icu/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu

Basic instructions for running the LdmlConverter via Maven

Note: While this document provides useful background information about the LdmlConverter, the actual complete process for integrating CLDR data to ICU is described in the document ../../../docs/processes/cldr-icu.md which is best viewed as CLDR-ICU integration

TLDR

• Define the ICU_DIR, CLDR_DIR, and CLDR_DATA_DIR environment variables, or (see below)
• Check / update versions
• Build ICU4J:

  cd "$ICU_DIR"
  mvn clean install -f icu4j -DskipTests -DskipITs
  

• Build the cldr-code library from the cldr repo:

  cd "$CLDR_DIR"
  mvn clean install -pl :cldr-all,:cldr-code -DskipTests -DskipITs
  

• Build the conversion tool:

  cd "$ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu/"
  mvn clean package -DskipTests -DskipITs
  

• Run the conversion tool:

  java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar
  

Requirements

• A CLDR release for supplying CLDR data and the CLDR API.
• JDK 11+
• The Maven build tool

Important directories

Directory	Description
ICU_DIR	Path to root of ICU directory, below which are (e.g.) the icu4c/, icu4j/ and tools/ directories.
CLDR_DIR	This is the path to the to root of standard CLDR sources, below which are the common/ and tools/ directories.
CLDR_DATA_DIR	The top-level directory for the CLDR production data (typically the "production" directory in the staging repository). Usually generated locally or obtained from: https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr-staging/tree/main/production

In Posix systems, it's best to set these as exported shell variables, and any following instructions assume they have been set accordingly:

export TOOLS_ROOT=/path/to/icu/tools
export CLDR_DIR=/path/to/cldr
export CLDR_DATA_DIR=/path/to/cldr-staging/production

Note that you should not attempt to use data from the CLDR project directory (where the CLDR API code exists) for conversion into ICU data. The process now relies on a pre-processing step, and the CLDR data must come from the separate "staging" repository (i.e. https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr-staging) or be pre-processed locally into a different directory.

👉 Note: the 3 folders can also be overridden:

• with Java properties (e.g. -DCLDR_DIR=/foo/bar)
• from the command line when invoking the tool (the icuDir, cldrDir, and cldrDataDir options)

Initial Setup

This project relies on the Maven build tool for managing dependencies, so it will need to be installed. On a Debian based system, this should be as simple as:

sudo apt-get install maven

Check / update versions

Real versions

ICU version (real_icu_ver):

mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout -f $ICU_DIR/icu4j

CLDR Library version (real_cldr_ver):

mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout -f $CLDR_DIR/tools

Dependency versions

ICU version used by the cldr conversion tool:
⚠️ Warning: Must be the same as real_icu_ver

mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=icu4j.version -q -DforceStdout -f $ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu

CLDR library version used by the cldr conversion tool:
⚠️ Warning: Must be the same as real_cldr_ver

mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=cldr-code.version -q -DforceStdout -f $ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu

ICU version used by the cldr library:
⚠️ Warning: Must be the same as real_icu_ver

mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=icu4j.version -q -DforceStdout -f $CLDR_DIR/tools

TLDR (Quick update versions without checking)

# Get real versions
real_icu_ver=`mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout -f $ICU_DIR/icu4j`
echo $real_icu_ver
real_cldr_ver=`mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout -f $CLDR_DIR/tools`
echo $real_cldr_ver
# Set dependency versions
mvn versions:set-property -DgenerateBackupPoms=false -Dproperty=icu4j.version     -DnewVersion=$real_icu_ver  -f $ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu
mvn versions:set-property -DgenerateBackupPoms=false -Dproperty=cldr-code.version -DnewVersion=$real_cldr_ver -f $ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu
mvn versions:set-property -DgenerateBackupPoms=false -Dproperty=icu4j.version     -DnewVersion=$real_icu_ver  -f $CLDR_DIR/tools

Build everything

You must also build and install an additional CLDR library in the the local Maven repository.

Since that depends on ICU4J, you need to build and install that first.

Lastly, build the conversion tool

# Build ICU4J
cd "$ICU_DIR"
mvn clean install -f icu4j -DskipTests -DskipITs
# Build the CLDR library
cd "$CLDR_DIR"
mvn clean install -pl :cldr-all,:cldr-code -DskipTests -DskipITs
# Build the conversion tool
cd "$ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu/"
mvn clean package -DskipTests -DskipITs

Generating all ICU data and source code

Run the conversion tool:

cd "$ICU_DIR/tools/cldr/cldr-to-icu/"
java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar

You can run it with --help for all the options supported.

Other Examples

• Outputting a subset of the supplemental data into a specified directory:

  java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar --outDir=/tmp/cldr --outputTypes=plurals,dayPeriods --dontGenCode
  

  Note: Output types can be listed with mixedCase, lower_underscore or UPPER_UNDERSCORE. Pass -DoutputTypes=help to see the full list.

• Outputting only a subset of locale IDs (and all the supplemental data):

  java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar --outDir=/tmp/cldr --outputTypes=plurals,dayPeriods --dontGenCode
  
  java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar --outDir=/tmp/cldr --localeIdFilter='(zh|yue).*' --dontGenCode
  

• Overriding the default CLDR version string (which normally matches the CLDR library code):

  java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar --cldrVersion="36.1"
  

Using alt="ascii" CLDR alternate values from the CLDR XML

CLDR provides alternate values in addition to the default values for locale data.

For example, some locales have time formats using U+202F NARROW NO-BREAK SPACE (NNBSP) between the hours/minutes/seconds and the day periods. In order to provide the equivalent time formats that use the ASCII space U+0020 SPACE, the alternate values have the extra attribute alt="ascii".

Follw these steps to generate ICU data using the ASCII versions of locale data:

1. First, edit the config.xml file where it mentions ALTERNATE VALUES with the correctly annotated source path, target path, and locales list as follows:

   @@ -384,6 +399,20 @@
             <!-- ALTERNATE VALUES -->
             <!-- The following elements configure alternate values for some special case paths.
                  The target path will only be replaced if both it, and the source path, exist in
                  the CLDR data (paths will not be modified if only the source path exists).
                  Since the paths must represent the same semantic type of data, they must be in the
                  same "namespace" (same element names) and must not contain value attributes. Thus
                  they can only differ by distinguishing attributes (either added or modified).
                  This feature is typically used to select alternate translations (e.g. short forms)
                  for certain paths. -->
              <!-- <altPath target="//path/to/value[@attr='foo']"
                            source="//path/to/value[@attr='bar']"
                            locales="xx,yy_ZZ"/> -->
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehm']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehm'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehms']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehms'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='h']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='h'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hm']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hm'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hms']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hms'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hmsv']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hmsv'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hmv']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hmv'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='full']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@type='standard']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='full']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@alt='ascii'][@type='standard']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='long']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@type='standard']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='long']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@alt='ascii'][@type='standard']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='medium']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@type='standard']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='medium']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@alt='ascii'][@type='standard']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='short']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@type='standard']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='gregorian']/timeFormats/timeFormatLength[@type='short']/timeFormat[@type='standard']/pattern[@alt='ascii'][@type='standard']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehm']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehm'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehms']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='Ehms'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='h']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='h'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hm']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hm'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   +            <altPath target="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hms']"
   +                     source="//ldml/dates/calendars/calendar[@type='generic']/dateTimeFormats/availableFormats/dateFormatItem[@id='hms'][@alt='ascii']"/>
   

2. Then run the generator:

   java -jar target/cldr-to-icu-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar <options>
   

Config syntax details

Note: some elements have an implicit default attributes associated with them, according to ldml.dtd. For example, for the timeFormat element, the following excerpt of the DTD schema indicates that there is a default value "standard" for the type attribute:

<!ELEMENT timeFormat ... >
<!ATTLIST timeFormat type NMTOKEN "standard" >

See config.xml for documentation of all options and additional customization.

Running unit tests (CURRENTLY FAILING)

mvn test -DCLDR_DIR="$CLDR_DATA_DIR"

Importing and running from an IDE

This project should be easy to import into an IDE which supports Maven development, such as IntelliJ or Eclipse. It uses a local Maven repository directory for the unpublished CLDR libraries (which are included in the project), but otherwise gets all dependencies via Maven's public repositories.

But before importing and running it you still need to build the ICU4J and the CLDR library (see above).