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TextInfo.ListSeparator values changed

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The default TextInfo.ListSeparator values for different cultures have changed on all operating systems.

Change description

In .NET 5.0.0, as part of the switch from NLS to ICU libraries, the default TextInfo.ListSeparator values for different cultures changed on Windows. Decimal separator values, obtained from International Components for Unicode (ICU), were used as the ListSeparator values. On Linux and macOS, there was no change in TextInfo.ListSeparator values; that is, they continued to use decimal separator values.

For all operating systems in .NET 5.0.1 and later versions, the values for TextInfo.ListSeparator are equivalent to the values that would be obtained from NLS. For Windows, this means the values are equivalent to what they were in .NET Framework and .NET Core 1.0 - 3.1. For Linux and macOS, the TextInfo.ListSeparator values now match the TextInfo.ListSeparator values for Windows.

The following table summarizes the changes for TextInfo.ListSeparator values.

.NET Framework
.NET Core 1.0 - 3.1		 .NET 5 .NET 5.0.1
Windows Obtain from NLS Decimal separator from ICU.
Can switch back to NLS.		 Equivalent to NLS
Linux and macOS Decimal separator from ICU Decimal separator from ICU Equivalent to NLS

Version introduced

5.0.1

Reason for change

Developers reported that they use the TextInfo.ListSeparator property when parsing comma-separated value (CSV) files, and the new TextInfo.ListSeparator values broke that parsing.

If your code relies on the previous decimal separator values, you can hardcode the desired TextInfo.ListSeparator values.

Affected APIs