Is it possible for CSS stylesheets to be bidirectional?

Is it possible for CSS to support bidirectional languages, or is a stylesheet automatically linked to the script's direction (RTL vs. LTR)?

In other words, can one stylesheet effectively work for both left-to-right (English) and right-to-left (Hebrew) languages?

If this is achievable, what guidelines should be followed?

If not, how can a left-to-right (LTR) stylesheet be converted to right-to-left (RTL)?

Answer №1

In the past, I utilized CSSJanus to convert ltr stylesheets to rtl. This tool is a command line utility, allowing me to execute it during each application build and manage just one version of the file. The conversion changes all instances of float: left to float: right (along with other properties that can be difficult to identify such as background-position). Remember to include direction: ltr; in your primary stylesheet!

I hope you are able to successfully implement this technique!

Answer №2

One approach to consider is following the model used by iGoogle, which utilizes a unique set of variables such as __BIDI_START_EDGE__, __BIDI_END_EDGE__, __BIDI_DIR__, and __BIDI_REVERSE_DIR. Instead of using traditional margin-left in your CSS rules, you can substitute it with margin-__BIDI_START_EDGE__. By implementing some server-side code that incorporates these variables based on the direction (ltr or rtl), you can achieve a flexible and robust solution.

While this method may require separate files for different directions, it provides the flexibility to selectively choose which elements should be flipped by using literal values like "left" or "right".

(Refer to this email from the OpenAjaxIDE mailing list, where IBM's localization experts endorse the BIDI features in OpenSocial and recommend their adoption for a project within the OpenAjax community.)

Answer №3

It's not advisable to utilize a single stylesheet to cater to both RTL and LTR styles. This would result in downloading a large CSS file, of which only half would be utilized on the page.

However, if you still wish to proceed with this approach, you can assign a class to the html tag, such as 'rtl' and 'ltr', and then use it in the stylesheet as demonstrated below:

.ltr .class {padding-left:10px;}
.rtl .class {padding-right:10px;}

To understand how to convert an LTR page into RTL, check out this tutorial.

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