Arb.NET

This project adds .arb localization support to .NET applications.

RESX files suck:

1. Are IDE dependent - the generated code is inconsistent

   • uses XML which belongs to 1980s
   • each IDE generates the code differently
   • each IDE sorts the entries differently
   • ResXManager is trying to make it manageable but I still did not enjoy using it.
   • Is the standard, but we are about to change that :D

2. Do not even support pluralization or parameterized keys

ARB files:

1. Are easy to work with
   • the .arb files are just JSON files, so they are easy to edit and manage by us
   • they are also easy to edit and manage by AI without unnecessary tokens spent on boilerplate

How to:

1. Install the packge of your choice. (Arb.NET.Generator for automatic source generated approach or Arb.NET.Tool for manual generation)

2. Create a l10n.yaml file in the root of your project with the following content:

arb-dir: arbs # [REQUIRED] relative path to the directory containing your .arb files
template-arb-file: en.arb # [REQUIRED] the template .arb file (primary locale) that contains all the keys
output-class: L # [REQUIRED] the name of the generated C# class that will contain the localization members
output-namespace: MyProject.Locale # [REQUIRED] the namespace of the generated C# class

3. Create your .arb files in the specified directory (e.g. arbs/en.arb, arbs/cs.arb, etc.) with the following content:

{
  "@@locale": "en", # [REQUIRED] the locale of this .arb file
  "KeyName": "Localized Value", # entries in this format
  "ParametricKey": "Value with {param} placeholder", # for parametric keys, use {<name>} syntax
  "PluralKey": "{count, plural, =0{One item} other{{count} items}}" # for pluralization, use ICU syntax
}

4. If using Arb.NET.Generator, the code will be generated automatically at build time. If using Arb.NET.Tool, run the tool to generate the code manually. The IDE extensions also generate the code when a change is detected.

5. Profit!

Projects:

Arb.NET - shared lib for the lang code generation and the runtime support.

Arb.NET.Tool - an app to be installed as a tool and ran as a executable in projects that use Arb.NET. It will generate the lang code from the .arb files.

Arb.NET.Generator - Roslyn source generator that will generate the lang code from the .arb files at design time.

Arb.NET.Analyzers - analyzer project that provide quick fixes for missing arb keys.

Arb.NET.Examples/* - example projects to show how to use the library in different types of applications, currently a CLI example only.

Arb.NET.Test - a test project to test the code generation and the runtime support. It will be used to test the generated code and the runtime support. It will also be used to test the integration with the MAUI app.

IDE support (WIP):

Arb.NET.IDE.Jetbrains - a plugin for Rider~~~~

Arb.NET.IDE.VisualStudio - an extension for Visual Studio

Arb.NET.IDE.Common - shared code for the IDE extensions

License:

I do not care licence. (MIT) You can credit me. You can support me. I am not liable for anything.

If you are feeling generous: