How do I format number locale-specific in Perl?

Question

I need to format numbers in my web application depending on user's chosen language, e.g. 1234.56 = "1.234,56" in German. Stuff like sprintf is currently out of question, since they depend on LC_NUMERIC (which is sensible for desktop applications IMHO) and I'd have to generate every locale on the server, which is a no-go. I would prefer using CLDR's formatting strings, but haven't found an appropriate module. What I'd like to have is a nutshell:

set_locale("de_DE");
print format_number(1234.56);

How does one do that properly?

Answer 1

The CPAN now has CLDR::Number for Unicode CLDR-based number, percent, and currency formatting.

use CLDR::Number;
my $cldr = CLDR::Number->new(locale => 'de-DE');  # or 'de_DE'

my $decf = $cldr->decimal_formatter;
say $decf->format(1234.5);  # '1.234,5'

my $curf = $cldr->currency_formatter(currency_code => 'EUR');
say $curf->format(1234.5);  # '1.234,50 €'

$curf->locale('de-AT');     # Austrian German
say $curf->format(1234.5);  # '€ 1.234,50'

CLDR::Number provides all the locale data that it uses, currently from the CDLR v27, so you don't have to rely on inconsistent operating system locale data.