Naming convention for Third Party Moduls

Naming convention for Third Party Moduls

by Ralf Hilgenstock -
Number of replies: 5
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We had a discussion today about naming convention for Third Party Moduls.

'Studierendenordner' is a Third Party Plugin in plugin database.  The name means 'student folder'.

There are two aspects:

  • Are we interested in plugins with  non english names? Should the original name of a modul be an english name?
  • The second problem is related to the German translation of student. The term student (German:Student) is used for universities only.  Schools say 'Schüler (pupil)' and in non edu area we use Teilnehmer/in (English:participant). If a moduls original title is related to a name role that is used in a specific area only it may be a problem.

What do you think about this? Are there similar problems in other languages?


Ralf

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In reply to Ralf Hilgenstock

Re: Naming convention for Third Party Moduls

by Davo Smith -
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English names are certainly preferred for plugins (I was asked if I could change the name of mod_klassenbuch, but in the end it was accepted, as it would have been difficult to rename it, as it was already in heavy use by the client who it was developed for).

I'm not convinced that it is a major problem if the internal name of a plugin doesn't encompass the full range of different meanings that the plugin supports - that name is only seen (occasionally) by site admins. I would assume it is a bigger issue in creating a suitable human-readable name in the language files. However, even then, organisations can still override the official name (via language customisation) to give a name that is more appropriate in the local context.


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In reply to Davo Smith

Re: Naming convention for Third Party Moduls

by Séverin Terrier -
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I also think English names should be preferred!

Internal name should also be the more generic as possible, and respect Moodle vocabulary (if possible), but being coherent with the real aim of the plugin. For exemple, "student" should be prefered to "learner".

Of course, customizations can be made, but it should not be necessary for most users/organisations.

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In reply to Ralf Hilgenstock

Re: Naming convention for Third Party Moduls

by David Mudrák -
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Hi Ralf. Thanks for raising this topic.

Just to clarify. The actual English name of the module you mention is "Student folder" and its frankenstyle component name is mod_publication. "Studierendenordner" seems to be how the module name is translated in the German language pack. I am sure the authors of the module will be happy to discuss your suggestions for better naming.

I believe the plugin name (as stored in the $string['pluginname']) should always be in English in the lang/en/ language pack. Ideally, the internal component name (i.e. the name of the folder the plugin is installed in) should look like English, too, but that is not essential. It just looks better in the URL.

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