Say you need to get a list of all the languages on Sutta Central, maybe so you can make a drop-down selector. This API will give you that. Either all languages including root languages (like Pali and Sanskrit) or just modern languages used for translations.
[ All API documentation | General discussion on APIs]
Requesting a list of languages
There is only a single endpoint:
https://suttacentral.net/api/languages
Returns:
An array of language objects
Example:
[
{
"uid": "af",
"name": "Afrikaans",
"iso_code": "af",
"is_root": false,
"localized": false,
"localized_percent": 0
},
{
"uid": "ar",
"name": "Arabic",
"iso_code": "ar",
"is_root": false,
"localized": false,
"localized_percent": 0
},
...
]
Object parts:
| key | value |
|---|---|
uid (string) |
Two or three letter language code used in url parameters |
name (string) |
Full language name |
iso_code (string) |
|
is_root (boolean) |
If it is a root text such as Pali or Sanskrit |
localized (boolean) |
If there is support for this language in the website interface |
localized_percent (numeric) |
How much of the interface has been localized |
Parameters
There is a single parameter for this API: all=true
false: lists only target languages e.g. English, French, etc.
true: lists all languages including root
https://suttacentral.net/api/languages?all=true
Example Code
The following vanilla JS will create a language dropdown of all translation languages on SuttaCentral. English will be set as the default selection
const dropdown = document.getElementById("languages");
fetch(`https://suttacentral.net/api/languages`)
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
for (let i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
dropdown.innerHTML += `<option value="${data[i].uid}" ${data[i].uid === "en" ? "selected" : ""}>${
data[i].name
}</option>`;
}
});
The following is a React component to generate a language dropdown, keeping the current selection in localStorage:
import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
export default function LanguagesDropdown() {
let [languageList, setLanguageList] = useState([]);
let [value, setValue] = useState(localStorage.language ? localStorage.language : "en");
useEffect(() => {
fetch(`https://suttacentral.net/api/languages`)
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
setLanguageList(data);
});
}, []);
function handleChange(event) {
setValue(event.target.value);
localStorage.language = event.target.value;
}
return (
<>
<label htmlFor="languages" id="language-area-box-label">
Language
</label>
Alternatives on SuttaCentral:
<div className="option-descriptions dropdown-description">
Choose a language to show alternatives to Bhikkhu Sujato's translation.
</div>
<select name="languages" id="languages" value={value} onChange={handleChange}>
{languageList.map(language => {
return (
<option value={language.uid} key={language.uid}>
{language.name}
</option>
);
})}
</select>
</>
);
}