Symfony/intl is a PHP library that provides access to ICU (International Components for Unicode) data. It offers a subset of the ICU library's functionality, focusing on language, country, currency, and timezone information. This component is part of the larger Symfony framework but can be used independently.

Pros

• Easy integration with PHP projects, especially those using Symfony
• Provides localized data for languages, countries, currencies, and timezones
• Regularly updated with the latest ICU data
• Lightweight alternative to the full ICU library

Cons

• Limited functionality compared to the full ICU library
• Requires PHP 7.2.5 or higher
• May not be suitable for projects requiring advanced internationalization features
• Dependency on Symfony's polyfills for some functionality

Code Examples

1. Getting language names in a specific locale:

use Symfony\Component\Intl\Languages;

$languages = Languages::getNames('fr');
print_r($languages);
// Output: Array of language names in French

2. Formatting currency:

use Symfony\Component\Intl\Currencies;

$symbol = Currencies::getSymbol('USD', 'en');
echo $symbol; // Output: $

3. Getting timezone information:

use Symfony\Component\Intl\Timezones;

$timezones = Timezones::getNames('en');
print_r($timezones);
// Output: Array of timezone names in English

Getting Started

To use symfony/intl in your project, first install it via Composer:

composer require symfony/intl

Then, you can start using the library in your PHP code:

use Symfony\Component\Intl\Countries;
use Symfony\Component\Intl\Languages;
use Symfony\Component\Intl\Currencies;
use Symfony\Component\Intl\Timezones;

// Get country names in English
$countries = Countries::getNames('en');

// Get language names in Spanish
$languages = Languages::getNames('es');

// Get currency symbol
$euroSymbol = Currencies::getSymbol('EUR', 'fr');

// Get timezone names in German
$timezones = Timezones::getNames('de');

This library provides a simple way to access internationalization data in your PHP applications, making it easier to create multilingual and localized software.