Hello, world!

In Fluent, the basic unit of translation is called a message. Messages are containers for information. You use messages to identify, store, and recall translation information to be used in the product. The simplest example of a message looks like this:

hello = Hello, world!

Each message has an identifier that allows the developer to bind it to the place in the software where it will be used. The above message is called hello.

In its simplest form, a message has just a single text value. In the example above the value is Hello, world!. The value begins at the first non-blank character after the = sign, but there are rare exceptions related to multiline text values. The next chapter (Writing Text) has all the details.

The majority of messages in Fluent will look similar to the one above. Fluent has been designed to keep these simple translations simple. Sometimes, however, messages need more complexity. Throughout this guide, you'll learn how to adjust messages to the grammar of your language and the requirements of the localized product.

Read on to learn how to read and write Fluent!