Can I use Angular i18n to translate string literals in typescript code

Question

I'm localizing my Angular app using Angular's i18n tools, which extract text from HTML templates into an xlf file, and then build a localized version of the whole app using AOT (ahead of time compilation).

My question is: Can is use this framework to extract string literals in typescript code, so they are listed in the same xlf file and replaced in the localized AOT build?

Ideally, I'd like to write something like this in my typescript code:

foo() {
   this.bar = i18n('baz');

and the string 'baz' would be listed in the xlf file I send to my translator.

Alternatively, if this isn't possible, is there a library that does something similar? I.e. extract strings from typescript code into an xlf file, then replaces them either at runtime or during build?

Answer 1

I can confirm what @JB Nizet is referring to in his answer is now working in Angular 9, so this works:

  foo() {
    const appTitle = $localize`:@@siteTitle:Example Title`;
    // appTitle is now translated based on locale

    titleService.setTitle(appTitle); 
  }

You can read more about it here https://github.com/angular/angular/blob/master/packages/localize/init/index.ts