Description
Can we write an article about currency? It's useful for both spec developers and content authors.
Here are some concepts we can mention:
Decimal separator
Some regions use a period (.) as a separator to separate the integer part from the fractional part. Some regions use a comma (,). Some regioins use the currency symbol (such as the Cape Verdean escudo).
Currencies can have two decimals (like GBP), three decimals (like BHD), or no decimals (like VND).
Digit grouping
Some regions use a comma to separate thousands. Some regions use a period for this purpose.
Some regions use 2-digit grouping or 4-digit grouping.
Negative currency
The negative sign can be used:
- before both the currency symbol and number
- before the number but after the currency symbol
- after the number
Alternatively, the number can be displayed with parentheses around it or even in a colour such as red.
Numbering system
Numbers can be European numerals or locale-specific (such as Chinese/Japanese or Devanagari).
Currency symbol
It can be a pre-defined symbol such as the European Euro '€' or a combination of letters like the use of 'CNY' for Renminbi yuan.
It can be placed before or after the digits.
The same currency symbol may represent multiple currencies.
API
When designing a currency formatting API, it should:
- let the content author choose whether to show the digit grouping (like the thousands separator)
- let the content author round the number, and choose among
ceil
,floor
, andround
- support symbols like K, M, B, T
- enable content authors to customize their own currency formats such as
$123.4万