Intl.Locale.prototype.collation
The Intl.Locale.prototype.collation
property is an accessor property that returns the collation type for the Locale
, which is used to order strings according to the locale's rules.
Description
Collation is the process of ordering strings of characters. It is used whenever strings must be sorted and placed into a certain order, from search query results to ordering records in a database. While the idea of placing strings in order might seem trivial, the idea of order can vary from region to region and language to language. The collation
property helps to make it easier for JavaScript programmers to access the collation type used by a particular locale.
Below is a table with the available collation types, taken from the Unicode collation specification.
Valid collation types
Collation Type | Description |
---|---|
big5han | Pinyin ordering for Latin, big5 charset ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
compat | A previous version of the ordering, for compatibility |
dict | Dictionary style ordering (such as in Sinhala) |
Warning: The direct |
Binary code point order (used in Hindi) |
ducet | The default Unicode collation element table order |
emoji | Recommended ordering for emoji characters |
eor | European ordering rules |
gb2312 | Pinyin ordering for Latin, gb2312han charset ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
phonebk | Phonebook style ordering (such as in German) |
phonetic | Phonetic ordering (sorting based on pronunciation) |
pinyin | Pinyin ordering for Latin and for CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
reformed | Reformed ordering (such as in Swedish) |
search | Special collation type for string search |
searchjl | Special collation type for Korean initial consonant search |
standard | Default ordering for each language |
stroke | Pinyin ordering for Latin, stroke order for CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
trad | Traditional style ordering (such as in Spanish) |
unihan | Pinyin ordering for Latin, Unihan radical-stroke ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
zhuyin |
Pinyin ordering for Latin, zhuyin order for Bopomofo and CJK characters (used in Chinese) |
Examples
Like other locale subtags, the collation type can be added to the Intl.Locale
object via the locale string, or a configuration object argument to the constructor.
Adding a collation type via the locale string
In the Unicode locale string spec, collation types are locale key "extension subtags". These subtags add additional data about the locale, and are added to locale identifiers by using the -u
extension. Thus, the collation type can be added to the initial locale identifier string that is passed into the Locale
constructor. To add the collation type, first add the -u
extension to the string. Next, add the -co
extension to indicate that you are adding a collation type. Finally, add the collation to the string.
let locale = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US-u-co-emoji");
console.log(locale.collation); // Prints "emoji"
Adding a collation type via the configuration object argument
The Intl.Locale
constructor has an optional configuration object argument, which can contain any of several extension types, including collation types. Set the collation
property of the configuration object to your desired collation type, and then pass it into the constructor.
let locale = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US", { collation: "emoji" });
console.log(locale.collation); // Prints "emoji"
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript Internationalization API Specification # sec-Intl.Locale.prototype.collation |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser