Constants are back!

[Kanonimpresor]

Hi @e107help

Since version 2.3.5, we've been using arrays in the languages, and with versions 2.3.6 and 2.3.7, the use of constants returned?

Do we have any bugs to fix?

The problem is that language packages in arrays are not being recognized.

[tgtje]

@Kanonimpresor The problem is that language packages in arrays are not being recognized. ???

How exactly do you mean. Please eleborate.
Iff ?? > const CORE_LC this one (const) will give deprecation in php 9
Running a test local on php 8.5.6 (all in array> english;dutch)) installs fine when using language pack (eg Dutch) as installer language.
All seems fine internal BUT when you meant ( or cause) language check by admin : seems fine but actual a no go (tested with 'error's in lan's).
Furthermore the lang packages list in Available packages > only my lang..no others from git..
Forgot : lang pack generation is still error 1 (nada)

[Kanonimpresor]

versions 2.3.6 and 2.3.7 use constants and language packs are not recognized.

I overwrite with constants and it recognizes

[Kanonimpresor]

My changes and contributions from v.2.3.5 onwards were not accepted/included, but I got it working.

[e107help[bot]]

Boas, @Kanonimpresor! And thanks @tgtje for pulling at the thread.

Short version: nothing reverted. The arrays and the constants you're seeing belong to two different trees, and the version labels have got crossed.

The map

• Array language files (return ['CORE_LAN1' => '...']) live on master only, headed for v2.4.0. They landed back in April 2025 (#5465), and master's version string has read 2.4.0 (git) ever since, never 2.3.5/2.3.6/2.3.7. (ver.php L13, English.php L14-L17)
• The 2.3.x releases (2.3.4 through 2.3.7) all use the classic define('CORE_LAN1', '...') constants. (release/v2.3.x English.php L13) The array conversion is a v2.4 thing on master; it has never been back-ported to the 2.3.x line, so a 2.3.x install shows constants top to bottom.

So if you're looking at array LANs, you're on the v2.4 (master) line, whatever number's in your head. There was never a 2.3.5-arrays-then-2.3.6-constants switch.

"Constants are back" in 2.3.6/2.3.7

That was a master fix, not a release change: commit b4a40cead6 (2026-03-31, see #5585) restored a handful of constants (USER_ERR_*, PAGE_NAME) that were dropped by accident during the array conversion. master is still array-based. It wasn't a U-turn, just patching a few that went missing.

The actual bug: array packs "not recognised"

Your screenshots are the Language → Language-Packs → Verify tool (lancheck), and you've found a real one. It flags every phrase "Phrase missing!" for an array pack (259 errors) and reads a define() pack fine (2 warnings). That's the verify/generate engine, not your pack: fill_phrases_array() only matches define('KEY', 'value'); and has no branch for return [...] or const, so an array pack parses as zero phrases. (lancheck.php L1904-L1918) Overwriting back to constants makes the tool happy, but it's a workaround, not evidence constants returned. Same root cause as @tgtje's "lang pack generation is still error 1".

Your contributions aren't rejected

Here's the good bit: your own #5703 rewrites that exact fill_phrases_array() to understand array and const packs. It's open against master with "changes requested", so it's waiting on another review round, not declined. #5707, #5622 and #5596 are all sat in the queue too. Deltik decides what merges; I just read the code.

One thing to pin it down for certain: what version does the install where the packs aren't recognised report (admin footer / the Info panel)? If it reads 2.4.0 (git), you're on the v2.4 tree and #5703 is the fix you're after.

[Kanonimpresor]

You're absolutely right,

One thing to pin it down for certain: what version does the install where the packs aren't recognised report (admin footer / the Info panel)? If it reads 2.4.0 (git), you're on the v2.4 tree and #5703 is the fix you're after.

I'm trying to install each version, but for the version assigned as Site e107 V2.3.5 e107, the installation is actually Version 2.4.0 (git).

Hence the confusion. My apologies to the team, but I'm going to express my dissatisfaction anyway. Translations were accepted that will only cause more confusion:

https://github.com/e107translations/Portuguese/releases/tag/v2.3.3

https://github.com/e107translations/Italian/releases/tag/v.2.3.2

A translation with the v.2.3.2 / v.2.3.3 tag and the whole package as arrays?

[e107help[bot]]

Glad that pinned it, @Kanonimpresor. A 2.4.0 (git) core wearing a "2.3.5" label in your head is exactly the trap, so no apology owed; the version string was working against you.

On the translation packs: you've spotted a real rough edge, but it's the same two-trees story, not a broken pack.

• The tagged releases you linked (Portuguese v2.3.3, Italian v.2.3.2) point at 2021 commits and ship classic define() constant files. (Portuguese.php @ v2.3.3, Italian.php @ v.2.3.2) Those, and the .zip assets attached to them, are right for an e107 2.3.x site.
• The master branch of each of those same repos was converted to array format for v2.4: "Final update to array V2.4" on the Portuguese pack (rica-carv, 2026-05-30) and "Traduzione completa 2.4.0" on the Italian one (kreossino). (Portuguese.php @ master, Italian.php @ master)

So nobody shipped arrays inside a 2.3.x release. The arrays sit on the repos' master, deliberately prepped for v2.4, mirroring exactly what core did. The one genuine gap is that there's no v2.4 release tag on those pack repos yet, so the array content has no version label of its own and ends up parked next to a 2021 v2.3.3/v.2.3.2 tag. That proximity is what made it read as "a 2.3.x pack that's secretly arrays."

For your install (2.4.0 (git)), the array packs from those repos' master are the ones that match your core. The 2.3.x release .zips are for a real 2.3.x site. And keep in mind the admin Verify tool will keep mis-counting the array packs as "missing" until #5703 lands, so it's not a reliable judge of an array pack right now.

The clean fix for the labelling is a proper v2.4 release tag on each pack repo, which is the language maintainers' call. If that'd help you, it's worth raising with them kindly; they've already done the array work, it just needs a version sticker.

[tgtje]

Thanks i already understood we were on different levels... ( mostly using for tests master with full array lang.)