Directionality

Overview

Some languages read right-to-left (RTL), such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. Babel provides methods to detect text direction for proper UI rendering and layout decisions.

Check RTL Dominance

Determine if text is predominantly right-to-left:

use Cline\Babel\Babel;

// Arabic text
Babel::from('مرحبا بالعالم')->isRtl();      // true

// Hebrew text
Babel::from('שלום עולם')->isRtl();          // true

// English text
Babel::from('Hello World')->isRtl();        // false

// Mixed (depends on dominant direction)
Babel::from('Hello مرحبا World')->isRtl();  // false (more LTR chars)

Check for RTL Presence

Check if any RTL characters exist (regardless of dominance):

// Pure RTL
Babel::from('مرحبا')->containsRtl();         // true

// Mixed content
Babel::from('Hello مرحبا')->containsRtl();   // true

// Pure LTR
Babel::from('Hello World')->containsRtl();   // false

// Numbers only (neutral)
Babel::from('12345')->containsRtl();         // false

Get Text Direction

Get the dominant direction as a string value:

// Left-to-right
Babel::from('Hello World')->direction();     // "ltr"

// Right-to-left
Babel::from('مرحبا بالعالم')->direction();    // "rtl"

// Mixed directions
Babel::from('Hello مرحبا World مرحبا')->direction();  // "mixed"

// Neutral (numbers, punctuation only)
Babel::from('12345')->direction();           // "neutral"
Babel::from('!!!')->direction();             // "neutral"

// Empty
Babel::from('')->direction();                // "neutral"
Babel::from(null)->direction();              // "neutral"

Return Values

The direction() method returns one of four values:

Value	Description
ltr	Predominantly left-to-right text
rtl	Predominantly right-to-left text
mixed	Significant characters in both directions
neutral	Only neutral characters (numbers, punctuation, whitespace)

Use Cases

HTML Direction Attribute

function getHtmlDir(string $content): string
{
    return Babel::from($content)->direction() === 'rtl' ? 'rtl' : 'ltr';
}

// Usage
$dir = getHtmlDir($userComment);
echo "<p dir=\"{$dir}\">{$userComment}</p>";

Dynamic Layout

function getTextAlignment(string $text): string
{
    $direction = Babel::from($text)->direction();

    return match ($direction) {
        'rtl' => 'right',
        'ltr' => 'left',
        default => 'left',  // Default for mixed/neutral
    };
}

Bidirectional Text Warning

function hasBidiContent(string $text): bool
{
    return Babel::from($text)->direction() === 'mixed';
}

// Alert users about potential rendering issues
if (hasBidiContent($message)) {
    $warning = 'This message contains mixed-direction text.';
}

Form Input Validation

function validateArabicInput(string $input): bool
{
    $babel = Babel::from($input);

    // Must be Arabic and RTL dominant
    return $babel->containsArabic() && $babel->isRtl();
}

RTL Scripts

The following Unicode scripts are considered right-to-left:

• Arabic
• Hebrew
• Syriac
• Thaana (Maldivian)
• N’Ko
• Samaritan
• Mandaic

Notes

• Numbers and punctuation are considered neutral and don’t affect direction
• Common characters (spaces, basic punctuation) are also neutral
• The mixed direction is returned when both RTL and LTR characters are present in significant amounts
• Empty strings and null values return neutral