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<sect1 id="zend.currency.introduction">

    <title>Introduction to Zend_Currency</title>

    <para>
        <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> is part of the strong support for i18n in Zend
        Framework. It handles all issues related to currency, money representation and formatting.
        It also provides additional methods which provide localized information on currencies, such
        as which currency is used in which region.
    </para>

    <sect2 id="zend.currency.introduction.list">

        <title>Why use Zend_Currency?</title>

        <para>
            <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> offers the following functions for handling
            currency manipulations.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist mark='opencircle'>
            <listitem>
                <para>
                    <emphasis>Complete Locale support</emphasis>
                </para>
                <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> works with all available locales and
                    therefore knows about over 100 different localized currencies. This includes
                    currency names, abbreviations, money signs and more.
                </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
                <para>
                    <emphasis>Reusable Currency Definitions</emphasis>
                </para>
                <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> does not include the value of the
                    currency. This is the reason why its functionality is not included in
                    <classname>Zend_Locale_Format</classname>. <classname>Zend_Currency</classname>
                    has the advantage that already defined currency representations can be reused.
                </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
                <para>
                    <emphasis>Fluent Interface</emphasis>
                </para>
                <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> includes fluent interfaces where possible.
                </para>
            </listitem>
            <listitem>
                <para>
                    <emphasis>Additional Methods</emphasis>
                </para>
                <para>
                    <classname>Zend_Currency</classname> includes additional methods that offer
                    information about which regions a currency is used in or which currency is used
                    in a specified region.
                </para>
            </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
    </sect2>

</sect1>