CLDR Project

CLDR Project
Name	CLDR Project
Type	Standardization Project
Owner	Unicode Consortium
Founded	2000s
Products	Locale Data Repository

CLDR Project The CLDR Project provides a repository of locale data and locale-aware formatting for software internationalization. It is maintained by the Unicode Consortium and used by implementations such as ICU, Java Platform, Standard Edition and Microsoft Windows components. The project coordinates data for languages, scripts, territories and calendars used by platforms including Android, Apple Inc. products and major web browser engines.

Overview

The CLDR Project supplies locale-specific information including date and time formats, number formats, currency symbols, collation rules, transliteration mappings and pluralization categories. It interoperates with standards and organizations such as Unicode Standard, IETF language tag registries, the ISO 639 family, ISO 15924 and ISO 3166. Tooling around the repository supports binary forms consumed by engines like ICU, integrations with OpenJDK and distribution in packages for Debian and Fedora. The dataset underpins features in applications from Mozilla and Google to SAP SE and Oracle Corporation.

History and Development

Initial efforts began within the Unicode Consortium to centralize locale data used by Microsoft and Apple Inc. in response to fragmentation across libraries like glibc and ICU. Early milestones tracked interactions with standards bodies such as IETF and W3C and implementations in projects like Apache HTTP Server and GNOME. Over time the repository grew through contributions from corporations including Google, IBM, Red Hat and community groups like Mozilla. Major expansions aligned with the introduction of new calendar systems from projects associated with ICU and date handling in Java Platform, Standard Edition.

Data Model and Components

The CLDR Project organizes data into XML-based files representing locales, likely reflecting concepts from Unicode Standard annexes and models used by ICU. Components include supplemental data for plural rules influenced by work at IETF, territory containment tables informed by UN statistics, and transliteration mappings relevant to conversions between scripts in ISO 15924. The repository contains language display names, script names, currency metadata tied to ISO 4217, measurement system preferences used by regional bodies like European Union and regional subdivisions informed by ISO 3166-2. Tooling exposes formats for date‑time patterns used by JavaScript engines in browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Usage and Implementations

Many platforms consume CLDR outputs: ICU compiles locale data into binary form for use by Java Platform, Standard Edition and Android runtime libraries. Web frameworks and libraries, including those used in Node.js and Angular, rely on CLDR-derived JSON or XML for i18n features. Operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and distributions like Ubuntu apply CLDR-derived localization for system locales, and enterprise software from SAP SE and Oracle Corporation uses it for reporting and UI formatting. Transliteration profiles enable script conversions used by projects such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice.

Governance and Community

The project is overseen by the Unicode Consortium board and technical committees that coordinate with member organizations including Google, Apple Inc., Microsoft, IBM and Red Hat. Contributors include corporate engineers, volunteers from foundations like the Apache Software Foundation and localization experts affiliated with institutions such as European Commission and United Nations. Decision processes reflect collaborative review practices comparable to working groups at IETF and editorial committees in standards organizations like ISO. Community forums, issue trackers and mailing lists connect contributors from projects such as Mozilla and GNOME.

Release Cycle and Versioning

Releases of the CLDR Project are versioned to align with milestones in the Unicode Standard and with downstream consumers like ICU and OpenJDK. The project produces periodic stable releases and beta snapshots that correspond to calendar-driven schedules similar to release practices at Ubuntu and Debian. Version metadata and change logs are used by distributions such as Fedora and packaging ecosystems in npm and Maven Central to coordinate updates across ecosystems.

Category:Unicode Consortium projects