Character classes of the code set

A GLS locale groups the characters of a code set into character classes. Each class contains characters that have a related purpose.

GLS supports 12 classes. The contents of a character class can be language specific. For example, the lower class contains all alphabetic lowercase characters in a code set. The code set of the default locale groups the letters a through z into the lower class, which also includes other lowercase characters such as á, eg, ic, and uuml.

To be globalized, your application must not assume which characters belong in a given character class. Instead, use library functions to identify the class of a particular character.