In our previous video, we dove deep into handling write operations—everything from data validation and authorization to deciding between synchronous and asynchronous processing. Today, we’re shifting our focus to internationalization in Laravel 11, ensuring that our API communicates in the language preferred by our users. Let's explore how you can make your API multilingual with Laravel’s built-in features.

Understanding Laravel 11’s Internationalization Capabilities

Laravel 11 provides robust internationalization (i18n) features to manage multilingual support effortlessly, making it easier for developers to build global applications. Here’s how you can get started with it.

Publishing Language Files

To begin, Laravel 11 lets you publish language files using the Artisan command-line tool. Open your terminal and run:

php artisan lang:publish

This command will generate language files within the resources/lang directory. You’ll find subdirectories for auth, pagination, passwords, and validation, among others.

Configuring Your Language Files

Within the resources/lang directory, you’ll see various PHP files for different languages. For instance, you might have en for English and es for Spanish. Here’s how you can set up a new language file:

1. Create a New PHP File: Add a new PHP file, such as services.php, where you’ll define your messages.
2. Define Messages: Return an array of messages in your newly created file.

For example:

return [
    'create' => [
        'success' => 'Service created successfully!',
        'failure' => 'Failed to create service.',
    ],
    'update' => [
        'success' => 'Service updated successfully!',
        'failure' => 'Failed to update service.',
    ],
    'delete' => [
        'success' => 'Service deleted successfully!',
        'failure' => 'Failed to delete service.',
    ],
];

Integrating Language Files with Controllers

Now that you have your language files set up, let’s integrate them into your controllers. Suppose you have a StoreController for handling service creation. Here’s how you can utilize these messages:

public function store(): Response
{
    // Your logic here

    return new JsonResponse(
        data: ['message' => __('services.create.success')],
        status: Response::HTTP_CREATED,
    );
}

Handling Localization in API Responses

When dealing with APIs, you want to ensure that users receive messages in their preferred language. Laravel 11 handles this through the Accept-Language header in HTTP requests. Here’s how you can set up your API to respond with localized messages:

1. Configure Language in Requests: Ensure your API reads the Accept-Language header.
2. Localize Responses: Use Laravel’s __() function to fetch the appropriate message based on the user’s locale.

For further details, you can check out Laravel’s Localization Documentation.

Example: Adding Localization to Your API Endpoints

Let’s apply what we’ve learned to an endpoint in the ShowController:

public function show(string $id): Response
{
    // Authorization logic
    if (!Gate::allows('view-service', $service)) {
        abort(403, __('services.show.failure'));
    }

    // Fetching service data
    $service = Service::findOrFail($id);

    // Returning localized response
    return new JsonResponse(new ServiceResource($service));
}

Here, we handle authorization errors with localized messages and ensure our responses are appropriately formatted for different languages.

Final Thoughts

Implementing internationalization in your Laravel 11 API ensures that your application is accessible to users across different languages. This not only improves the user experience but also expands the reach of your API. With the built-in localization features of Laravel 11, it’s easier than ever to manage language files, integrate them into your controllers, and respond with localized messages dynamically.