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FAQ Topic - Internationalization and Multinationalization in
javascript.
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Internationalization means using one form which is both
acceptable and understood everywhere. By default, javascript
has no such features; but if an international standard exists
it can be coded for.
For example, there is an international standard for numeric
Gregorian date format; but there is none for decimal and
thousands separators.
Multinationalization means using different forms for different
nations. It cannot work well in general, because it requires a
knowledge of all national preferences and the ability to choose
the right one, in an environment where many systems are
inappropriately set anyway.
JavaScript has a few Multinationalisation features. The various
toString() methods are all implementation dependent, but tend to
use either UK or US settings (not necessarily correctly). ECMAScript
Ed. 3 introduced some capabilities, including the toLocaleString()
method which should create a string based on the host's locale.
Much more support is expected in future versions of JavaScript.
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