Question 1

How do I enable automatic dictionary reloading in Tower?

Accepted Answer

Set the :dev-mode? option to true in your tconfig map. This allows Tower to detect and reload dictionary changes from disk or resources on the fly during development, integrating seamlessly with REPL workflows without manual intervention.

Question 2

Tower vs Tempura: which one should I use for Clojure i18n?

Accepted Answer

Tower is stable but EOL, offering a complete i18n solution with localization features like date formatting. Tempura is the author's newer focus, primarily for translations with a cleaner API. Choose Tower for legacy support or Tempura for active development and a more modern approach.

Question 3

Can I use Markdown in Tower translations without security issues?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Tower automatically escapes HTML in Markdown strings unless the translation key ends with a '!' suffix. This prevents XSS attacks while allowing translators to use inline styles like bold or italics, with block Markdown supported via a '*' suffix.

Question 4

What's the setup for Tower with ClojureScript and Reagent?

Accepted Answer

In ClojureScript, provide a pre-compiled dictionary using dict-compile* and inline it into your code. For React components, use dangerouslySetInnerHTML for Markdown content to avoid double escaping, and ensure translation keys without '!' are handled properly.

Question 5

How do I handle missing translations in Tower?

Accepted Answer

Tower uses a configurable fallback chain: it first tries the specified locale, then broader locales (e.g., en-US to en), then a fallback locale, and finally a :missing key. You can specify fallback keys or locales in the t function for graceful degradation.

Question 6

Does Tower support exporting translations for external tools?

Accepted Answer

No, export/import to industry-standard translation management tools is listed as a TODO in the README and not implemented. This makes Tower unsuitable for workflows that require collaboration with external translators via platforms like Phrase or Crowdin.

Tower

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