Help Translate Block Patterns

The Pattern Directory displays a range of block patterns available

You may have noticed a few new projects on Translate: Patterns and Meta > Pattern Directory. These projects were created to help provide a localized version of the new BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Pattern Directory.

The Pattern Directory will act similarly to the Theme and PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party directories, allowing users to search for unique block patterns to use on their sites via https://wordpress.org/patterns/.

Block patterns are a streamlined way to add pre-designed block layouts to your site. As both the use and features of block patterns expand, the Pattern Directory is expected to launch along with the upcoming July 20th, 2021 WordPress 5.8 release. 

Help Translate the Block Patterns

After the WordPress 5.8 translation is complete, you can help to create a localized experience of this new feature by translating the Block Patterns included in the new directory via:

https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/patterns/core/

This is a great project to encourage new or not currently active translation contributors to get involved in! Many Patterns have a small number of stringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings., and it’s very easy to find the context – the References section shows a link to preview the Block.

Though patterns will be called from coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. WordPress via search in the Block Editor in the future, the translation percentage of the above project does not affect the core release threshold. In other words, the highest priority for translations remains the same: releasing the core language pack.

The Block Pattern Directory itself can also be translated via Meta > Pattern Directory.

Please note there still are some open issues around i18nInternationalization Internationalization (sometimes shortened to I18N , meaning “I - eighteen letters -N”) is the process of planning and implementing products and services so that they can easily be adapted to specific local languages and cultures, a process called localization. This is the process of making software translatable. Information about Internationalization for developers can be found in the Developer’s handbooks. of the directory (RTL, categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging., strings in .jsonJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. file are not deployedDeploy Launching code from a local development environment to the production web server, so that it's available to visitors. yet).

What’s coming next

The future of the Block Pattern Directory will include third-party, user-generated block patterns. The mechanism for translating these block patterns has not been finalized. This is a great time to follow the related conversations and help weigh in on the future of how to translate user-generated block patterns.

There are a few possibilities being discussed, including:

  • Building a localeLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/ picker in the Block Pattern Directory to filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. block patterns by language, i.e. https://ja.wordpress.org/patterns/ 
  • Creating a localized copy of each locale, similar to forking an existing block pattern.

Conversation around how to translate user-generated block patterns in the future is happening on this proposal from @tellyworth, and will continue to happen in #core and #core-editor chats in the future. Updates on these discussions will also be included in the regular Polyglots weekly meetings and on the Make/Polyglots blog as well.

Thanks to @nao and @dd32 for helping to write this post!

#announcement