Google Translate API shut off or will be paid? Doesn't matter - vBET supports other APIs

[vBET]

Thanks for this information. We will check what changes are required to do in vBET code for next release.

Please note that vBET already supports Microsoft translation API which is free now and supports 35 languages. So you can use only free translations if you want, only paid from Google, or mix it and use free where it is possible and paid where it is not.

[cesarica]

I investigate this situation, and it is very simple:
We can use same code.

[vBET]

Still - there is information that some limitations are different so it is possible to use it with better performance (longer requests, more queries in one request). So we will go there and check everything

[vBET]

Good news is that now it will be allowed to store Google results - so you will not have to pay over and over again for same translations. We will have to change default vBET configuration for cache cleaner and also description of some vBET parameters. I know it was planned to release vBET3.x now but it will be easier and faster to include the changes into vBET4.x first which is already prepared for many translation API. We will simply use it as "another" translation API giving possibility to use first Google API (free one) until it disappears December 1st, and then simply switch to v2 just by changing one vBET parameter.

Also good news it that prices seems to be quite fair $20 per 1 million characters. Cannot tell how many characters will be for one forum, but it still seems to be quite OK. Anyway - we already support free Microsoft Translation API. So there is always alternative to have it cheaper, or free at all if only languages supported by Microsoft Translation API will be used.

We still are not sure does and how Google will charge for language detection - is it also counted as translation or will it be free. But we are in topic and we will react fast on any changes

[vBET]

Because of Google Translation API v2 we will made little change in vBET license - it is really cosmetic - just addinng new link to Google Translation API v2 Terms of Service. And after v1 will be closed we will remove link from Googlr Translation API v1 TOS. Nothing changes in vBET usage rules - just claning references to Google licenses

[moman]

Will the google v2 api be made available to 3.x users? Also, will this be released as a patch, so that we don't have to upgrade the entire vBET installation? If not, can manual installation instructions be provided? Also, will it be easy to integrate the microsoft API?

[moman]

Also, what would be an easy way to figure out how many characters are currently getting translated? I'm getting about 4Gb of cache data per day, and if we assume that 40% of that (1.6GB) is the original text, would that mean that google is translating 1600 million characters for me?

If that were the case, the paid API wouldn't be an option!

[vBET]

Will the google v2 api be made available to 3.x users? Also, will this be released as a patch, so that we don't have to upgrade the entire vBET installation? If not, can manual installation instructions be provided? Also, will it be easy to integrate the microsoft API?

Of course vBET3.x will support Microsoft Translation API and Google Translation API v2 vBET4.x was just first with Microsoft Translation API and that is why it was very easy to add there Google Translation API v2 (as we described - now vBET is easy to add support for new translation API ). vBET 3.x will have all those changes before Google Translation API v1 will be closed. We remember about our 3.x users

[vBET]

Also, what would be an easy way to figure out how many characters are currently getting translated? I'm getting about 4Gb of cache data per day, and if we assume that 40% of that (1.6GB) is the original text, would that mean that google is translating 1600 million characters for me?

If that were the case, the paid API wouldn't be an option!

This is covered by Google - in Google Control Panel you can see how many characters was translated (history chart) also you can set there limits. So we will not duplicate it in vBET:
1. It already exists in Google
2. It would have negative impact on performance to this on your server side

[moman]

Can you get the google reports for the v1 api, or only v2?

Sounds like I will be switching to the microsoft API- I was planning on making the changes manually, but now I will wait until a new version/patch comes out so that it's done right.

I was browsing the microsoft documentation and it looks like they support language detection; does this mean that vbet will also support language detection via the microsoft api?

Edit: I implemented the microsoft api and it seems to work (wasn't a big change, just had to modify functions.php), but the translations are a lot worse than those from google it seems Also it looks like their detection doesn't give a score, so that's a bummer. Free is good, though!