang values.

Locale switching

The web app provides a locale switcher (EN / FR) in the header. The locale is stored in localStorage and applied via the useLocale composable:

import { translate, getStoredLocale, setStoredLocale } from "../composables/useLocale";

setStoredLocale("fr");
const label = translate("nav.about");

import { translate, getStoredLocale, setStoredLocale } from "../composables/useLocale";

setStoredLocale("fr");
const label = translate("nav.about");

Locale files live at src/locales/en.json and src/locales/fr.json. Adding a locale requires one JSON file and one entry in the Locale type.

Planned language tiers

The initial language coverage targets the OIML official languages (English and French). The i18n infrastructure is in place for additional languages. When a new OIML member state joins a pilot, their language can be added without code changes.

Full routing-based i18n (URL prefixes like /fr/, /en/) is a follow-up. The current baseline uses client-side locale switching, which is sufficient for the proposal stage.

Schema-level i18n

The per-Recommendation JSON Schemas declare xml:lang on description fields. The schema-driven form renders labels in the schema's declared language. When the schema carries multiple language variants, the form can present a language selector.