intl Development

The intl module provides basic i18n capabilities, such as time and date formatting, number formatting, and string sorting, through the standard i18n APIs defined in ECMA 402. For more details about APIs and their usage, see intl.

The i18n module provides enhanced I18N capabilities through supplementary interfaces that are not defined in ECMA 402. It works with the Intl module to provide a complete suite of I18N capabilities.

Setting Locale Information

Locale provides APIs to maximize or minimize the locale information.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiates a Locale object.

   Create a Locale object using the Locale constructor. This API receives a string representing the locale and an optional attribute list. (Note that intl is the name of the imported module.)

   A Locale object consists of four parts: language, script, region, and extension, which are separated by using a hyphen (-).

   • Language: mandatory. It is represented by a two-letter or three-letter code as defined in ISO-639. For example, en indicates English and zh indicates Chinese.
   • Script: optional. It is represented by a four-letter code as defined in ISO-15924. The first letter is in uppercase, and the remaining three letters are in lowercase. For example, Hant represents the traditional Chinese, and Hans represents the simplified Chinese.
   • Country or region: optional. It is represented by two-letter code as defined in ISO-3166. Both letters are in uppercase. For example, CN represents China, and US represents the United States.
   • Extensions: optional. Each extension consists of two parts, key and value. Currently, the extensions listed in the following table are supported (see BCP 47 Extensions). Extensions can be in any sequence and are written in the format of -key-value. They are appended to the language, script, and region by using -u. For example, zh-u-nu-latn-ca-chinese indicates that the latn digital system and chinese calendar system are used. Extensions can also be passed via the second parameter.

let locale = "zh-CN";
let options = {caseFirst: "false", calendar: "chinese", collation: "pinyin"};
let localeObj = new Intl.Locale(locale, options);

3. Obtain the string representing a Locale object.

   Call toString to obtain the string representing a Locale object, including the language, region, and other options.

   let localeStr = localeObj.toString(); // localeStr = "zh-CN-u-ca-chinese-co-pinyin-kf-false
   

4. Maximize locale information.

   Call maximize to maximize locale information; that is, supplement the missing script and region information.

   let maximizedLocale = localeObj.maximize();
   let maximizedLocaleStr = maximizedLocale.toString(); // localeStr = "zh-Hans-CN-u-ca-chinese-co-pinyin-kf-false
   

5. Minimize locale information.

   Call minimize to minimize locale information; that is, delete the unnecessary script and region information.

   let minimizedLocale = localeObj.minimize();
   let minimizedLocaleStr = minimizedLocale.toString(); // zh-u-ca-chinese-co-pinyin-kf-false
   

Formatting the Date and Time

DateTimeFormat provides APIs to format the date and time for the specified locale.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiate a DateTimeFormat object.

   Use the default constructor of DateTimeFormat to obtain the system default locale by accessing the system language and region settings, and set it as the locale in the DateTimeFormat object.

   let dateTimeFormat = new Intl.DateTimeFormat();
   

   Alternatively, use your own locale and formatting parameters to create a DateTimeFormat object. Formatting parameters are optional. For a full list of formatting parameters, see DateTimeOptions.

   let options = {dateStyle: "full", timeStyle: "full"};
   let dateTimeFormat = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("zh-CN", options);
   

3. Format the date and time.

   Call format to format a Date object. A string is returned as the formatting result.

   let options = {dateStyle: "full", timeStyle: "full"};
   let dateTimeFormat = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("zh-CN", options);
   let date = new Date(2022, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12);
   let formatResult = dateTimeFormat.format(date); // formatResult = "January 12, 2023, Thursday, 12:12:12 pm, China Standard Time"
   

4. Format a period.

   Call formatRange to format a period. This API requires the input of two Date objects, which respectively indicate the start date and end date of a period. A string is returned as the formatting result.

   let startDate = new Date(2021, 11, 17, 3, 24, 0);
   let endDate = new Date(2021, 11, 18, 3, 24, 0);
   let datefmt = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-GB");
   let formatRangeResult = datefmt.formatRange(startDate, endDate); // formatRangeResult = "17/12/2021-18/12/2021"
   

5. Access the attributes of the DateTimeFormat object.

   Call resolvedOptions to obtain an object that contains all related attributes and values of the DateTimeFormat object.

   let options = {dateStyle: "full", timeStyle: "full"};
   let dateTimeFormat = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("zh-CN", options);
   let resolvedOptions = dateTimeFormat.resolvedOptions(); // resolvedOptions = {"locale": "zh-CN", "calendar": "gregorian", "dateStyle":"full", "timeStyle":"full", "timeZone": "CST"}
   

Formatting Numbers

NumberFormat provides APIs to implement the number formatting specific to a locale.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiate a NumberFormat object.

   Use the default constructor of NumberFormat to obtain the system default locale by accessing the system language and region settings and set it as the locale in the NumberFormat object (intl is the name of the imported module).

   let numberFormat = new Intl.NumberFormat();
   

   Alternatively, use your own locale and formatting parameters to create a NumberFormat object. Formatting parameters are optional. For a full list of formatting parameters, see NumberOptions.

   let options = {compactDisplay: "short", notation: "compact"};
   let numberFormat = new Intl.NumberFormat("zh-CN", options);
   

3. Format a number.

   Call format to format a number. A string is returned as the formatting result.

   let options = {compactDisplay: "short", notation: "compact"};
   let numberFormat = new Intl.NumberFormat("zh-CN", options);
   let number = 1234.5678;
   let formatResult = numberFormat.format(number); // formatResult = "1235"
   

4. Access the attributes of the NumberFormat object.

   Call resolvedOptions to obtain an object that contains all related attributes and values of the NumberFormat object.

   let options = {compactDisplay: "short", notation: "compact"};
   let numberFormat = new Intl.NumberFormat("zh-CN", options);
   let resolvedOptions = numberFormat.resolvedOptions();  // resolvedOptions = {"locale": "zh-CN", "compactDisplay": "short", "notation": "compact", "numberingSystem": "Latn"}
   

Sorting Strings

Users in different regions have different requirements for string sorting. Collator provides APIs to sort character strings specific to a locale.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiate a Collator object.

   Use the default constructor of Collator to obtain the system default locale by accessing the system language and region settings and set it as the locale in the Collator object (intl is the name of the imported module).

   let collator = new Intl.Collator();
   

   Alternatively, use your own locale and formatting parameters to create a Collator object. For a full list of parameters, see CollatorOptions. The sensitivity parameter is used to specify the levels of differences that will be used for string comparison. The value base indicates that only characters are compared, but not the accent and capitalization. For example, 'a' != 'b', 'a' == '', 'a'=='A'. The value accent indicates that the accent is considered, but not the capitalization. For example, 'a' != 'b', 'a' == '', 'a'=='A'. The value case indicates that the capitalization is considered, but the accent. For example, 'a' != 'b', 'a' == '', 'a'=='A'. The value variant indicates that the accent and capitalization are considered. For example, 'a' != 'b', 'a' == '', 'a'=='A'.

   let collator= new Intl.Collator("zh-CN", {localeMatcher: "best fit", usage: "sort", sensitivity: "case"});
   

3. Compare two strings.

   Call compare to compare two input strings. This API returns a value as the comparison result. The return value -1 indicates that the first string is shorter than the second string, the return value 1 indicates that the first string is longer than the second string, and the return value 0 indicates that the two strings are of equal lengths. This allows you to sort character strings based on the comparison result.

   let collator= new Intl.Collator("zh-CN", {localeMatcher: "best fit", usage: "sort", sensitivity: "case"});
   let str1 = "first string";
   let str2 = "second string";
   let compareResult = collator.compare(str1, str2); // compareResult = -1
   str1 = "first";
   str2 = "First";
   compareResult = collator.compare(str1, str2); // compareResult = -1
   

4. Access the attributes of the Collator object.

   Call resolvedOptions to obtain an object that contains all related attributes and values of the Collator object.

   let collator= new Intl.Collator("zh-CN", {localeMatcher: "best fit", usage: "sort"});
   let options = collator.resolvedOptions(); // options = {"localeMatcher": "best fit", "locale": "zh-CN", "usage": "sort", "sensitivity": "variant", "ignorePunctuation": "false", "numeric": false, "caseFirst": "false", "collation": "default"}
   

Determining the Singular-Plural Type

According to grammars in certain languages, the singular or plural form of a noun depends on the number prior to the noun. PluralRules provides APIs to determine the singular-plural type for a specific locale.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiate a PluralRules object.

   Use the default constructor of PluralRules to obtain the system default locale by accessing the system language and region settings and set it as the locale in the PluralRules object (intl is the name of the imported module).

   let pluralRules = new Intl.PluralRules();
   

   Alternatively, use your own locale and formatting parameters to create a PluralRules object. For a full list of parameters, see PluralRulesOptions.

   let pluralRules = new Intl.PluralRules("zh-CN", {localeMatcher: "best fit", type: "cardinal"});
   

3. Determine the singular-plural type.

   Call select to determine the singular-plural type for an input number. This API returns a string as the category of the input number, which can be any of the following: zero, one, two, few, many, and other.

   let pluralRules = new Intl.PluralRules("zh-CN", {localeMatcher: "best fit", type: "cardinal"});
   let number = 1234.5678;
   let categoryResult = pluralRules.select(number); // categoryResult = "other"
   

Formatting the Relative Time

RelativeTimeFormat provides APIs to format the relative time for a specific locale.

Available APIs

How to Develop

1. Import the intl module.

   Importing an incorrect bundle can lead to unexpected API behavior.

   import Intl from '@ohos.intl';
   

2. Instantiate a RelativeTimeFormat object.

   Use the default constructor of RelativeTimeFormat to obtain the system default locale by accessing the system language and region settings and set it as the locale in the RelativeTimeFormat object (intl is the name of the imported module).

   let relativeTimeFormat = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat();
   

   Alternatively, use your own locale and formatting parameters to create a RelativeTimeFormat object. Formatting parameters are optional. For a full list of formatting parameters, see RelativeTimeFormatInputOptions.

   let relativeTimeFormat = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat("zh-CN", {numeric: "always", style: "long"});
   

3. Format the relative time.

   Call format to format the relative time. This API receives a numeric value representing the time length and a string-form unit, like year, quarter, month, week, day, hour, minute, and second. A string is returned as the formatting result.

   let relativeTimeFormat = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat("zh-CN", {numeric: "always", style: "long"});
   let number = 2;
   let unit = "year";
   let formatResult = relativeTimeFormat.format(number, unit); // 2 years later
   

4. Obtain each part of the relative time format.

   On obtaining each part of the relative time format, customize the relative time formatting result.

   let relativeTimeFormat = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat("zh-CN", {numeric: "always", style: "long"});
   let number = 2;
   let unit = "year";
   let formatPartsResult = relativeTimeFormat.formatToParts(number, unit); // formatPartsResult = [{"type": "integer", "value": "2", "unit": "year"}, {"type":"literal", "value": "years later"}]
   

5. Access the attributes of the RelativeTimeFormat object.

   Call resolvedOptions to obtain an object that contains all related attributes and values of the RelativeTimeFormat object. For a full list of attributes, see RelativeTimeFormatResolvedOptions.

   let relativeTimeFormat = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat("zh-CN", {numeric: "always", style: "long"});
   let options = relativeTimeFormat.resolvedOptions(); // options = {"locale": "zh-CN", "style": "long", "numeric": "always", "numberingSystem": "latn"}