How can I add internationalization to my Perl script?

Question

I'm looking at introducing multi-lingual support to a mature CGI application written in Perl. I had originally considered rolling my own solution using a Perl hash (stored on disk) for translation files but then I came across a CPAN module which appears to do just what I want (i18n).

Does anyone have any experience with internationalization (specifically the i18n CPAN module) in Perl? Is the i18n module the preferred method for multi-lingual support or should I reconsider a custom solution?

Thanks

Answer 1

There is a Perl Journal article on software localisation. It will provide you with a good idea of what you can expect when adding multi-lingual support. It's beautifully written and humourous.

Specifically, the article is written by the folks who wrote and maintain Locale::Maketext, so I would recommend that module simply based upon the amount of pain it is clear the authors have had to endure to make it work correctly.