Update charted to 0.4.8 and roll

packages/intl/lib/intl.dart

Index: packages/intl/lib/intl.dart
diff --git a/packages/intl/lib/intl.dart b/packages/intl/lib/intl.dart
index d952691ddc2a84d759f77c50d0b6d207de198863..095eb710c1b6097ad50d8a22c57ddc35ee2a91f5 100644
--- a/packages/intl/lib/intl.dart
+++ b/packages/intl/lib/intl.dart
@@ -2,22 +2,20 @@
 // for details. All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
 // BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
 
-/**
- * This library provides internationalization and localization. This includes
- * message formatting and replacement, date and number formatting and parsing,
- * and utilities for working with Bidirectional text.
- *
- * This is part of the [intl package]
- * (https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl).
- *
- * For things that require locale or other data, there are multiple different
- * ways of making that data available, which may require importing different
- * libraries. See the class comments for more details.
- *
- * There is also a simple example application that can be found in the
- * [example/basic](https://github.com/dart-lang/intl/tree/master/example/basic)
- * directory.
- */
+/// This library provides internationalization and localization. This includes
+/// message formatting and replacement, date and number formatting and parsing,
+/// and utilities for working with Bidirectional text.
+///
+/// This is part of the [intl package]
+/// (https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl).
+///
+/// For things that require locale or other data, there are multiple different
+/// ways of making that data available, which may require importing different
+/// libraries. See the class comments for more details.
+///
+/// There is also a simple example application that can be found in the
+/// [example/basic](https://github.com/dart-lang/intl/tree/master/example/basic)
+/// directory.
 library intl;
 
 import 'dart:async';
@@ -30,182 +28,177 @@ import 'number_symbols.dart';
 import 'number_symbols_data.dart';
 import 'src/date_format_internal.dart';
 import 'src/intl_helpers.dart';
+import 'package:intl/src/plural_rules.dart' as plural_rules;
 
 part 'src/intl/bidi_formatter.dart';
 part 'src/intl/bidi_utils.dart';
+
+part 'src/intl/compact_number_format.dart';
 part 'src/intl/date_format.dart';
 part 'src/intl/date_format_field.dart';
 part 'src/intl/date_format_helpers.dart';
 part 'src/intl/number_format.dart';
 
-/**
- * The Intl class provides a common entry point for internationalization
- * related tasks. An Intl instance can be created for a particular locale
- * and used to create a date format via `anIntl.date()`. Static methods
- * on this class are also used in message formatting.
- *
- * Examples:
- *      today(date) => Intl.message(
- *          "Today's date is $date",
- *          name: 'today',
- *          args: [date],
- *          desc: 'Indicate the current date',
- *          examples: {'date' : 'June 8, 2012'});
- *      print(today(new DateTime.now().toString());
- *
- *      howManyPeople(numberOfPeople, place) => Intl.plural(
- *            zero: 'I see no one at all',
- *            one: 'I see one other person',
- *            other: 'I see $numberOfPeople other people')} in $place.''',
- *          name: 'msg',
- *          args: [numberOfPeople, place],
- *          desc: 'Description of how many people are seen in a place.',
- *          examples: {'numberOfPeople': 3, 'place': 'London'});
- *
- * Calling `howManyPeople(2, 'Athens');` would
- * produce "I see 2 other people in Athens." as output in the default locale.
- * If run in a different locale it would produce appropriately translated
- * output.
- *
- * For more detailed information on messages and localizing them see
- * the main [package documentation](https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl)
- *
- * You can set the default locale.
- *       Intl.defaultLocale = "pt_BR";
- *
- * To temporarily use a locale other than the default, use the `withLocale`
- * function.
- *       var todayString = new DateFormat("pt_BR").format(new DateTime.now());
- *       print(withLocale("pt_BR", () => today(todayString));
- *
- * See `tests/message_format_test.dart` for more examples.
- */
+/// The Intl class provides a common entry point for internationalization
+/// related tasks. An Intl instance can be created for a particular locale
+/// and used to create a date format via `anIntl.date()`. Static methods
+/// on this class are also used in message formatting.
+///
+/// Examples:
+///      today(date) => Intl.message(
+///          "Today's date is $date",
+///          name: 'today',
+///          args: [date],
+///          desc: 'Indicate the current date',
+///          examples: const {'date' : 'June 8, 2012'});
+///      print(today(new DateTime.now().toString());
+///
+///      howManyPeople(numberOfPeople, place) => Intl.plural(
+///            zero: 'I see no one at all',
+///            one: 'I see one other person',
+///            other: 'I see $numberOfPeople other people')} in $place.''',
+///          name: 'msg',
+///          args: [numberOfPeople, place],
+///          desc: 'Description of how many people are seen in a place.',
+///          examples: const {'numberOfPeople': 3, 'place': 'London'});
+///
+/// Calling `howManyPeople(2, 'Athens');` would
+/// produce "I see 2 other people in Athens." as output in the default locale.
+/// If run in a different locale it would produce appropriately translated
+/// output.
+///
+/// For more detailed information on messages and localizing them see
+/// the main [package documentation](https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl)
+///
+/// You can set the default locale.
+///       Intl.defaultLocale = "pt_BR";
+///
+/// To temporarily use a locale other than the default, use the `withLocale`
+/// function.
+///       var todayString = new DateFormat("pt_BR").format(new DateTime.now());
+///       print(withLocale("pt_BR", () => today(todayString));
+///
+/// See `tests/message_format_test.dart` for more examples.
 //TODO(efortuna): documentation example involving the offset parameter?
 
 class Intl {
-  /**
-   * String indicating the locale code with which the message is to be
-   * formatted (such as en-CA).
-   */
+  /// String indicating the locale code with which the message is to be
+  /// formatted (such as en-CA).
   String _locale;
 
-  /**
-   * The default locale. This defaults to being set from systemLocale, but
-   * can also be set explicitly, and will then apply to any new instances where
-   * the locale isn't specified. Note that a locale parameter to
-   * [Intl.withLocale]
-   * will supercede this value while that operation is active. Using
-   * [Intl.withLocale] may be preferable if you are using different locales
-   * in the same application.
-   */
+  /// The default locale. This defaults to being set from systemLocale, but
+  /// can also be set explicitly, and will then apply to any new instances where
+  /// the locale isn't specified. Note that a locale parameter to
+  /// [Intl.withLocale]
+  /// will supercede this value while that operation is active. Using
+  /// [Intl.withLocale] may be preferable if you are using different locales
+  /// in the same application.
   static String get defaultLocale {
     var zoneLocale = Zone.current[#Intl.locale];
     return zoneLocale == null ? _defaultLocale : zoneLocale;
   }
-  static set defaultLocale(String newLocale) => _defaultLocale = newLocale;
+
+  static set defaultLocale(String newLocale) {
+    _defaultLocale = newLocale;
+  }
+
   static String _defaultLocale;
 
-  /**
-   * The system's locale, as obtained from the window.navigator.language
-   * or other operating system mechanism. Note that due to system limitations
-   * this is not automatically set, and must be set by importing one of
-   * intl_browser.dart or intl_standalone.dart and calling findSystemLocale().
-   */
+  /// The system's locale, as obtained from the window.navigator.language
+  /// or other operating system mechanism. Note that due to system limitations
+  /// this is not automatically set, and must be set by importing one of
+  /// intl_browser.dart or intl_standalone.dart and calling findSystemLocale().
   static String systemLocale = 'en_US';
 
-  /**
-   * Return a new date format using the specified [pattern].
-   * If [desiredLocale] is not specified, then we default to [locale].
-   */
+  /// Return a new date format using the specified [pattern].
+  /// If [desiredLocale] is not specified, then we default to [locale].
   DateFormat date([String pattern, String desiredLocale]) {
     var actualLocale = (desiredLocale == null) ? locale : desiredLocale;
     return new DateFormat(pattern, actualLocale);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Constructor optionally [aLocale] for specifics of the language
-   * locale to be used, otherwise, we will attempt to infer it (acceptable if
-   * Dart is running on the client, we can infer from the browser/client
-   * preferences).
-   */
+  /// Constructor optionally [aLocale] for specifics of the language
+  /// locale to be used, otherwise, we will attempt to infer it (acceptable if
+  /// Dart is running on the client, we can infer from the browser/client
+  /// preferences).
   Intl([String aLocale]) {
     _locale = aLocale != null ? aLocale : getCurrentLocale();
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Use this for a message that will be translated for different locales. The
-   * expected usage is that this is inside an enclosing function that only
-   * returns the value of this call and provides a scope for the variables that
-   * will be substituted in the message.
-   *
-   * The [message_str] is the string to be translated, which may be interpolated
-   * based on one or more variables. The [name] of the message must 
-   * match the enclosing function name. For methods, it can also be 
-   * className_methodName. So for a method hello in class Simple, the name
-   * can be either "hello" or "Simple_hello". The name must also be globally
-   * unique in the program, so the second form can make it easier to distinguish
-   * messages with the same name but in different classes.
-   * The [args] repeats the arguments of the enclosing
-   * function, [desc] provides a description of usage, 
-   * [examples] is a Map of exmaples for each interpolated variable. For example
-   *       hello(yourName) => Intl.message(
-   *         "Hello, $yourName",
-   *         name: "hello",
-   *         args: [yourName],
-   *         desc: "Say hello",
-   *         examples = {"yourName": "Sparky"}.
-   * The source code will be processed via the analyzer to extract out the
-   * message data, so only a subset of valid Dart code is accepted. In
-   * particular, everything must be literal and cannot refer to variables
-   * outside the scope of the enclosing function. The [examples] map must
-   * be a valid const literal map. Similarly, the [desc] argument must
-   * be a single, simple string. These two arguments will not be used at runtime
-   * but will be extracted from
-   * the source code and used as additional data for translators. For more
-   * information see the "Messages" section of the main [package documentation]
-   * (https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl).
-   *
-   * The [name] and [args] arguments are required, and are used at runtime
-   * to look up the localized version and pass the appropriate arguments to it.
-   * We may in the future modify the code during compilation to make manually
-   * passing those arguments unnecessary.
-   */
-  static String message(String message_str, {String desc: '',
-      Map<String, String> examples: const {}, String locale, String name,
-      List<String> args, String meaning}) {
+  /// Use this for a message that will be translated for different locales. The
+  /// expected usage is that this is inside an enclosing function that only
+  /// returns the value of this call and provides a scope for the variables that
+  /// will be substituted in the message.
+  ///
+  /// The [message_str] is the string to be translated, which may be
+  /// interpolated based on one or more variables. The [name] of the message
+  /// must match the enclosing function name. For methods, it can also be
+  /// className_methodName. So for a method hello in class Simple, the name can
+  /// be either "hello" or "Simple_hello". The name must also be globally unique
+  /// in the program, so the second form can make it easier to distinguish
+  /// messages with the same name but in different classes.
+  ///
+  /// The [args] repeats the arguments of the enclosing
+  /// function, [desc] provides a description of usage,
+  /// [examples] is a Map of examples for each interpolated variable.
+  /// For example
+  ///
+  ///       hello(yourName) => Intl.message(
+  ///         "Hello, $yourName",
+  ///         name: "hello",
+  ///         args: [yourName],
+  ///         desc: "Say hello",
+  ///         examples = const {"yourName": "Sparky"}.
+  ///
+  /// The source code will be processed via the analyzer to extract out the
+  /// message data, so only a subset of valid Dart code is accepted. In
+  /// particular, everything must be literal and cannot refer to variables
+  /// outside the scope of the enclosing function. The [examples] map must be a
+  /// valid const literal map. Similarly, the [desc] argument must be a single,
+  /// simple string. These two arguments will not be used at runtime but will be
+  /// extracted from the source code and used as additional data for
+  /// translators. For more information see the "Messages" section of the main
+  /// [package documentation] (https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/intl).
+  ///
+  /// The [name] and [args] arguments are required, and are used at runtime
+  /// to look up the localized version and pass the appropriate arguments to it.
+  /// We may in the future modify the code during compilation to make manually
+  /// passing those arguments unnecessary.
+  static String message(String message_str,
+          {String desc: '',
+          Map<String, dynamic> examples: const {},
+          String locale,
+          String name,
+          List args,
+          String meaning}) =>
+      _message(message_str, locale, name, args, meaning);
+
+  /// Omit the compile-time only parameters so dart2js can see to drop them.
+  static _message(String message_str, String locale, String name, List args,
+      String meaning) {
     return messageLookup.lookupMessage(
-        message_str, desc, examples, locale, name, args, meaning);
+        message_str, locale, name, args, meaning);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Return the locale for this instance. If none was set, the locale will
-   * be the default.
-   */
+  /// Return the locale for this instance. If none was set, the locale will
+  /// be the default.
   String get locale => _locale;
 
-  /**
-   * Return true if the locale exists, or if it is null. The null case
-   * is interpreted to mean that we use the default locale.
-   */
-  static bool _localeExists(localeName) => DateFormat.localeExists(localeName);
-
-  /**
-   * Given [newLocale] return a locale that we have data for that is similar
-   * to it, if possible.
-   *
-   * If [newLocale] is found directly, return it. If it can't be found, look up
-   * based on just the language (e.g. 'en_CA' -> 'en'). Also accepts '-'
-   * as a separator and changes it into '_' for lookup, and changes the
-   * country to uppercase.
-   *
-   * There is a special case that if a locale named "fallback" is present
-   * and has been initialized, this will return that name. This can be useful
-   * for messages where you don't want to just use the text from the original
-   * source code, but wish to have a universal fallback translation.
-   *
-   * Note that null is interpreted as meaning the default locale, so if
-   * [newLocale] is null it will be returned.
-   */
+  /// Given [newLocale] return a locale that we have data for that is similar
+  /// to it, if possible.
+  ///
+  /// If [newLocale] is found directly, return it. If it can't be found, look up
+  /// based on just the language (e.g. 'en_CA' -> 'en'). Also accepts '-'
+  /// as a separator and changes it into '_' for lookup, and changes the
+  /// country to uppercase.
+  ///
+  /// There is a special case that if a locale named "fallback" is present
+  /// and has been initialized, this will return that name. This can be useful
+  /// for messages where you don't want to just use the text from the original
+  /// source code, but wish to have a universal fallback translation.
+  ///
+  /// Note that null is interpreted as meaning the default locale, so if
+  /// [newLocale] is null the default locale will be returned.
   static String verifiedLocale(String newLocale, Function localeExists,
       {Function onFailure: _throwLocaleError}) {
     // TODO(alanknight): Previously we kept a single verified locale on the Intl
@@ -220,8 +213,11 @@ class Intl {
     if (localeExists(newLocale)) {
       return newLocale;
     }
-    for (var each in
-        [canonicalizedLocale(newLocale), shortLocale(newLocale), "fallback"]) {
+    for (var each in [
+      canonicalizedLocale(newLocale),
+      shortLocale(newLocale),
+      "fallback"
+    ]) {
       if (localeExists(each)) {
         return each;
       }
@@ -229,26 +225,22 @@ class Intl {
     return onFailure(newLocale);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * The default action if a locale isn't found in verifiedLocale. Throw
-   * an exception indicating the locale isn't correct.
-   */
+  /// The default action if a locale isn't found in verifiedLocale. Throw
+  /// an exception indicating the locale isn't correct.
   static String _throwLocaleError(String localeName) {
     throw new ArgumentError("Invalid locale '$localeName'");
   }
 
-  /** Return the short version of a locale name, e.g. 'en_US' => 'en' */
+  /// Return the short version of a locale name, e.g. 'en_US' => 'en'
   static String shortLocale(String aLocale) {
     if (aLocale.length < 2) return aLocale;
     return aLocale.substring(0, 2).toLowerCase();
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Return the name [aLocale] turned into xx_YY where it might possibly be
-   * in the wrong case or with a hyphen instead of an underscore. If
-   * [aLocale] is null, for example, if you tried to get it from IE,
-   * return the current system locale.
-   */
+  /// Return the name [aLocale] turned into xx_YY where it might possibly be
+  /// in the wrong case or with a hyphen instead of an underscore. If
+  /// [aLocale] is null, for example, if you tried to get it from IE,
+  /// return the current system locale.
   static String canonicalizedLocale(String aLocale) {
     // Locales of length < 5 are presumably two-letter forms, or else malformed.
     // We return them unmodified and if correct they will be found.
@@ -267,61 +259,116 @@ class Intl {
     return '${aLocale[0]}${aLocale[1]}_$region';
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Format a message differently depending on [howMany]. Normally used
-   * as part of an `Intl.message` text that is to be translated.
-   * Selects the correct plural form from
-   * the provided alternatives. The [other] named argument is mandatory.
-   */
-  static String plural(int howMany, {zero, one, two, few, many, other,
-      String desc, Map<String, String> examples, String locale, String name,
-      List<String> args, String meaning}) {
+  /// Format a message differently depending on [howMany]. Normally used
+  /// as part of an `Intl.message` text that is to be translated.
+  /// Selects the correct plural form from
+  /// the provided alternatives. The [other] named argument is mandatory.
+  static String plural(int howMany,
+      {zero,
+      one,
+      two,
+      few,
+      many,
+      other,
+      String desc,
+      Map<String, dynamic> examples,
+      String locale,
+      String name,
+      List args,
+      String meaning}) {
     // If we are passed a name and arguments, then we are operating as a
     // top-level message, so look up our translation by calling Intl.message
     // with ourselves as an argument.
     if (name != null) {
-      return message(plural(howMany,
+      return message(
+          plural(howMany,
               zero: zero,
               one: one,
               two: two,
               few: few,
               many: many,
-              other: other),
-          name: name, args: args, locale: locale, meaning: meaning);
+              other: other,
+              locale: locale),
+          name: name,
+          args: args,
+          locale: locale,
+          meaning: meaning);
     }
     if (other == null) {
       throw new ArgumentError("The 'other' named argument must be provided");
     }
-    // TODO(alanknight): This algorithm needs to be locale-dependent.
-    switch (howMany) {
-      case 0:
-        return (zero == null) ? other : zero;
-      case 1:
-        return (one == null) ? other : one;
-      case 2:
-        return (two == null) ? ((few == null) ? other : few) : two;
-      default:
-        if ((howMany == 3 || howMany == 4) && few != null) return few;
-        if (howMany > 10 && howMany < 100 && many != null) return many;
+    if (howMany == null) {
+      throw new ArgumentError("The howMany argument to plural cannot be null");
+    }
+    // If there's an explicit case for the exact number, we use it. This is not
+    // strictly in accord with the CLDR rules, but it seems to be the
+    // expectation. At least I see e.g. Russian translations that have a zero
+    // case defined. The rule for that locale will never produce a zero, and
+    // treats it as other. But it seems reasonable that, even if the language
+    // rules treat zero as other, we might want a special message for zero.
+    if (howMany == 0 && zero != null) return zero;
+    if (howMany == 1 && one != null) return one;
+    if (howMany == 2 && two != null) return two;
+    var pluralRule = _pluralRule(locale, howMany);
+    var pluralCase = pluralRule();
+    switch (pluralCase) {
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.ZERO:
+        return zero ?? other;
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.ONE:
+        return one ?? other;
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.TWO:
+        return two ?? few ?? other;
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.FEW:
+        return few ?? other;
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.MANY:
+        return many ?? other;
+      case plural_rules.PluralCase.OTHER:
         return other;
+      default:
+        throw new ArgumentError.value(
+            howMany, "howMany", "Invalid plural argument");
     }
-    throw new ArgumentError("Invalid plural usage for $howMany");
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Format a message differently depending on [targetGender]. Normally used as
-   * part of an Intl.message message that is to be translated.
-   */
-  static String gender(String targetGender, {String male, String female,
-      String other, String desc, Map<String, String> examples, String locale,
-      String name, List<String> args, String meaning}) {
+  static var _cachedPluralRule;
+  static String _cachedPluralLocale;
+
+  static _pluralRule(String locale, int howMany) {
+    plural_rules.startRuleEvaluation(howMany);
+    var verifiedLocale = Intl.verifiedLocale(
+        locale, plural_rules.localeHasPluralRules,
+        onFailure: (locale) => 'default');
+    if (_cachedPluralLocale == verifiedLocale) {
+      return _cachedPluralRule;
+    } else {
+      _cachedPluralRule = plural_rules.pluralRules[verifiedLocale];
+      _cachedPluralLocale = verifiedLocale;
+      return _cachedPluralRule;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /// Format a message differently depending on [targetGender]. Normally used as
+  /// part of an Intl.message message that is to be translated.
+  static String gender(String targetGender,
+      {String male,
+      String female,
+      String other,
+      String desc,
+      Map<String, dynamic> examples,
+      String locale,
+      String name,
+      List args,
+      String meaning}) {
     // If we are passed a name and arguments, then we are operating as a
     // top-level message, so look up our translation by calling Intl.message
     // with ourselves as an argument.
     if (name != null) {
       return message(
           gender(targetGender, male: male, female: female, other: other),
-          name: name, args: args, locale: locale, meaning: meaning);
+          name: name,
+          args: args,
+          locale: locale,
+          meaning: meaning);
     }
 
     if (other == null) {
@@ -337,15 +384,19 @@ class Intl {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Format a message differently depending on [choice]. We look up the value
-   * of [choice] in [cases] and return the result, or an empty string if
-   * it is not found. Normally used as part
-   * of an Intl.message message that is to be translated.
-   */
-  static String select(String choice, Map<String, String> cases, {String desc,
-      Map<String, String> examples, String locale, String name,
-      List<String> args, String meaning}) {
+  /// Format a message differently depending on [choice]. We look up the value
+  /// of [choice] in [cases] and return the result, or an empty string if
+  /// it is not found. Normally used as part
+  /// of an Intl.message message that is to be translated.
+  static String select(Object choice, Map<String, String> cases,
+      {String desc,
+      Map<String, dynamic> examples,
+      String locale,
+      String name,
+      List args,
+      String meaning}) {
+    // Allow passing non-strings, e.g. enums to a select.
+    choice = "$choice";
     // If we are passed a name and arguments, then we are operating as a
     // top-level message, so look up our translation by calling Intl.message
     // with ourselves as an argument.
@@ -356,46 +407,42 @@ class Intl {
     var exact = cases[choice];
     if (exact != null) return exact;
     var other = cases["other"];
-    if (other ==
-        null) throw new ArgumentError("The 'other' case must be specified");
+    if (other == null)
+      throw new ArgumentError("The 'other' case must be specified");
     return other;
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Run [function] with the default locale set to [locale] and
-   * return the result.
-   *
-   * This is run in a zone, so async operations invoked
-   * from within [function] will still have the locale set.
-   *
-   * In simple usage [function] might be a single
-   * `Intl.message()` call or number/date formatting operation. But it can
-   * also be an arbitrary function that calls multiple Intl operations.
-   *
-   * For example
-   *
-   *       Intl.withLocale("fr", () => new NumberFormat.format(123456));
-   *
-   * or
-   *
-   *       hello(name) => Intl.message(
-   *           "Hello $name.",
-   *           name: 'hello',
-   *           args: [name],
-   *           desc: 'Say Hello');
-   *       Intl.withLocale("zh", new Timer(new Duration(milliseconds:10),
-   *           () => print(hello("World")));
-   */
+  /// Run [function] with the default locale set to [locale] and
+  /// return the result.
+  ///
+  /// This is run in a zone, so async operations invoked
+  /// from within [function] will still have the locale set.
+  ///
+  /// In simple usage [function] might be a single
+  /// `Intl.message()` call or number/date formatting operation. But it can
+  /// also be an arbitrary function that calls multiple Intl operations.
+  ///
+  /// For example
+  ///
+  ///       Intl.withLocale("fr", () => new NumberFormat.format(123456));
+  ///
+  /// or
+  ///
+  ///       hello(name) => Intl.message(
+  ///           "Hello $name.",
+  ///           name: 'hello',
+  ///           args: [name],
+  ///           desc: 'Say Hello');
+  ///       Intl.withLocale("zh", new Timer(new Duration(milliseconds:10),
+  ///           () => print(hello("World")));
   static withLocale(String locale, function()) {
     var canonical = Intl.canonicalizedLocale(locale);
     return runZoned(function, zoneValues: {#Intl.locale: canonical});
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Accessor for the current locale. This should always == the default locale,
-   * unless for some reason this gets called inside a message that resets the
-   * locale.
-   */
+  /// Accessor for the current locale. This should always == the default locale,
+  /// unless for some reason this gets called inside a message that resets the
+  /// locale.
   static String getCurrentLocale() {
     if (defaultLocale == null) defaultLocale = systemLocale;
     return defaultLocale;
@@ -403,3 +450,34 @@ class Intl {
 
   toString() => "Intl($locale)";
 }
+
+/// Convert a string to beginning of sentence case, in a way appropriate to the
+/// locale.
+///
+/// Currently this just converts the first letter to uppercase, which works for
+/// many locales, and we have the option to extend this to handle more cases
+/// without changing the API for clients. It also hard-codes the case of
+/// dotted i in Turkish and Azeri.
+String toBeginningOfSentenceCase(String input, [String locale]) {
+  if (input == null || input.isEmpty) return input;
+  return "${_upperCaseLetter(input[0], locale)}${input.substring(1)}";
+}
+
+/// Convert the input single-letter string to upper case. A trivial
+/// hard-coded implementation that only handles simple upper case
+/// and the dotted i in Turkish/Azeri.
+///
+/// Private to the implementation of [toBeginningOfSentenceCase].
+// TODO(alanknight): Consider hard-coding other important cases.
+// See http://www.unicode.org/Public/UNIDATA/SpecialCasing.txt
+// TODO(alanknight): Alternatively, consider toLocaleUpperCase in browsers.
+// See also https://github.com/dart-lang/sdk/issues/6706
+String _upperCaseLetter(String input, String locale) {
+  // Hard-code the important edge case of i->İ
+  if (locale != null) {
+    if (input == "i" && locale.startsWith("tr") || locale.startsWith("az")) {
+      return "\u0130";
+    }
+  }
+  return input.toUpperCase();
+}