Allow to load locales from `WP_LANG_DIR."/$locale/$locale.php"`

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

WP has a hard-coded locale file location, in WP_LANG_DIR.

There are a few pull requests in the composer/installers project that rejected the idea of adding a wordpress-language type because the language "packages" were, well… files… instead of folders that can be uniquely identified and deleted by composer during updates. For instance:

​https://github.com/woothemes/woocommerce/pull/760

There's a workaround, of course, e.g. defining WP_LANG_DIR as WP_CONTENT_DIR."/languages/".WPLANG, but it's kind of messy because a plugin might want to override WPLANG (and WP_LANG_DIR is defined before they load), and one then needs to write a composer plugin (or abuse the wordpress-plugin type) to make the needed files install where wanted.

In the interest of re-submitting the relevant pull request in composer/installers, I'd like to suggest that we try loading locale files from two locations:

1. the current one for backwards compatibility
2. a composer-friendlier one

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

fix space

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Arf… Just realized I posted a link to the wrong pull request. Was meant:

​https://github.com/composer/installers/pull/112

Also of interest:

​https://github.com/roots/bedrock/issues/30

[kierzniak1]

+1

[ocean90]

Why only $locale.php? What about the language files?

[swalkinshaw]

Replying to ocean90:

Why only $locale.php? What about the language files?

It was only $locale.php before (see patch). This just allows it to be optionally loaded from a subdirectory (named after WP_LANG) as well.

[nacin]

We're trying to eliminate the need for $locale.php by absorbing their functionality into core. By the end of 2014 (I hope), no official language distribution will have them anymore. That's not to say we'd stop including them if the file exists, but I don't see a need to do this.

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Replying to ocean90:

Why only $locale.php? What about the language files?

All of them, really. Not just locale.

[chriscct7]

Per comment:5 closing as wontfix