Locale dependent string arguments (was: Semantics)

[Eike Rathke <erack@sun.com>]

Hi Richard,

On Tue, Mar 07, 2006 at 00:39:19 +0000, Richard Kernick wrote:

>    2. What to do with string data?
> 
>    It must be stored 'as is' in the file format, but how to convert it to
>    other types. This has no simple solution and this is where locale can come
>    in. Should we consider making the file format locale aware? So
>    VALUE("3,333.33") in the UI is saved as VALUE("3,333.33", locale).

Not viable. Please consider that a document is edited under several
different locales. For this to work an application would have to
silently remember the source locale for each use of the VALUE() function
and others as a hidden parameter. And had to be updated whenever the
value _this single function use_ depends on changes. I doubt that would
get implemented enthusiastically.

>    But what does the UI do with that?

Not display ;-)

>    If the locale matches the machines locale,
>    no problem. Otherwise handle as an unknown function, ignore the locale
>    (i.e. similar to what happens now),

_If_ you had that mechanism, the locale should of course not be ignored
and not handled as an unknown function. Unless the locale is unknown,
that is..

>    retain locale information in the cells format string

That would be unrelated to the display format. It would be the input
format that had to be remembered.

>    Is this perhaps beyond the scope of the specification?

Not beyond the scope, just a dead end.

  Eike