258 | Chapter 8: i18n and L10n

Locale.set(params[:locale] || Locale.base_language.code)

end

end

After this filter is set up, you can specify the locale for any action within the applica-

tion by adding the appropriate parameter to the URL (http://example.com/posts/

show/34?locale=zh-CN). Alternatively, you can specify the locale parameter with a

custom route:

map.cms_page ':locale/*path_info', :controller => 'pages', :action => 'show'

This route would support a multilingual content-management system, where the

localeparameter determines the language and the*path_infosegment looks up

the page in the database:http://example.com/en-US/about-us/contact-us.

3. Declare that the ActiveRecord class in question contains translated data:
   class Page < ActiveRecord::Base
   translates :title, :body
   end


4. Find an object that needs translation; set the locale, set the text, and save the
   object.
   Locale.set 'es-MX'
   @page.reload
   @page.update_attributes! :body => "¡Hola, mundo!"


5. The ActiveRecord accessors for the attributes specified by the translates
   method now automatically check the current locale and look for the proper
   translation:
   <%= @page.body %>

   >> "¡Hola, mundo!"

   
   

Globalize Example: An Address Book

To illustrate the use of Globalize for view translation all the way through an applica-
tion, we will construct a simple database that functions like an address book. First
we will develop the address book as an English-only application; later, we will see
what is involved in integrating Globalize and adding translations.

We will use a simple SQLite3 database file for storage:

config/database.yml
development:
adapter: sqlite3
database: db/globalize.sqlite3
encoding: utf8

First, we create the model and migration for the Personmodeland its corresponding
people table: