Syntax¶

escape_char

is followed by a character that should be used as the escape-character for the rest of the file to mark characters that should be interpreted in a special way. It defaults to the backslash (\).

comment_char

is followed by a character that will be used as the comment-character for the rest of the file. It defaults to the number sign (#).

The locale definition has one part for each locale category. Each part can be copied from another existing locale or can be defined from scratch. If the category should be copied, the only valid keyword in the definition is copy followed by the name of the locale in double quotes which should be copied. The exceptions for this rule are LC_COLLATE and LC_CTYPE where a copy statement can be followed by locale-specific rules and selected overrides.

When defining a locale or a category from scratch, an existing system- provided locale definition file should be used as a reference to follow common glibc conventions.

Locale category sections¶

• LC_CTYPE
• LC_COLLATE
• LC_MESSAGES
• LC_MONETARY
• LC_NUMERIC
• LC_TIME

In addition, since version 2.2, the GNU C library supports the following nonstandard categories:

• LC_ADDRESS
• LC_IDENTIFICATION
• LC_MEASUREMENT
• LC_NAME
• LC_PAPER
• LC_TELEPHONE

See locale(7) for a more detailed description of each category.

LC_ADDRESS¶

The following keywords are allowed:

postal_fmt

followed by a string containing field descriptors that define the format used for postal addresses in the locale. The following field descriptors are recognized:

country_name

followed by the country name in the language of the current document (e.g., "Deutschland" for the de_DE locale).

country_post

followed by the abbreviation of the country (see CERT_MAILCODES).

country_ab2

followed by the two-letter abbreviation of the country (ISO 3166).

country_ab3

followed by the three-letter abbreviation of the country (ISO 3166).

country_num

followed by the numeric country code (ISO 3166).

country_car

followed by the international licence plate country code.

country_isbn

followed by the ISBN code (for books).

lang_name

followed by the language name in the language of the current document.

lang_ab

followed by the two-letter abbreviation of the language (ISO 639).

lang_term

followed by the three-letter abbreviation of the language (ISO 639-2/T).

lang_lib

followed by the three-letter abbreviation of the language for library use (ISO 639-2/B). Applications should in general prefer lang_term over lang_lib.

The LC_ADDRESS definition ends with the string END LC_ADDRESS.

LC_CTYPE¶

The following keywords are allowed:

upper

followed by a list of uppercase letters. The letters A through Z are included automatically. Characters also specified as cntrl, digit, punct, or space are not allowed.

lower

followed by a list of lowercase letters. The letters a through z are included automatically. Characters also specified as cntrl, digit, punct, or space are not allowed.

alpha

followed by a list of letters. All character specified as either upper or lower are automatically included. Characters also specified as cntrl, digit, punct, or space are not allowed.

digit

followed by the characters classified as numeric digits. Only the digits 0 through 9 are allowed. They are included by default in this class.

space

followed by a list of characters defined as white-space characters. Characters also specified as upper, lower, alpha, digit, graph, or xdigit are not allowed. The characters <space>, <form-feed>, <newline>, <carriage-return>, <tab>, and <vertical-tab> are automatically included.

cntrl

followed by a list of control characters. Characters also specified as upper, lower, alpha, digit, punct, graph, print, or xdigit are not allowed.

punct

followed by a list of punctuation characters. Characters also specified as upper, lower, alpha, digit, cntrl, xdigit, or the <space> character are not allowed.

graph

followed by a list of printable characters, not including the <space> character. The characters defined as upper, lower, alpha, digit, xdigit, and punct are automatically included. Characters also specified as cntrl are not allowed.

print

followed by a list of printable characters, including the <space> character. The characters defined as upper, lower, alpha, digit, xdigit, punct, and the <space> character are automatically included. Characters also specified as cntrl are not allowed.

xdigit

followed by a list of characters classified as hexadecimal digits. The decimal digits must be included followed by one or more set of six characters in ascending order. The following characters are included by default: 0 through 9, a through f, A through F.

blank

followed by a list of characters classified as blank. The characters <space> and <tab> are automatically included.

charclass

followed by a list of locale-specific character class names which are then to be defined in the locale.

toupper

followed by a list of mappings from lowercase to uppercase letters. Each mapping is a pair of a lowercase and an uppercase letter separated with a , and enclosed in parentheses.

tolower

followed by a list of mappings from uppercase to lowercase letters. If the keyword tolower is not present, the reverse of the toupper list is used.

map totitle

followed by a list of mapping pairs of characters and letters to be used in titles (headings).

class

followed by a locale-specific character class definition, starting with the class name followed by the characters belonging to the class.

charconv

followed by a list of locale-specific character mapping names which are then to be defined in the locale.

outdigit

followed by a list of alternate output digits for the locale.

map to_inpunct

followed by a list of mapping pairs of alternate digits and separators for input digits for the locale.

map to_outpunct

followed by a list of mapping pairs of alternate separators for output for the locale.

translit_start

marks the start of the transliteration rules section. The section can contain the include keyword in the beginning followed by locale-specific rules and overrides. Any rule specified in the locale file will override any rule copied or included from other files. In case of duplicate rule definitions in the locale file, only the first rule is used.

A transliteration rule consist of a character to be transliterated followed by a list of transliteration targets separated by semicolons. The first target which can be presented in the target character set is used, if none of them can be used the default_missing character will be used instead.

include

in the transliteration rules section includes a transliteration rule file (and optionally a repertoire map file).

default_missing

in the transliteration rules section defines the default character to be used for transliteration where none of the targets cannot be presented in the target character set.

translit_end

marks the end of the transliteration rules.

The LC_CTYPE definition ends with the string END LC_CTYPE.

LC_COLLATE¶

The definition starts with the string LC_COLLATE in the first column.

The following keywords are allowed:

coll_weight_max

followed by the number representing used collation levels. This keyword is recognized but ignored by glibc.

collating-element

followed by the definition of a collating-element symbol representing a multicharacter collating element.

collating-symbol

followed by the definition of a collating symbol that can be used in collation order statements.

define

followed by string to be evaluated in an ifdef string / else / endif construct.

reorder-after

followed by a redefinition of a collation rule.

reorder-end

marks the end of the redefinition of a collation rule.

reorder-sections-after

followed by a script name to reorder listed scripts after.

reorder-sections-end

marks the end of the reordering of sections.

script

followed by a declaration of a script.

symbol-equivalence

followed by a collating-symbol to be equivalent to another defined collating-symbol.

The collation rule definition starts with a line:

order_start

followed by a list of keywords chosen from forward, backward, or position. The order definition consists of lines that describe the collation order and is terminated with the keyword order_end.

The LC_COLLATE definition ends with the string END LC_COLLATE.

LC_IDENTIFICATION¶

The following keywords are allowed:

title

followed by the title of the locale document (e.g., "Maori language locale for New Zealand").

source

followed by the name of the organization that maintains this document.

address

followed by the address of the organization that maintains this document.

contact

followed by the name of the contact person at the organization that maintains this document.

email

followed by the email address of the person or organization that maintains this document.

tel

followed by the telephone number (in international format) of the organization that maintains this document. As of glibc 2.24, this keyword is deprecated in favor of other contact methods.

fax

followed by the fax number (in international format) of the organization that maintains this document. As of glibc 2.24, this keyword is deprecated in favor of other contact methods.

language

followed by the name of the language to which this document applies.

territory

followed by the name of the country/geographic extent to which this document applies.

audience

followed by a description of the audience for which this document is intended.

application

followed by a description of any special application for which this document is intended.

abbreviation

followed by the short name for provider of the source of this document.

revision

followed by the revision number of this document.

date

followed by the revision date of this document.

In addition, for each of the categories defined by the document, there should be a line starting with the keyword category, followed by:

• a string that identifies this locale category definition,
• a semicolon, and
• one of the LC_* identifiers.

The LC_IDENTIFICATION definition ends with the string END LC_IDENTIFICATION.

LC_MESSAGES¶

The following keywords are allowed:

yesexpr

followed by a regular expression that describes possible yes-responses.

noexpr

followed by a regular expression that describes possible no-responses.

yesstr

followed by the output string corresponding to "yes".

nostr

followed by the output string corresponding to "no".

The LC_MESSAGES definition ends with the string END LC_MESSAGES.

LC_MEASUREMENT¶

The following keywords are allowed:

measurement

followed by number identifying the standard used for measurement. The following values are recognized:

The LC_MEASUREMENT definition ends with the string END LC_MEASUREMENT.

LC_MONETARY¶

The following keywords are allowed:

int_curr_symbol

followed by the international currency symbol. This must be a 4-character string containing the international currency symbol as defined by the ISO 4217 standard (three characters) followed by a separator.

currency_symbol

followed by the local currency symbol.

mon_decimal_point

followed by the string that will be used as the decimal delimiter when formatting monetary quantities.

mon_thousands_sep

followed by the string that will be used as a group separator when formatting monetary quantities.

mon_grouping

followed by a sequence of integers separated by semicolons that describe the formatting of monetary quantities. See grouping below for details.

positive_sign

followed by a string that is used to indicate a positive sign for monetary quantities.

negative_sign

followed by a string that is used to indicate a negative sign for monetary quantities.

int_frac_digits

followed by the number of fractional digits that should be used when formatting with the int_curr_symbol.

frac_digits

followed by the number of fractional digits that should be used when formatting with the currency_symbol.

p_cs_precedes

followed by an integer that indicates the placement of currency_symbol for a nonnegative formatted monetary quantity:

p_sep_by_space

followed by an integer that indicates the separation of currency_symbol, the sign string, and the value for a nonnegative formatted monetary quantity. The following values are recognized:

n_cs_precedes

followed by an integer that indicates the placement of currency_symbol for a negative formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_cs_precedes.

n_sep_by_space

followed by an integer that indicates the separation of currency_symbol, the sign string, and the value for a negative formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sep_by_space.

p_sign_posn

followed by an integer that indicates where the positive_sign should be placed for a nonnegative monetary quantity:

n_sign_posn

followed by an integer that indicates where the negative_sign should be placed for a negative monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sign_posn.

int_p_cs_precedes

followed by an integer that indicates the placement of int_curr_symbol for a nonnegative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_cs_precedes.

int_n_cs_precedes

followed by an integer that indicates the placement of int_curr_symbol for a negative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_cs_precedes.

int_p_sep_by_space

followed by an integer that indicates the separation of int_curr_symbol, the sign string, and the value for a nonnegative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sep_by_space.

int_n_sep_by_space

followed by an integer that indicates the separation of int_curr_symbol, the sign string, and the value for a negative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sep_by_space.

int_p_sign_posn

followed by an integer that indicates where the positive_sign should be placed for a nonnegative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sign_posn.

int_n_sign_posn

followed by an integer that indicates where the negative_sign should be placed for a negative internationally formatted monetary quantity. The same values are recognized as for p_sign_posn.

The LC_MONETARY definition ends with the string END LC_MONETARY.

LC_NAME¶

Various keywords are allowed, but only name_fmt is mandatory. Other keywords are needed only if there is common convention to use the corresponding salutation in this locale. The allowed keywords are as follows:

name_fmt

followed by a string containing field descriptors that define the format used for names in the locale. The following field descriptors are recognized:

name_gen

followed by the general salutation for any gender.

name_mr

followed by the salutation for men.

name_mrs

followed by the salutation for married women.

name_miss

followed by the salutation for unmarried women.

name_ms

followed by the salutation valid for all women.

The LC_NAME definition ends with the string END LC_NAME.

LC_NUMERIC¶

The following keywords are allowed:

decimal_point

followed by the string that will be used as the decimal delimiter when formatting numeric quantities.

thousands_sep

followed by the string that will be used as a group separator when formatting numeric quantities.

grouping

followed by a sequence of integers separated by semicolons that describe the formatting of numeric quantities.

Each integer specifies the number of digits in a group. The first integer defines the size of the group immediately to the left of the decimal delimiter. Subsequent integers define succeeding groups to the left of the previous group. If the last integer is not -1, then the size of the previous group (if any) is repeatedly used for the remainder of the digits. If the last integer is -1, then no further grouping is performed.

The LC_NUMERIC definition ends with the string END LC_NUMERIC.

LC_PAPER¶

The following keywords are allowed:

height

followed by the height, in millimeters, of the standard paper format.

width

followed by the width, in millimeters, of the standard paper format.

The LC_PAPER definition ends with the string END LC_PAPER.

LC_TELEPHONE¶

The following keywords are allowed:

tel_int_fmt

followed by a string that contains field descriptors that identify the format used to dial international numbers. The following field descriptors are recognized:

tel_dom_fmt

followed by a string that contains field descriptors that identify the format used to dial domestic numbers. The recognized field descriptors are the same as for tel_int_fmt.

int_select

followed by the prefix used to call international phone numbers.

int_prefix

followed by the prefix used from other countries to dial this country.

The LC_TELEPHONE definition ends with the string END LC_TELEPHONE.

LC_TIME¶

The following keywords are allowed:

abday

followed by a list of abbreviated names of the days of the week. The list starts with the first day of the week as specified by week (Sunday by default). See NOTES.

day

followed by a list of names of the days of the week. The list starts with the first day of the week as specified by week (Sunday by default). See NOTES.

abmon

followed by a list of abbreviated month names.

mon

followed by a list of month names.

d_t_fmt

followed by the appropriate date and time format (for syntax, see strftime(3)).

d_fmt

followed by the appropriate date format (for syntax, see strftime(3)).

t_fmt

followed by the appropriate time format (for syntax, see strftime(3)).

am_pm

followed by the appropriate representation of the am and pm strings. This should be left empty for locales not using AM/PM convention.

t_fmt_ampm

followed by the appropriate time format (for syntax, see strftime(3)) when using 12h clock format. This should be left empty for locales not using AM/PM convention.

era

followed by semicolon-separated strings that define how years are counted and displayed for each era in the locale. Each string has the following format:

era_d_fmt

followed by the format of the date in alternative era notation, corresponding to the %Ex descriptor (see strptime(3)).

era_t_fmt

followed by the format of the time in alternative era notation, corresponding to the %EX descriptor (see strptime(3)).

era_d_t_fmt

followed by the format of the date and time in alternative era notation, corresponding to the %Ec descriptor (see strptime(3)).

alt_digits

followed by the alternative digits used for date and time in the locale.

week

followed by a list of three values separated by semicolons: The number of days in a week (by default 7), a date of beginning of the week (by default corresponds to Sunday), and the minimal length of the first week in year (by default 4). Regarding the start of the week, 19971130 shall be used for Sunday and 19971201 shall be used for Monday. See NOTES.

first_weekday (since glibc 2.2)

followed by the number of the first day from the day list to be shown in calendar applications. The default value of 1 corresponds to either Sunday or Monday depending on the value of the second week list item. See NOTES.

first_workday (since glibc 2.2)

followed by the number of the first working day from the day list. The default value is 2. See NOTES.

cal_direction

followed by a number value that indicates the direction for the display of calendar dates, as follows:

date_fmt

followed by the appropriate date representation for date(1) (for syntax, see strftime(3)).

The LC_TIME definition ends with the string END LC_TIME.