DateTime::Locale->load( $locale_id | $locale_name | $alias )¶

Returns the locale object for the specified locale id, name, or alias - see the "DateTime::Locale::Catalog" documentation for a list of built in names and ids. The name provided may be either the English or native name.

If the requested locale is not found, a fallback search takes place to find a suitable replacement.

The fallback search order is:

  language_script_territory
  language_script
  language_territory_variant
  language_territory
  language

Eg. For locale "es_XX_UNKNOWN" the fallback search would be:

  es_XX_UNKNOWN   # Fails - no such locale
  es_XX           # Fails - no such locale
  es              # Found - the es locale is returned as the
                  # closest match to the requested id

Eg. For locale "es_Latn_XX" the fallback search would be:

  es_Latn_XX      # Fails - no such locale
  es_Latn         # Fails - no such locale
  es_XX           # Fails - no such locale
  es              # Found - the es locale is returned as the
                  # closest match to the requested id

If no suitable replacement is found, then an exception is thrown.

Please note that if you provide an id to this method, then the returned locale object's "id()" method will always return the value you gave, even if that value was an alias to some other id.

This is done for forwards compatibility, in case something that is currently an alias becomes a unique locale in the future.

This means that the value of "$locale->id()" and the object's class may not match.

The loaded locale is cached, so that locale objects may be singletons. Calling "DateTime::Locale->register()", "DateTime::Locale->add_aliases()", or "DateTime::Locale->remove_alias()" clears the cache.

DateTime::Locale->ids()¶

  my @ids = DateTime::Locale->ids();
  my $ids = DateTime::Locale->ids();

Returns an unsorted list of the available locale ids, or an array reference if called in a scalar context. This list does not include aliases.

DateTime::Locale->names()¶

  my @names = DateTime::Locale->names();
  my $names = DateTime::Locale->names();

Returns an unsorted list of the available locale names in English, or an array reference if called in a scalar context.

DateTime::Locale->native_names()¶

  my @names = DateTime::Locale->native_names();
  my $names = DateTime::Locale->native_names();

Returns an unsorted list of the available locale names in their native language, or an array reference if called in a scalar context. All native names are utf8 encoded.

NB: Many locales are only partially translated, so some native locale names may still contain some English.

DateTime::Locale->add_aliases ( $alias1 => $id1, $alias2 => $id2, ... )¶

Adds an alias to an existing locale id. This allows a locale to be loaded by its alias rather than id or name. Multiple aliases are allowed.

If the passed locale id is neither registered nor listed in DateTime::Local::Catalog's list of ids, an exception is thrown.

 DateTime::Locale->add_aliases( LastResort => 'es_ES' );
 # Equivalent to DateTime::Locale->load('es_ES');
 DateTime::Locale->load('LastResort');

You can also pass a hash reference to this method.

 DateTime::Locale->add_aliases( { Default     => 'en_GB',
                                  Alternative => 'en_US',
                                  LastResort  => 'es_ES' } );

DateTime::Locale->remove_alias( $alias )¶

Removes a locale id alias, and returns true if the specified alias actually existed.

 DateTime::Locale->add_aliases( LastResort => 'es_ES' );
 # Equivalent to DateTime::Locale->load('es_ES');
 DateTime::Locale->load('LastResort');
 DateTime::Locale->remove_alias('LastResort');
 # Throws an exception, 'LastResort' no longer exists
 DateTime::Locale->load('LastResort');

DateTime::Locale->register( { ... }, { ... } )¶

This method allows you to register custom locales with the module. A single locale is specified as a hash, and you may register multiple locales at once by passing an array of hash references.

Until registered, custom locales cannot be instantiated via "load()" and will not be returned by querying methods such as "ids()" or "names()".

 register( id           => $locale_id,
           en_language  => ..., # something like 'English' or 'Afar',
           # All other keys are optional. These are:
           en_script    => ...,
           en_territory => ...,
           en_variant   => ...,
           native_language  => ...,
           native_sript     => ...,
           native_territory => ...,
           native_variant   => ...,
           # Optional - defaults to DateTime::Locale::$locale_id
           class   => $class_name,
           replace => $boolean
         )

The locale id and English name are required, and the following formats should used wherever possible:

 id:   languageId[_script][_territoryId[_variantId]]
 Where:  languageId = Lower case ISO 639 code -
         Always choose 639-1 over 639-2 where possible.
 script = Title Case ISO 15924 script code
 territoryId = Upper case ISO 3166 code -
               Always choose 3166-1 over 3166-2 where possible.
 variantId = Upper case variant id -
             Basically anything you want, since this is typically the
             component that uniquely identifies a custom locale.

You cannot not use '@' or '=' in locale ids - these are reserved for future use. The underscore (_) is the component separator, and should not be used for any other purpose.

If the "native_*" components are supplied, they must be utf8 encoded.

If omitted, the native name is assumed to be identical to the English name.

If class is supplied, it must be the full module name of your custom locale. If omitted, the locale module is assumed to be a DateTime::Locale subclass.

Examples:

 DateTime::Locale->register
     ( id           => 'en_GB_RIDAS',
       en_language  => 'English',
       en_territory => 'United Kingdom',
       en_variant   => 'Ridas Custom Locale',
     );
 # Returns instance of class DateTime::Locale::en_GB_RIDAS
 my $l = DateTime::Locale->load('en_GB_RIDAS');
 DateTime::Locale->register
     ( id               => 'hu_HU',
       en_language      => 'Hungarian',
       en_territory     => Hungary',
       native_language  => 'Magyar',
       native_territory => 'Magyarorszag',
     );
 # Returns instance of class DateTime::Locale::hu_HU
 my $l = DateTime::Locale->load('hu_HU');
 DateTime::Locale->register
     ( id    => 'en_GB_RIDAS',
       name  => 'English United Kingdom Ridas custom locale',
       class => 'Ridas::Locales::CustomGB',
     );
 # Returns instance of class Ridas::Locales::CustomGB
 # NOT Ridas::Locales::Custom::en_GB_RIDAS !
 my $l = DateTime::Locale->load('en_GB_RIDAS');

If you register a locale for an id that is already registered, the "replace" parameter must be true or an exception will be thrown.

The complete name for a registered locale is generated by joining together the language, territory, and variant components with a single space.

This means that in the first example, the complete English and native names for the locale would be "English United Kingdom Ridas Custom Locale", and in the second example the complete English name is "Hungarian Hungary", while the complete native name is "Magyar Magyarorszag". The locale will be loadable by these complete names (English and native), via the "load()" method.

Subclassing an existing locale¶

The following example sublasses the United Kingdom English locale to provide different date/time formats:

  package Ridas::Locale::en_GB_RIDAS1;
  use strict;
  use DateTime::Locale::en_GB;
  use base 'DateTime::Locale::en_GB';
  my $locale_id = 'en_GB_RIDAS1';
  my $date_formats =
  {
    'full'   => '%A %{day} %B %{ce_year}',
    'long'   => '%{day} %B %{ce_year}',
    'medium' => '%{day} %b %{ce_year}',
    'short'  => '%{day}/%m/%y',
  };
  my $time_formats =
  {
    'full'   => '%H h  %{minute} %{time_zone_short_name}',
    'long'   => '%{hour12}:%M:%S %p',
    'medium' => '%{hour12}:%M:%S %p',
    'short'  => '%{hour12}:%M %p',
  };
  sub date_format_full   { $date_formats{full} }
  sub date_format_long   { $date_formats{long} }
  sub date_format_medium { $date_formats{medium} }
  sub date_format_short  { $date_formats{short} }
  sub time_format_full   { $time_formats{full} }
  sub time_format_long   { $time_formats{long} }
  sub time_format_medium { $time_formats{medium} }
  sub time_format_short  { $time_formats{short} }
  1;

Now register it:

 DateTime::Locale->register
     ( id       => 'en_GB_RIDAS1',
       # name, territory, and variant as described in register() documentation
       class => 'Ridas::Locale::en_GB_RIDAS1',
     );

Creating a completely new locale¶

You are, of course, free to subclass "DateTime::Locale::Base" if you want to, though this is not required.

Remember to register your custom locale!

Of course, you can always do the registration in the module itself, and simply load it before using it.

A completely new custom locale, one which does not subclass DateTime::Locale::Base, must implement a number of methods.

The following methods can be used to get information about the locale's id and name.

• $locale->id()

  The complete locale id, something like "en_US".

• $locale->language_id()

  The language portion of the id, like "en".

• $locale->script_id()

  The script portion of the id, like "Hant".

• $locale->territory_id()

  The territory portion of the id, like "US".

• $locale->variant_id()

  The variant portion of the id, like "PREEURO".

• $locale->name()

  The locale's complete name, which always includes at least a language component, plus optional territory and variant components. Something like "English United States". The value returned will always be in English.

• $locale->language()
• $locale->script()
• $locale->territory()
• $locale->variant()

  The relevant component from the locale's complete name, like "English" or "United States".

• $locale->native_name()

  The locale's complete name in localized form as a UTF-8 string.

• $locale->native_language()
• $locale->native_script()
• $locale->native_territory()
• $locale->native_variant()

  The relevant component from the locale's complete native name as a UTF-8 string.

The following methods all return an array reference containing the specified data.

The format methods return strings that might be used a part of a string, like "the month of July", and should always return a set of unique values. The stand alone values are for use in things like calendars, and the narrow form may not be unique (for example, in day column heading for a calendar it's okay to have "T" for both Tuesday and Thursday).

• $locale->month_format_wide()
• $locale->month_format_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->month_format_narrow($dt)
• $locale->month_stand_alone_wide()
• $locale->month_stand_alone_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->month_stand_alone_narrow($dt)
• $locale->day_format_wide()
• $locale->day_format_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->day_format_narrow($dt)
• $locale->day_stand_alone_wide()
• $locale->day_stand_alone_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->day_stand_alone_narrow($dt)
• $locale->quarter_format_wide()
• $locale->quarter_format_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->quarter_format_narrow($dt)
• $locale->quarter_stand_alone_wide()
• $locale->quarter_stand_alone_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->quarter_stand_alone_narrow($dt)
• $locale->am_pm_abbreviated()
• $locale->era_wide()
• $locale->era_abbreviated($dt)
• $locale->era_narrow($dt)

The following methods return strings appropriate for the "DateTime->format_cldr()" method:

• $locale->date_format_full()
• $locale->date_format_long()
• $locale->date_format_medium()
• $locale->date_format_short()
• $locale->date_format_default()
• $locale->time_format_full()
• $locale->time_format_long()
• $locale->time_format_medium()
• $locale->time_format_short()
• $locale->time_format_default()
• $locale->datetime_format_full()
• $locale->datetime_format_long()
• $locale->datetime_format_medium()
• $locale->datetime_format_short()
• $locale->datetime_format_default()

A locale may also offer one or more formats for displaying part of a datetime, such as the year and month, or hour and minute.

• $locale->format_for($name)

  These are accessed by passing a name to "$locale->format_for(...)", where the name is a Java-style format specifier.

  The return value is a string suitable for passing to "$dt->format_cldr()", so you can do something like this:

    print $dt->format_cldr( $dt->locale()->format_for('MMMdd') )
      

  which for the "en" locale would print out something like "08 Jul".

  Note that the localization may also include additional text specific to the locale. For example, the "MMMMd" format for the "zh" locale includes the Chinese characters for "day" (X) and month (X), so you get something like "8 X23X".

• $locale->_available_format()

  This should return a list of all the format names that could be passed to "$locale->format_for()".

The following methods deal with the default format lengths:

• $locale->default_date_format_length()
• $locale->default_time_format_length()

  These methods return one of "full", "long", "medium", or "short", indicating the current default format length.

  The default when an object is created is determined by the CLDR locale data.

• $locale->set_default_date_format_length($length)
• $locale->set_default_time_format_length($length)

  These methods accept one of "full", "long", "medium", or "short", indicating the new default format length.