Required PHP Extension Not Found: intl

PHP is a flexible and powerful scripting language widely used in web development. Usually, developers have to activate various extensions to fully utilize their potential.One such extension is ‘intl,’ which stands for Internationalization Functions.

This article will explain what the ‘intl’ extension is, why it’s essential, and how to enable it in your PHP environment.

Understanding Required PHP Extension Not Found: intl

The ‘intl’ extension provides key functionalities for internationalization and localization tasks in PHP applications.

This extension is essential for creating web applications that support Unicode strings, date/time formatting, message translation, and other important features. It enables developers to build multilingual and culturally sensitive applications.

Steps to Enable ‘intl’ Extension

Enabling the ‘intl’ extension varies depending on your operating system and PHP setup. Follow these steps to enable the ‘intl’ extension.

1. Check if ‘intl’ Extension is Enabled

Check if the ‘intl’ extension is enabled in PHP with the following code:

<?php
// Display PHP information
phpinfo();
?>

Place the above code in .php file and then access the file from the browser. You can see in the output if the intl extension is enabled.

2. Installing ‘intl’ Extension

To install the ‘intl’ extension on Linux-based systems:

Use apt-get to install the ‘intl’ extension.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install php-intl

For CentOS/RHEL-based systems Use yum to install the ‘intl’ extension.

sudo yum install php-intl

On Windows, you can enable ‘intl’ by uncommenting or adding the line in your php.ini file.

extension=php_intl.dll

3. Restart PHP Service

After installing or enabling the ‘intl’ extension, restart your PHP service to apply the changes. This step ensures that PHP recognizes and loads the extension.

4. Verify ‘intl’ Extension

Repeat the step 1 to verify intl extension.

Why Enabling ‘intl’ Extension is Necessary?

Enabling the ‘intl’ extension is necessary to leverage its features for handling multilingual content, date and time formatting based on different locales, and performing operations on Unicode strings.

Without ‘intl,’ developers may face limitations in properly internationalizing their applications, leading to potential issues with language support and user experience.

Utilizing ‘intl’ Extension in PHP

With the ‘intl’ extension enabled, you can now utilize its features in your PHP code. Here are a few examples of what you can do with ‘intl’:

• Unicode String Operations: Perform operations such as string length, case folding, and normalization on Unicode strings.
• Date/Time Formatting: Format dates and times according to different locales and calendars, handling timezone conversions seamlessly.
• Message Localization: Implement message translation and localization for displaying content in multiple languages.