TypeScript, Formatting & Internationalization

Governing principle

Plotcn treats type safety, formatting, locale behavior, and directional layout as foundational architecture rather than documentation polish added after the fact.

The governing principle is:

Strict TypeScript architecture

All public Plotcn chart APIs use strict TypeScript. any is forbidden in public prop contracts.

Generic data models

Charts are generic over the consumer's existing data model (Chart<TData>). Rather than forcing consumers to transform objects into arbitrary { x, y } structures, Plotcn reads domain properties directly:

Typed accessors

For deeply nested or computed values, charts support typed accessors alongside keys:

Literal series preservation

Series definitions preserve exact string literals rather than widening to string:

Standards-based formatting

Plotcn delegates formatting to native Intl standards (Intl.NumberFormat, Intl.DateTimeFormat, Intl.RelativeTimeFormat), eliminating bloated custom localization tables.

Core formatting utilities

All formatting functions are pure, tree-shakeable, and renderer-neutral (chart-core/formatting):

Explicit currency policy

formatCurrency() strictly forbids defaulting to USD:

Explicit percentage semantics

Never guess percentage scale based on value <= 1. Input semantics must be explicit:

Keep raw values raw

Formatting occurs strictly at presentation boundaries (axis ticks, tooltips, data tables). Data arrays and scale domains always preserve raw numeric and date values:

Directionality & Internationalization (RTL)

Plotcn supports right-to-left (RTL) interfaces without distorting mathematical coordinates.

Separating UI chrome from data domains

CSS logical properties

All layout rules prioritize logical properties over physical left/right rules:

Unicode safety & label typography

Plotcn respects diverse writing systems:

• Arabic & Hebrew: Never letter-spaced; rendered with natural ligatures.
• Devanagari & Thai: Accommodates tall ascenders and complex diacritics in container padding.
• CJK Scripts: Supports natural ideograph wrapping without requiring space separators.
• Bidi Isolation: Mixed-direction labels (e.g., Hebrew category with USD currency) wrap with <bdi> or directional isolation.
• No Forced Uppercasing: Consumer-provided localized strings are never transformed with text-transform: uppercase.

Summary of architectural invariants

15 Core TypeScript invariants

1. Public APIs never use any.
2. Consumer datum types remain generic (Chart<TData>).
3. Key-based APIs infer valid keys from TData.
4. Numeric fields are constrained at compile-time.
5. Accessors remain strongly typed (d: TData) => number.
6. Literal series keys are preserved using as const.
7. Readonly arrays and configs are accepted (readonly TData[]).
8. Runtime boundary inputs use unknown before validation.
9. Public event payloads are typed with domain semantics.
10. Engine-specific types remain narrow and intentional.
11. Internal normalized types are never leaked publicly.
12. Empty/loading arrays do not require weakening types to any[].
13. Nullability reflects actual gaps (number | null).
14. Compile-time type behavior is verified in automated tests.
15. Type sophistication never degrades developer ergonomics.

15 Core formatting invariants

1. Formatting operates on raw semantic values.
2. Native Intl APIs are preferred over custom tables.
3. USD is never globally assumed.
4. en-US is never globally assumed.
5. Percentage input semantics (ratio vs. point) are explicit.
6. Dates and timestamps are validated before formatting.
7. Reporting time zones can be explicitly specified.
8. Compact formatting (1.2M, 45K) is locale-aware.
9. Axis precision and tooltip precision can differ intentionally.
10. Missing values (null, NaN) bypass normal formatters.
11. Currency codes are explicit and never inferred from locale.
12. Formatting operations never mutate underlying data.
13. Accessible screen-reader summaries share identical locale semantics.
14. Formatting utilities remain renderer-neutral and pure.
15. All chart engines share unified formatting contracts.

12 Core internationalization invariants

1. Plotcn does not assume left-to-right UI layouts.
2. CSS logical properties (*-inline) are enforced.
3. UI chrome direction and data-domain direction remain distinct.
4. Consumer labels are never forcibly uppercased.
5. Long translated strings are supported with flexible containers.
6. Unicode text renders naturally in ticks, legends, and tooltips.
7. Mixed-direction text remains readable with bidirectional isolation.
8. Brand names and registry IDs remain stable ASCII identifiers.
9. Components integrate with application i18n frameworks (next-intl, react-intl).
10. Plotcn does not ship a mandatory translation catalog.
11. Server-side rendering (SSR) formatting remains deterministic.
12. Localization support is verified through representative tests.