Relative Time in JavaScript
I wasn't aware that there is a completely separate standard for ECMAScript internationalization (ECMA-402 or the ECMAScript 2019 Internationalization API) that goes beyond the core specification and covers internationalization in a lot more detail than the main specification can. I came across this spec through a post from [Mathias Bynens](https://twitter.com/mathias) about a new internationalization API available in Chrome 71. The API makes creating relative time strings like '1 week ago' or 'in 2 weeks' easier and faster since it's a part of the proposed internationalization spec. I've used [moment.js](https://momentjs.com/) but it's a beast in terms of file size (16.4K for the basic package and 66.4K for the full package including locales) and most of the time you will only use a fraction of the locales provided. The relative time API, as implemented in Chrome, ```js const rtf = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat('en', { localeMatcher: 'best fit', style: 'long', numeric: 'auto', }); ``` And then use it like this: ```js rtf.format(3.14, 'second'); // → 'in 3.14 seconds' rtf.format(-15, 'minute'); // → '15 minutes ago' rtf.format(8, 'hour'); // → 'in 8 hours' rtf.format(-2, 'day'); // → '2 days ago' ``` You can use positive and negative values to indicate time in the future or the past. This is an interesting API. It provides a smaller, built-in, API to work with relative timings on your page. ## Links and Resources - [The Intl.RelativeTimeFormat API](https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/10/intl-relativetimeformat) (Google Developers) - [ECMAScript 2019 Internationalization API Specification](https://tc39.github.io/ecma402/)