What are some common methods for selecting and managing language constants in PHP applications?

When developing PHP applications, it is common to use language constants for text that needs to be displayed to users. To select and manage these language constants efficiently, one common method is to store them in a separate file or database table. This allows for easy updating and localization of the text without needing to modify the code. Additionally, using a function to retrieve the language constants can help centralize the logic and make it easier to maintain.

// Define a function to retrieve language constants from a file
function getLanguageConstant($key) {
    $languageConstants = include 'language_constants.php';
    return $languageConstants[$key] ?? '';
}
// Example of language_constants.php file
return [
    'welcome_message' => 'Welcome to our website!',
    'error_message' => 'An error occurred. Please try again later.'
];
// Usage
echo getLanguageConstant('welcome_message');