Pros of polyfill-intl-idn

• Provides IDN (Internationalized Domain Names) functionality for systems without the intl extension
• Supports IDNA2008 standard for domain name handling
• Offers a lightweight alternative to the full intl extension for IDN-specific needs

Cons of polyfill-intl-idn

• Limited to IDN functionality, while polyfill-intl-normalizer covers broader Unicode normalization
• May have slightly lower performance compared to native intl extension implementations
• Requires additional dependencies for full functionality (e.g., symfony/polyfill-mbstring)

Code Comparison

polyfill-intl-idn:

use Symfony\Polyfill\Intl\Idn\Idn;

$ascii = Idn::idn_to_ascii('mañana.com');
$unicode = Idn::idn_to_utf8('xn--maana-pta.com');

polyfill-intl-normalizer:

use Symfony\Polyfill\Intl\Normalizer\Normalizer;

$normalized = Normalizer::normalize('café', Normalizer::FORM_C);
$isNormalized = Normalizer::isNormalized('café', Normalizer::FORM_C);

Both polyfills provide fallback implementations for PHP environments lacking the intl extension. polyfill-intl-idn focuses on IDN conversion and handling, while polyfill-intl-normalizer offers broader Unicode normalization capabilities. Choose based on your specific needs: IDN support or general Unicode normalization.

Pros of intl

• Full-featured internationalization library with extensive language and locale support
• Provides robust number formatting, currency handling, and date/time manipulation
• Offers additional utilities like country and language information

Cons of intl

• Larger package size due to comprehensive feature set
• May have higher performance overhead for simple normalization tasks
• Requires the PHP Intl extension to be installed

Code Comparison

polyfill-intl-normalizer:

use Symfony\Polyfill\Intl\Normalizer\Normalizer;

$normalized = Normalizer::normalize($string, Normalizer::FORM_C);

intl:

use Symfony\Component\Intl\Normalizer\Normalizer;

$normalized = Normalizer::normalize($string, Normalizer::FORM_C);
$formatter = new \NumberFormatter('en', \NumberFormatter::DECIMAL);
$formatted = $formatter->format(1234.56);

Summary

polyfill-intl-normalizer is a lightweight solution focused solely on Unicode normalization, making it ideal for projects with minimal internationalization needs. It's particularly useful when the PHP Intl extension is unavailable.

intl, on the other hand, is a comprehensive internationalization library offering a wide range of features beyond normalization. It's better suited for projects requiring extensive localization and formatting capabilities, but comes with a larger footprint and additional dependencies.

Choose based on your project's specific internationalization requirements and performance considerations.

Pros of forceutf8

• Simpler and more lightweight, focusing specifically on UTF-8 encoding
• Provides additional utility functions for handling UTF-8 strings
• Easy to use without dependencies

Cons of forceutf8

• Less comprehensive than polyfill-intl-normalizer for Unicode normalization
• Not part of a larger ecosystem like Symfony
• May not be as actively maintained or widely used

Code Comparison

forceutf8:

$utf8_string = Encoding::toUTF8($string);
$ascii_string = Encoding::toASCII($utf8_string);

polyfill-intl-normalizer:

$normalized = Normalizer::normalize($string, Normalizer::FORM_C);
$isNormalized = Normalizer::isNormalized($string, Normalizer::FORM_C);

The forceutf8 library focuses on converting strings to UTF-8 and ASCII, while polyfill-intl-normalizer provides Unicode normalization functions. polyfill-intl-normalizer offers a more standardized approach to string normalization, following the Intl extension's API. forceutf8 is more suitable for simple UTF-8 conversion tasks, while polyfill-intl-normalizer is better for applications requiring full Unicode normalization support.