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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>