TYPO3 Glossary Sync Bug: Avoid Losing Terms

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TYPO3 Glossary Sync Bug: Avoid Losing Terms

Hey guys! Let's dive into a pretty annoying bug we've stumbled upon in TYPO3 related to glossary synchronization with DeepL, especially when you're juggling multiple languages that share the same ISO code. We're talking about those moments when your default language terms just poof disappear from the synced glossary. It’s a real head-scratcher, but thankfully, we've figured out what's going on and how to fix it. So, buckle up, and let's get this sorted!

Understanding the Problem: Shared ISO Codes and Lost Terms

So, what exactly is happening here? The core issue kicks in when you have multiple languages in your TYPO3 site that use the same ISO code. Think about it: you might have German (DE) as your default language, but then you also add Austrian German (DE-AT). Both share the ISO code 'de'. This is where the trouble begins. The GlossaryRepository::getGlossaryInformationForSync() method, which is supposed to gather all your glossary terms for syncing, gets a bit confused. When it processes languages, it uses the ISO code as a key. If you have DE and then DE-AT, the DE-AT entries, using the same 'de' ISO code, end up overwriting the original DE entries. This means that when TYPO3 prepares the payload to send to DeepL, the default language terms that were already added are gone. It's like they were never there! So, those super important glossary entries, like “Teams Connector → Connecteur Teams,” vanish into thin air, even though they are perfectly fine and localized in your TYPO3 backend. It’s a frustrating experience, especially when you're trying to maintain a consistent and accurate multilingual glossary.

This bug primarily affects the synchronization process. Imagine you've painstakingly created a rich glossary with translations for various languages. You're feeling good about it, hit that sync button, and then check DeepL. Suddenly, a whole chunk of your default language terms is missing. This isn't just a minor inconvenience; it directly impacts the quality and completeness of your translations. The root cause lies in how the $localizationArray is built. The code iterates through your languages, and for each language, it assigns its localized entries to an array using the target language's ISO code as the key. When it encounters a second language with the same ISO code (like DE-AT after DE), it simply overwrites the existing entry for that ISO code. The subsequent language's entries replace the previous ones, leading to the data loss. This overwriting mechanism is the critical flaw that needs addressing. It’s crucial for TYPO3 to understand that even if ISO codes are the same, the language variants are distinct and should be treated as such during the synchronization process. The default language's integrity must be preserved, ensuring all its terms are included in the final sync payload.

How to Reproduce the Bug: Step-by-Step

Alright, let's walk through exactly how you can see this bug in action. It’s pretty straightforward if you set up your TYPO3 site correctly. First off, you need a TYPO3 installation with a few languages set up. Specifically, make sure you have German (DE) as your default language, and then add another language that shares the 'de' ISO code, like Austrian German (DE-AT). On top of that, let's throw in French (FR) for good measure, just to simulate a more complex multilingual setup. So, your site languages would look something like: DE (default), DE-AT, and FR. All using their respective ISO codes, with DE and DE-AT both sharing 'de'.

Next, you'll need to create a glossary. In your TYPO3 backend, find or create a system folder (sysfolder) dedicated to your glossary. Inside this folder, add a new glossary entry. For this entry, let's say the default language term is “Teams Connector”. Now, crucial step: make sure this entry has translations for other languages, including French (“Connecteur Teams”) and, importantly, for DE-AT as well. You can also add translations for English or any other languages you have configured. The key is that the default language term is “Teams Connector” and it has a corresponding French translation.

Once your glossary entry is set up with multiple language variations, navigate to your glossary folder in the TYPO3 backend. You should see an option to “Synchronise Glossary”. Click on it! Alternatively, if you prefer the command line, you can trigger the sync using the TYPO3 console: vendor/bin/typo3 deepl:glossary:sync --pageId <pid>, where <pid> is the ID of your glossary sysfolder.

After the synchronization process has completed, it's time to check the results. You can do this in a couple of ways. If you want to see the generated glossary payload before it potentially gets sent or just to inspect it, you can use the TYPO3 console command: vendor/unlike/vendor/bin/typo3 deepl:glossary:list <glossaryId>. Replace <glossaryId> with the actual ID of your glossary. Or, you can log into your DeepL account and check the glossary there directly. What you'll likely find is that the glossary pair “Teams Connector” (DE) to “Connecteur Teams” (FR) is missing. It’s gone! Even though the TYPO3 records are there and correctly localized, they didn't make it into the sync payload because the DE-AT entries overwrote the default DE entries during the $localizationArray construction. This step-by-step process confirms the bug and highlights the critical overwrite issue when multiple languages share the same ISO code.

Expected Behavior: Preserving All Language Entries

So, what should happen when you sync your glossary, especially when you have languages sharing the same ISO code? The expected behavior is straightforward and, frankly, much more logical. Languages that happen to share the same ISO code should absolutely not overwrite each other’s sets of entries during the glossary synchronization process. Each language variant, whether it's the default language or an additional one like DE-AT, is a distinct entity with its own set of terms and translations. TYPO3 needs to recognize this distinction and treat them independently when building the data that gets sent to DeepL.

In our specific scenario with DE and DE-AT both using the 'de' ISO code, the system should correctly identify that both sets of localized entries need to be included in the final synchronization payload. When the default language (DE) entries are processed, they should be stored and preserved. Subsequently, when the additional language (DE-AT) entries are processed, they should be added to the payload without overwriting or deleting the default DE entries. This ensures that all DE-to-FR (or any other target language) pairs are correctly sent to DeepL for translation. The integrity of the default language's terms must be maintained, alongside any other language variants, regardless of shared ISO codes.

Essentially, the $localizationArray should be designed to accommodate multiple entries for the same ISO code if they originate from different language identifiers. Instead of a simple $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode] = $localizedEntries; which leads to overwriting, a mechanism is needed to append or merge entries, or at least ensure that the default language's data is prioritized or kept intact. The goal is a comprehensive glossary sync where no data is lost due to language code collisions. Users expect that if they’ve added a term and its translations, those terms will be synced. The system should not silently drop them because of an implementation detail related to ISO code handling. This preservation of data is fundamental for maintaining accurate and complete multilingual glossaries, which are vital for businesses operating in multiple regions or targeting diverse linguistic audiences. TYPO3 should reflect this understanding in its synchronization logic, ensuring a robust and reliable glossary management experience for all its users.

The Technical Deep Dive: Root Cause Analysis

Let's get a bit technical and pinpoint the exact spot where things go wrong in the TYPO3 code. The culprit is found within the GlossaryRepository::getGlossaryInformationForSync() method. As we touched upon earlier, the method aims to compile a list of glossary terms and their translations, categorized by the target language's ISO code. The critical part is how it builds the $localizationArray. It iterates through $localizationLanguageIds, which represents all the language IDs configured for the site.

Inside the loop, for each $localizationLanguageId, it fetches the localized entries using $this->getLocalizedEntries($pageId, $localizationLanguageId). Then, it determines the target language's ISO code using $this->getTargetLanguageIsoCode($site, $localizationLanguageId). This is where the problem lies: the line $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode] = $localizedEntries; directly assigns the fetched entries to the array using the ISO code as the key. Now, if you have multiple languages sharing the same ISO code – say, the default DE and then DE-AT – both will resolve to the same $targetLanguageIsoCode ('de' in this case).

When the loop processes the default language (DE) first, its entries are assigned to $localizationArray['de']. Then, when it moves on to process DE-AT, it again resolves to $targetLanguageIsoCode = 'de'. The same assignment line $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode] = $localizedEntries; is executed. Because the key 'de' already exists in $localizationArray, the new $localizedEntries from DE-AT overwrite the previous entries that came from the default DE language. This means that any glossary terms that were unique to the default DE language (or any DE term that wasn't also present and processed identically in DE-AT) get lost from this array. The array that is eventually used to build the payload sent to DeepL will only contain the entries from the last language processed for that specific ISO code, not the consolidated list of all languages.

This overwrite behavior is the direct root cause of the bug. The intention was likely to group translations by their target language ISO code, but the implementation failed to account for distinct language variants that share an ISO code. The code doesn't check if the key already exists before assigning, nor does it have a mechanism to append or merge entries from different language IDs that map to the same ISO code. Consequently, the default language's terms are unceremoniously dropped from the synchronization data, leading to the missing glossary pairs in DeepL. Understanding this loop and the overwriting assignment is key to grasping why the bug occurs and how to fix it.

The Solution: A Simple Yet Effective Fix

Fortunately, fixing this bug is surprisingly simple, and the solution is elegant. The core idea is to prevent the overwriting of existing entries in the $localizationArray when a language with a shared ISO code is encountered. Instead of blindly assigning new entries, we need to check if an entry for that ISO code already exists. If it does, we should skip the assignment for the current language, thereby preserving the entries that were added earlier (which, in our setup, would be the default language's entries).

The proposed fix involves adding a simple conditional check right before the assignment. Here’s how the modified loop looks:

foreach ($localizationLanguageIds as $localizationLanguageId) {
    $localizedEntries = $this->getLocalizedEntries($pageId, $localizationLanguageId);
    $targetLanguageIsoCode = $this->getTargetLanguageIsoCode($site, $localizationLanguageId);

    // *** The crucial check added here ***
    if (isset($localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode])) {
        // If an entry for this ISO code already exists, skip it.
        // This preserves the default language's entries.
        continue;
    }

    // If no entry exists for this ISO code, assign the localized entries.
    $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode] = $localizedEntries;
}

How this works: The loop still iterates through all the configured language IDs ($localizationLanguageIds). For each language, it gets the localized entries and determines the target ISO code. The key modification is the if (isset($localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode])) { continue; } statement. Before assigning $localizedEntries to $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode], it checks if the key $targetLanguageIsoCode already exists in $localizationArray. If it does exist (meaning an entry for this ISO code, likely from the default language, has already been processed and added), the continue statement tells the loop to immediately skip to the next iteration. This effectively prevents the DE-AT entries from overwriting the DE entries.

If the key does not exist, the if condition is false, and the code proceeds to the assignment line $localizationArray[$targetLanguageIsoCode] = $localizedEntries;, adding the entries for the current language. This ensures that only the first language encountered for a given ISO code gets its entries added to the $localizationArray. Given that the default language is typically processed first, its terms are preserved. This simple modification elegantly solves the problem of losing default language terms when multiple site languages share the same ISO code, ensuring that all necessary glossary pairs are included in the DeepL synchronization payload.

TYPO3 Setup Details

To ensure clarity and for anyone trying to replicate or debug this issue, here are the specific details of the TYPO3 environment where this bug was observed and the fix was applied:

  • TYPO3 Version: We are running 13.4. This indicates the issue might be present in recent stable versions of TYPO3.
  • Server Environment: The web server is Apache 2.4.65. The application is running inside a Docker container using PHP-FPM, which is a common and modern deployment setup.
  • Database: The database in use is MariaDB 10.11.14. Database specifics can sometimes play a role, though it's less likely to be the direct cause here compared to the PHP logic.
  • PHP Version: The PHP version is 8.4.12. This is a relatively new PHP version, and compatibility or specific behaviors could be relevant.
  • DeepL API: A Paid API key is being used. This implies that the professional-grade features of DeepL are being leveraged, and the synchronization is expected to work seamlessly.
  • Setup Method: The TYPO3 installation follows the recommended Composer-based setup. This is the standard for modern TYPO3 projects and ensures a clean dependency management.

This comprehensive setup information should help anyone facing a similar issue to compare their environment. The fix, being a small code adjustment in the repository class, is likely to be version-agnostic for TYPO3 v13 and potentially earlier versions that might share similar logic in their DeepL glossary integration. The crucial part is the logic within the GlossaryRepository and how it handles language IDs and ISO codes during the data preparation phase for synchronization.

Conclusion: Keeping Your Glossaries Intact

So there you have it, guys! We’ve dissected a rather tricky bug in TYPO3’s DeepL glossary synchronization that pops up when you have multiple languages sharing the same ISO code. We saw how the default language terms could get completely wiped out during the sync process, leaving you scratching your head and DeepL with an incomplete glossary. The root cause? A simple but critical overwrite issue in the GlossaryRepository::getGlossaryInformationForSync() method, where language entries were being assigned directly to an array using their ISO code as a key, leading subsequent languages with the same ISO code to replace the previous ones.

But the good news is, the fix is straightforward! By adding a simple isset() check before assigning entries, we can ensure that the default language’s terms are preserved and that languages sharing an ISO code don’t clobber each other’s data. This small modification makes a huge difference, ensuring that your complete glossary, with all its localized terms, gets synced correctly to DeepL. It’s a testament to how even small pieces of code can have significant impacts on functionality, especially in complex systems like TYPO3.

Maintaining accurate and complete multilingual glossaries is super important for any global-facing website. This bug, while frustrating, is a good reminder of the intricacies involved in handling multiple languages and their codes. Hopefully, this breakdown helps you understand the problem, reproduce it if needed, and apply the fix to keep your TYPO3 glossaries in tip-top shape. Happy syncing, and may your translations always be complete!