Examples of bidirectional IRIs

LTR: left-to-right; RTL: right-to-left; legends are also available as title popups.

Example 1

A single component with rtl characters is inverted. Components can be read one by one, and each component can be read in its natural direction.

Example 2

More than one consecutive component with rtl characters is inverted as a whole. A sequence of rtl components is read rtl, in the same way as a sequence of rtl words is read rtl in a bidi text.

Example 3

All components of an IRI (except for the scheme) are rtl. All rtl components are inverted overall. The whole IRI (except the scheme) is read rtl. Delimiters between rtl components stay between the respective components; delimiters between ltr and rtl components don't move.

Example 4

Each of several sequences of rtl components is inverted on its own. Each sequence of rtl components is read rtl, in the same way as each sequence of rtl words in an ltr text is read rtl.

Example 5

Example 2, applied to components of different kinds. The inversion of the domain name label and the path component may be unexpected, but it is consistent with other bidi behavior. For reassurance that the domain component really is "ab.cd.EF", it may be helpful to read aloud the visual representation following the bidi algorithm. After "http://ab.cd." one reads the RTL block "E-F-slash-G-H", which corresponds to the logical representation.

Example 6

Same as Example 5, with more rtl components.The inversion of the domain name labels and the path components may be easier to identify because the delimiters also move.

Example 7

A single rtl component includes digits. Numbers are written ltr in all cases but are treated as an additional embedding inside a run of rtl characters. This is completely consistent with usual bidirectional text.

Example 8

Not allowed!Numbers are at the start or end of an rtl component.The sequence "1/2" is interpreted by the bidi algorithm as a fraction, fragmenting the components and leading to confusion. There are other characters that are interpreted in a special way close to numbers; in particular, "+", "-", "#", "$", "%", ",", ".", and ":".

Example 9

Example 10

Allowed but not recommended! Components consisting of only numbers are allowed (it would be rather difficult to prohibit them), but these may interact with adjacent RTL components in ways that are not easy to predict.

Example 11

Allowed but not recommended! Components consisting of numbers and left-to-right characters are allowed, but these may interact with adjacent RTL components in ways that are not easy to predict.

Version: $Id: BidiExamples.html,v 1.11 2008/03/07 08:40:27 duerst Exp $

Questions? duerst@it.aoyama.ac.jp

Copyright © 1997 - 2002 W3C ( MIT , INRIA , Keio ), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark , document use and software licensing rules apply. Your interactions with this site are in accordance with our public and Member privacy statements.