A couple of questions about what syntax to use, especially on template pages:

1. I see that a lot of people use _e('string...') instead of echo('string...'). Is this just a bbpress/wordpress thing or is this generally acceptable php coding?

2. In front-page.php of kakumei (and many other places), I see people using this shorthand echo where normal text would work just fine. For instance, in the hottags div, it is:

<h2><?php _e('Hot Tags'): ?></h2>

Why would you have PHP echo that when you could just have it as plain ol’ text in the first place? Am I missing something?

I realize neither of these is of any earth-shaking importance, but I would like to know so I can keep my code modifications in line with the default syntax that is used throughout. Thanks!

[@fel64 Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

My assumption is that they’re in place for localisation purposes. I don’t know for sure.

[@lonemadmax Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

fel64’s assumption is correct. You can see the definition of _e() and __() in bb-includes/l10n.php:

…

// Return a translated string.

function __($text, $domain = 'default') {

…

// Echo a translated string.

function _e($text, $domain = 'default') {

…

[@wittmania Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

So, if I have a Japanese installation (for example), it would translate “Hot Tags” into its Japanese equivalent?

That makes sense. Thanks for the info.