Single PWA with i18n

Which @angular/* package(s) are relevant/releated to the feature request?

localize, service-worker

Description

Following up on this post on stackoverflow.

After adding internationalization (i18n) to our app we run into the big problem of backwards compatibility. Before adding i18n we had our service worker at the root folder and after adding i18n we now have a separate service worker for each language we translated the app into. This is a problem because a user that installed the app prior to this change will not correctly get updates because the old service worker will not be able to find the new service worker.

This is the default behavior of Angular and left us with the decision that we either have to tell all our users that they will have to uninstall and re-install the app or add a service worker in the root folder that automatically takes care of the migration and leave it deployed until all users are migrated. Theses solutions are rather unsatisfying, poorly documented and mean that a we would have to go through the same struggle again if we decide to remove the i18n or take a different approach for it.

Proposed solution

It would be great if Angular would not enforce to use the one-PWA-per-language approach but rather leave this as a choice to the developer. This would make the transition from a single- to a multi-language app much easier and leaves the option open to also go back to the previous approach (no i18n).

This could be configured through the compiler options in the angular.json file. E.g. rootServiceWorker: true.

Alternatives considered

Alternatively, it would be great if Angular provided a guide or a predefined service worker (similar to the safety-worker.js) that allows a easy migration of the PWAs when i18n is introduced.

[Kamshak]

@Kamshak Thank you for pointing that out, I had no idea that this loadTranslations function exists. I guess I have to try out whether the performance is still alright. At least it keeps the PWA size smaller. Have you ever worked with that approach?

Have a PWA in production with this, it’s working great so far

[petebacondarwin]

Hi @TheSlimvReal - sorry not to respond so far on this issue. It is a bit tricky to implement on our side. I need to talk with @gkalpak about how this could work - I am not sure if it is something we would do. I am glad that for the time being you appear to have a workaround.