ActiveRecord, I18n, Date, and UX

date.rb

class Date
  class << self
    alias :_ruby_parse :_parse

    def _parse(str, comp=true)
      if I18n.locale.to_sym == :en
        _ruby_parse str, comp
      else
        map = month_map I18n.locale
        str = str.gsub /[^\s\/\d-]+/ do |month|
          map[month.normalize] || month
        end
        _ruby_parse str, comp
      end
    end

    private

    def month_map locale
      @@month_map ||= { }
      @@month_map[locale] ||= make_month_map(locale)
    end

    def make_month_map locale
      abbrev_months_en = I18n.t "date.abbr_month_names", :locale => :en
      abbrev_months_local = I18n.t "date.abbr_month_names", :locale => locale
      full_months_local = I18n.t "date.month_names", :locale => locale
      result = { }
      abbrev_months_en.each_with_index do |mon, i|
        if mon
          result[abbrev_months_local[i].normalize] = mon
          result[full_months_local[i].normalize] = mon
        end
      end
      result
    end
  end
end