pofile

What is pofile?

The 'pofile' npm package is used for parsing and manipulating gettext PO (Portable Object) files, which are commonly used for localization in software projects. It allows developers to read, write, and modify PO files programmatically.

What are pofile's main functionalities?

Parsing PO Files

This feature allows you to load and parse a PO file. The parsed content is available as an object, which you can then manipulate or inspect.

const PO = require('pofile');
PO.load('path/to/file.po', function (err, po) {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(po.items);
});

Modifying PO File Entries

This feature allows you to modify the entries in a PO file. For example, you can change the translation of a specific entry.

const PO = require('pofile');
PO.load('path/to/file.po', function (err, po) {
  if (err) throw err;
  po.items[0].msgstr = ['New translation'];
  console.log(po.items[0]);
});

Creating New PO Files

This feature allows you to create a new PO file from scratch. You can add new entries and save the file to the filesystem.

const PO = require('pofile');
const po = new PO();
po.items.push(new PO.Item({
  msgid: 'Hello',
  msgstr: ['Hola']
}));
po.save('path/to/newfile.po', function (err) {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log('PO file saved!');
});

Other packages similar to pofile

gettext-parser

The 'gettext-parser' package is another tool for parsing and compiling gettext PO and MO files. It provides similar functionality to 'pofile' but also includes support for MO files, which are the binary counterparts to PO files.

node-gettext

The 'node-gettext' package is a comprehensive solution for handling gettext translations in Node.js. It includes features for parsing PO files, managing translations, and even supports plural forms. It is more feature-rich compared to 'pofile' but also more complex.

i18next

The 'i18next' package is a full-featured internationalization framework for JavaScript. While it does not directly handle PO files, it provides extensive support for managing translations and can be integrated with other tools to work with PO files. It is more versatile but requires additional setup for PO file handling.

README

Used to load and save PO files.

var PO = require('pofile');

PO.load('text.po', function (err, po) {
    // Handle err if needed
    console.log(po.headers);
    console.log(po.items);
  
    po.save('copy.po', function (err) {
        // Handle err if needed
        console.log('We copied a PO file for no reason!');
    });
});

Credits

Originally based on node-po (written by Michael Holly). Rebranded because node-po is unmaintained and because this library is no longer limited to Node.JS: it works in the browser too.

Changes compared to node-po:

• Proper handling of async methods that won't crash your Node.JS process when something goes wrong.
• Support for parsing string flags (e.g. fuzzy).
• A test suite.
• Browser support (through Browserified and bower).