Auto generated ProcessWire documentation

[gmclelland]

I came across this and thought it was cool.
https://deepwiki.com/processwire/processwire

[szabesz]

Thanks @gmclelland! Pretty useful service for getting high-level overviews.

I tried this prompt: Explain how ProcessWire handles locales.

And got this:

# How ProcessWire Handles Locales

ProcessWire provides comprehensive locale support through its **LanguageSupport module system**, which manages internationalization (i18n) and localization functionality across the entire framework.

## Core Locale Management

ProcessWire's locale handling is primarily managed through the **Languages class**, which extends WireArray and provides centralized locale management functionality [1](#0-0) . This class contains the main `setLocale()` and `getLocale()` methods that handle locale settings throughout the system [2](#0-1) .

The system uses PHP's native `setlocale()` function as its foundation, with extensive wrapper functionality to support multi-language environments [3](#0-2) . The locale settings affect various categories including `LC_ALL` and `LC_NUMERIC` for proper formatting of numbers, dates, and other locale-specific content.

## Individual Language Objects

Each language in ProcessWire is represented by a **Language object** that includes its own locale management methods [4](#0-3) . These objects provide wrapper methods that allow setting locales on a per-language basis, enabling fine-grained control over locale settings for different languages in multilingual sites.

## Translation Functions

ProcessWire implements a GetText-like translation system with three core functions that work with the locale system [5](#0-4) :

- `__()` for basic string translation
- `_x()` for contextual translation with additional context
- `_n()` for plural form handling

These functions are available both globally and as methods in Wire-derived classes [6](#0-5) .

## System Integration

The locale system is initialized during system startup through the **LanguageSupport module** [7](#0-6) . This ensures that proper locale settings are established early in the request lifecycle.

Locale settings also integrate with other core components:

- **Number formatting** through WireNumberTools, which uses locale information for proper numeric display [8](#0-7) 
- **Page name localization** for multilingual URLs through LanguageSupportPageNames [9](#0-8) 
- **Field value management** for multilingual content through specialized field types [10](#0-9) 

## Locale Validation and Maintenance

ProcessWire includes system checks to ensure locale settings are properly configured and functional [11](#0-10) . These checks help identify and resolve locale-related issues during system updates and maintenance.

## Notes

ProcessWire's locale handling system is designed to be flexible and comprehensive, supporting both simple single-language sites and complex multilingual installations. The system builds on PHP's native locale functionality while providing ProcessWire-specific enhancements for content management scenarios. The modular architecture allows locale functionality to be enabled or disabled as needed, making it suitable for sites that may not require internationalization features.