---
id: change/bcquality/193
type: change
title: "#193 Clarify locale-safe DateFormula Evaluate inputs"
summary: Adds a Microsoft Style article clarifying that DateFormula Evaluate calls require language-independent literals to work correctly in non-English localizations, addressing a localization gap where such calls could fail despite correct downstream CalcDate typing.
tier: official
language: en
tags:
  - feature
  - main
system: development
review:
  state: reviewed
  by: opus
  at: "2026-10-08T02:04:27.895Z"
  flags: []
generated:
  at: "2026-10-08T01:26:53.141Z"
  pipeline: 0.2.0
  prompts:
    extract-change: 1
  input_hash: d38377b85e4ba995d822981bdd7f8d381547026a
evidence:
  - kind: code
    url: https://github.com/microsoft/BCQuality/pull/193
    title: "microsoft/BCQuality#193: Clarify locale-safe DateFormula Evaluate inputs"
    date: "2026-09-21"
    commit: d38377b85e4ba995d822981bdd7f8d381547026a
    t: null
    quote: null
links:
  learn: []
  objects: []
  features: []
  topics: []
  localizations: []
  videos: []
  posts: []
  guidelines: []
  changes: []
number: 193
repo: microsoft/BCQuality
source_id: bcquality-prs
url: https://github.com/microsoft/BCQuality/pull/193
kind: pr
base_branch: main
major: null
merged_at: "2026-09-21T08:16:07Z"
author: JesperSchulz
author_type: User
community_contribution: false
labels: []
change_class: code
change_kind: feature
behavior_change: false
breaking: false
files:
  count: 5
  additions: 84
  deletions: 5
  al: 4
apps: []
objects_touched: []
objects_unjoined:
  - path: microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.bad.al
    status: added
    reason: not-in-snapshot
  - path: microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.good.al
    status: added
    reason: not-in-snapshot
  - path: microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.md
    status: added
    reason: not-in-snapshot
  - path: microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md
    status: modified
    reason: not-in-snapshot
obsoletions: []
backports: []
fixes_issues: []
work_items: []
systems:
  - development
  - localization
quote: null
joined_against:
  major: null
  commit: null
---

# #193 Clarify locale-safe DateFormula Evaluate inputs

> Adds a Microsoft Style article clarifying that DateFormula Evaluate calls require language-independent literals to work correctly in non-English localizations, addressing a localization gap where such calls could fail despite correct downstream CalcDate typing.

[Pull request](https://github.com/microsoft/BCQuality/pull/193) · merged into `main` on 2026-09-21 by JesperSchulz · 5 files (+84 -5), 4 AL · feature · tier official · reviewed (checked by Opus)

## What changed

- New Style article: Evaluate into a DateFormula with a literal like '1W' can fail outside English
- Paired bad/good scheduling samples show the issue and the invariant-input fix
- Style review skill gets narrow routing to the article, plus a new positive/clean evaluation pair
- Direct CalcDate diagnostics remain owned by the analyzer (AA0462)
- Frontmatter and index checks passed; runtime locale tests were not executed

## AL objects touched

- `microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.bad.al`: added, not in the BC? snapshot yet
- `microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.good.al`: added, not in the BC? snapshot yet
- `microsoft/knowledge/style/dateformula-evaluate-needs-language-independent-literals.md`: added, not in the BC? snapshot yet
- `microsoft/skills/review/al-style-review.md`: modified, not in the BC? snapshot

## Context

- Systems: development, localization

Source: metadata of a merged pull request in microsoft/BCQuality (bcquality): title, labels, changed paths and counts, with a summary in our words. No source text and no description beyond one short quote (D10, D61).