Question

I need an idea on how to make a complete multilanguage website. I came across many ways some are having an xml file to have template bits translated. This works if I only want the main template. But even the content will be translated.

For example I have a new entry in english, it should be translated to 4 other languages. Most attributes are common.

What i reached so far is by creating a table for the main website template with attributes:
lang, tag, value
In my template it will do a match on lang and tag.

What is the best way to translate the rest of the website (dynamic php pages using mysql)

Answer 1

You need a table for languages as below:

CREATE TABLE `language` (
 `langid` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
 `language` varchar(35) CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
 PRIMARY KEY (`langid`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB

Then for example you have a table for posts as below:

CREATE TABLE `post` (
 `postid` int unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
 `langid` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
 `content` TEXT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
 `title` varchar(35) CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
 PRIMARY KEY (`postid`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB

In the post table you need a key like langid, which refers to the specific language in the language table. In you dashboard you will have something as below:

Each textbox refers to that specific language.
You should have another table for site’s menus, and put langid foreign key in there. You should be well on your way.