Difference between revisions of "User:Luigi.scarso/testpage"

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The <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> format is rather popular in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> community and even with its shortcomings it will stay around for a while. Many publication websites can export and many tools are available to work with this database format. It is rather simple and looks a bit like <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> tables. Unfortunately the content can be polluted with non-standardized <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> commands which complicates pre- or postprocessing outside <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span>. In that sense a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> database is often not coded neutrally. Some limitations, like the use of commands to encode accented characters root in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ascii</span> world and can be bypassed by using <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span> instead (as handled somewhat in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">LATEX</span> through extensions such as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex8</tt>).
 
The <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> format is rather popular in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> community and even with its shortcomings it will stay around for a while. Many publication websites can export and many tools are available to work with this database format. It is rather simple and looks a bit like <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> tables. Unfortunately the content can be polluted with non-standardized <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> commands which complicates pre- or postprocessing outside <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span>. In that sense a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> database is often not coded neutrally. Some limitations, like the use of commands to encode accented characters root in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ascii</span> world and can be bypassed by using <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span> instead (as handled somewhat in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">LATEX</span> through extensions such as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex8</tt>).
<br/>
+
<br/>The normal way to deal with a bibliography is to refer to entries using a unique tag or key. When a list of entries is typeset, this reference can be used for linking purposes. The typeset list can be processed and sorted using the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex</tt> program that converts the database into something more <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> friendly (a <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >.bbl</tt> file). I never used the program myself (nor bibliographies) so I will not go into too much detail here, if only because all I say can be wrong.
The normal way to deal with a bibliography is to refer to entries using a unique tag or key. When a list of entries is typeset, this reference can be used for linking purposes. The typeset list can be processed and sorted using the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex</tt> program that converts the database into something more <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> friendly (a <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >.bbl</tt> file). I never used the program myself (nor bibliographies) so I will not go into too much detail here, if only because all I say can be wrong.
+
<br/>In <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> we no longer use the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex</tt> program: we just use database files and deal with the necessary manipulations directly in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span>. One or more such databases can be used and combined with additional entries defined within the document. We can have several such datasets active at the same time.
    <br/>
+
<br/>A <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> file looks like this:  
In <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> we no longer use the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibtex</tt> program: we just use database files and deal with the necessary manipulations directly in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span>. One or more such databases can be used and combined with additional entries defined within the document. We can have several such datasets active at the same time.
 
    <br/>
 
A <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> file looks like this:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">@Article{sometag,
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">@Article{sometag,
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}
 
}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>Normally a value is given between quotes (or curly brackets) but single words are also OK (there is no real benefit in not using quotes, so we advise to always use them). There can be many more fields and instead of strings one can use predefined shortcuts. The title for example quite often contains <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> macros. Some fields, like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >pages</tt> have funny characters such as the endash (typically as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >--</tt>) so we have a mixture of data and typesetting directives. If you are covering non--english references, you often need characters that are not in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ascii</span> subset but <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> is quite happy with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span>. If your database file uses old-fashioned <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> accent commands then these will be internally converted automatically to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span>. Commands (macros) are converted to an indirect call, which is quite robust.
Normally a value is given between quotes (or curly brackets) but single words are also OK (there is no real benefit in not using quotes, so we advise to always use them). There can be many more fields and instead of strings one can use predefined shortcuts. The title for example quite often contains <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> macros. Some fields, like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >pages</tt> have funny characters such as the endash (typically as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >--</tt>) so we have a mixture of data and typesetting directives. If you are covering non--english references, you often need characters that are not in the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ascii</span> subset but <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> is quite happy with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span>. If your database file uses old-fashioned <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> accent commands then these will be internally converted automatically to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">utf</span>. Commands (macros) are converted to an indirect call, which is quite robust.
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<br/>The <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> files are loaded in memory as <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> table but can be converted to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> so that we can access them in a more flexible way, but that is a subject for specialists.
    <br/>
+
<br/>In the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkII</span> setup we have two kinds of entries: the ones that come from the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> run and user supplied ones. We no longer rely on <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> output but we do still support the user supplied definitions. These were in fact prepared in a way that suits the processing of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> generated entries. The next variant reflects the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> recoding of the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> output.  
The <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> files are loaded in memory as <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> table but can be converted to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> so that we can access them in a more flexible way, but that is a subject for specialists.
 
    <br/>
 
In the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkII</span> setup we have two kinds of entries: the ones that come from the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> run and user supplied ones. We no longer rely on <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> output but we do still support the user supplied definitions. These were in fact prepared in a way that suits the processing of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> generated entries. The next variant reflects the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> recoding of the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> output.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[k=Hagen:Second,t=article,a={Hans Hagen},y=2013,s=HH01]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[k=Hagen:Second,t=article,a={Hans Hagen},y=2013,s=HH01]
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\stoppublication
 
\stoppublication
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>The split <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\artauthor</tt> fields are collapsed into a single <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >author</tt> field as we deal with the splitting later when it gets parsed in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span>. The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\artauthor</tt> syntax is only kept around for backward compatibility with the previous use of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>.
The split <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\artauthor</tt> fields are collapsed into a single <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >author</tt> field as we deal with the splitting later when it gets parsed in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span>. The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\artauthor</tt> syntax is only kept around for backward compatibility with the previous use of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>.
+
<br/>In the new setup we support these variants as well:  
    <br/>
 
In the new setup we support these variants as well:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[k=Hagen:Third,t=article]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[k=Hagen:Third,t=article]
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\stoppublication
 
\stoppublication
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>and  
and  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[tag=Hagen:Third,category=article]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication[tag=Hagen:Third,category=article]
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\stoppublication
 
\stoppublication
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>and  
and  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startpublication
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\stoppublication
 
\stoppublication
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>Because internally the entries are <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> tables, we also support loading of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> based definitions:
Because internally the entries are <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> tables, we also support loading of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> based definitions:
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">return {
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">return {
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}
 
}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>Files set up like this can be loaded too. The following <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> input is rather close to this, and is also accepted as input.  
Files set up like this can be loaded too. The following <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> input is rather close to this, and is also accepted as input.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%"><?xml version="2.0" standalone="yes" ?>
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%"><?xml version="2.0" standalone="yes" ?>
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</bibtex>
 
</bibtex>
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>Todo: Add some remarks about loading EndNote and RIS formats, but first we need to complete the tag mapping (on Alan’s plate).
Todo: Add some remarks about loading EndNote and RIS formats, but first we need to complete the tag mapping (on Alan’s plate).
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<br/>So the user has a rather wide choice of formatting style for bibliography database files.
    <br/>
 
So the user has a rather wide choice of formatting style for bibliography database files.
 
 
      
 
      
 
You can load more data than you actually need. Only entries that are referred to explicitly through the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> and <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocite</tt> commands will be shown in lists. We will cover these details later.
 
You can load more data than you actually need. Only entries that are referred to explicitly through the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> and <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocite</tt> commands will be shown in lists. We will cover these details later.
 
+
 
 
==Commands in entries==
 
==Commands in entries==
  
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publications > stop used btxcommands
 
publications > stop used btxcommands
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>You can define unknown commands, or overload existing definitions in the following way:  
You can define unknown commands, or overload existing definitions in the following way:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxcommand\TUB {TUGboat}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxcommand\TUB {TUGboat}
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\definebtxcommand\<#1>{\type{#1}}
 
\definebtxcommand\<#1>{\type{#1}}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
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<br/>Unknown commands do not stall processing, but their names are then typeset in a mono- spaced font so they probably stand out for proofreading. You can access the commands with <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcommand{...}</tt>, as in:  
Unknown commands do not stall processing, but their names are then typeset in a mono- spaced font so they probably stand out for proofreading. You can access the commands with <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcommand{...}</tt>, as in:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">commands like \btxcommand{MySpecialCommand} are handled in an indirect way
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">commands like \btxcommand{MySpecialCommand} are handled in an indirect way
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>As this is an undefined command we get: “commands like MySpecialCommand are handled in an indirect way”.
As this is an undefined command we get: “commands like MySpecialCommand are handled in an indirect way”.
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<br/>??
    <br/>
 
??
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
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\usebtxdataset[standard][test-001-btx-standard.lua]
 
\usebtxdataset[standard][test-001-btx-standard.lua]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>These three suffixes are understood by the loader. Here the dataset has the name <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >standard</tt> and the three database files are merged, where later entries having the same tag overload previous ones. Definitions in the document source (coded in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> speak) are also added, and they are saved for successive runs. This means that if you load and define entries, they will be known at a next run beforehand, so that references to them are independent of when loading and definitions take place.
These three suffixes are understood by the loader. Here the dataset has the name <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >standard</tt> and the three database files are merged, where later entries having the same tag overload previous ones. Definitions in the document source (coded in <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> speak) are also added, and they are saved for successive runs. This means that if you load and define entries, they will be known at a next run beforehand, so that references to them are independent of when loading and definitions take place.
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxdataset </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxdataset </span >
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<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition usebtxdataset </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition usebtxdataset </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>In this document we use some example databases, so let’s load one of them now:  
In this document we use some example databases, so let’s load one of them now:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxdataset[example]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxdataset[example]
 
\usebtxdataset[example][mkiv-publications.bib]
 
\usebtxdataset[example][mkiv-publications.bib]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can ask for an overview of entries in a dataset with:  
You can ask for an overview of entries in a dataset with:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\showbtxdatasetfields[example]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\showbtxdatasetfields[example]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>this gives:
this gives:
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
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|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can set the current active dataset with  
You can set the current active dataset with  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setbtxdataset[standard]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setbtxdataset[standard]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>but most publication-related commands accept optional arguments that denote the dataset and references to entries can be prefixed with a dataset identifier.. More about that later.
but most publication-related commands accept optional arguments that denote the dataset and references to entries can be prefixed with a dataset identifier.. More about that later.
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
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A list of publications can be rendered at any place in the document. A database can be much larger than needed for a document. The same is true for the fields that make up an entry. Here is the list of fields that are currently handled, but of course there can be additional ones:
 
A list of publications can be rendered at any place in the document. A database can be much larger than needed for a document. The same is true for the fields that make up an entry. Here is the list of fields that are currently handled, but of course there can be additional ones:
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >abstract</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >address</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >annotate</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >assignee</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >author</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibnumber</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >booktitle</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >chapter</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >comment</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >country</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >day</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >dayfiled</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >doi</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >edition</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >editor</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >eprint</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >howpublished</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >institution</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >isbn</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >issn</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >journal</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >key</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >keyword</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >keywords</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >language</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >lastchecked</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >month</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >monthfiled</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >names</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >nationality</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >note</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >notes</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >number</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >organization</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >pages</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publisher</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >revision</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >school</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >series</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >size</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >title</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >type</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >url</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >volume</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >year</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >yearfiled</tt>
<tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >abstract</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >address</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >annotate</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >assignee</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >author</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bibnumber</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >booktitle</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >chapter</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >comment</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >country</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >day</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >dayfiled</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >doi</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >edition</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >editor</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >eprint</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >howpublished</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >institution</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >isbn</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >issn</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >journal</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >key</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >keyword</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >keywords</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >language</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >lastchecked</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >month</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >monthfiled</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >names</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >nationality</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >note</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >notes</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >number</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >organization</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >pages</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publisher</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >revision</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >school</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >series</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >size</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >title</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >type</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >url</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >volume</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >year</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >yearfiled</tt>
+
<br/>If you want to see what publications are in the database, the easiest way is to ask for a complete list:  
    <br/>
 
If you want to see what publications are in the database, the easiest way is to ask for a complete list:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxrendering
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxrendering
Line 296: Line 270:
 
   [criterium=all]
 
   [criterium=all]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>This gives:1 Hagen, H. and Otten, T. (1996). Typesetting education documents2 Scarso, L. (2021). Designing high speed trains3 author (year). title pages p.
This gives:1 Hagen, H. and Otten, T. (1996). Typesetting education documents2 Scarso, L. (2021). Designing high speed trains3 author (year). title pages p.
+
<br/>The rendering itself is somewhat complex to set up because we have not only many different standards but also many fields that can be set up. This means that there are several commands involved. Often there is a prescribed style to render bibliographic descriptions, for example <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >apa</tt>. A rendering is setup and defined with:
    <br/>
 
The rendering itself is somewhat complex to set up because we have not only many different standards but also many fields that can be set up. This means that there are several commands involved. Often there is a prescribed style to render bibliographic descriptions, for example <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >apa</tt>. A rendering is setup and defined with:
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxrendering </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxrendering </span >
Line 306: Line 278:
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxrendering </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxrendering </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>And a list of such descriptions is generated with:
And a list of such descriptions is generated with:
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition placebtxrendering </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition placebtxrendering </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>A dataset can have all kind of entries:
A dataset can have all kind of entries:
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >article</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >book</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >booklet</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >conference</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >inbook</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >incollection</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >inproceedings</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >manual</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >mastersthesis</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >misc</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >phdthesis</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >proceedings</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >techreport</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >unpublished</tt>
    <br/>
+
<br/>Each has its own rendering variant. To keep things simple we have their settings separated. However, these settings are shared for all rendering alternatives. In practice this is seldom a problem in a publication as only one rendering alternative will be active. If this be not sufficient, you can always group local settings in a setup and hook that into the specific rendering.
<tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >article</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >book</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >booklet</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >conference</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >inbook</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >incollection</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >inproceedings</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >manual</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >mastersthesis</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >misc</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >phdthesis</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >proceedings</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >techreport</tt>, <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >unpublished</tt>
 
    <br/>
 
Each has its own rendering variant. To keep things simple we have their settings separated. However, these settings are shared for all rendering alternatives. In practice this is seldom a problem in a publication as only one rendering alternative will be active. If this be not sufficient, you can always group local settings in a setup and hook that into the specific rendering.
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxlistvariant </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxlistvariant </span >
Line 323: Line 291:
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxlistvariant </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxlistvariant </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>Examples of list variants are:
Examples of list variants are:
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : artauthor</tt>  
    <br/>
 
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : artauthor</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 342: Line 308:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : author</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : author</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 359: Line 324:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : editor</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxlistvariant : editor</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 376: Line 340:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>The exact rendering of list entries is determined by the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >alternative</tt> key and defaults to <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >apa</tt> which uses definitions from <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publ-imp-apa.mkiv</tt>. If you look at that file you will see that each category has its own setup. You may also notice that additional tests are needed to make sure that empty fields don’t trigger separators and such.
The exact rendering of list entries is determined by the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >alternative</tt> key and defaults to <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >apa</tt> which uses definitions from <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publ-imp-apa.mkiv</tt>. If you look at that file you will see that each category has its own setup. You may also notice that additional tests are needed to make sure that empty fields don’t trigger separators and such.
+
<br/>There are a couple of accessors and helpers to get the job done. When you want to fetch a field from the current entry you use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxfield</tt>. In most cases you want to make sure this field has a value, for instance because you don’t want fences or punctuation that belongs to a field.  
    <br/>
 
There are a couple of accessors and helpers to get the job done. When you want to fetch a field from the current entry you use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxfield</tt>. In most cases you want to make sure this field has a value, for instance because you don’t want fences or punctuation that belongs to a field.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoif {title} {
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoif {title} {
Line 385: Line 347:
 
}
 
}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>There are three test macros:  
There are three test macros:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelse{fieldname}{action when found}{action when not found}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelse{fieldname}{action when found}{action when not found}
Line 392: Line 353:
 
\btxdoifnot {fieldname}                  {action when not found}
 
\btxdoifnot {fieldname}                  {action when not found}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>An extra conditional is available for testing interactivity:  
An extra conditional is available for testing interactivity:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelseinteraction{action when true}{action when false}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelseinteraction{action when true}{action when false}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>In addition there is also a conditional <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxinteractive</tt> which is more efficient, although in practice efficiency is not so important here.
In addition there is also a conditional <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxinteractive</tt> which is more efficient, although in practice efficiency is not so important here.
+
<br/>There are three commands to flush data:  
    <br/>
 
There are three commands to flush data:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 436: Line 394:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>Normally you can use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxfield</tt> or <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxflush</tt> as derived fields just like analyzed author fields are flushed in a special way.
Normally you can use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxfield</tt> or <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxflush</tt> as derived fields just like analyzed author fields are flushed in a special way.
+
<br/>You can improve readability by using setups, for instance:  
    <br/>
 
You can improve readability by using setups, for instance:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelse {author} {
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoifelse {author} {
Line 447: Line 403:
 
}
 
}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>Keep in mind that normally you don’t need to mess with definitions like this because standard rendering styles are provided. These styles use a few helpers that inject symbols but also take care of leading and trailing spaces:  
Keep in mind that normally you don’t need to mess with definitions like this because standard rendering styles are provided. These styles use a few helpers that inject symbols but also take care of leading and trailing spaces:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 524: Line 479:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>So, the previous example setup can be rewritten as:  
So, the previous example setup can be rewritten as:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoif {title} {
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxdoif {title} {
Line 532: Line 486:
 
}
 
}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>There is a special command for rendering a (combination) of authors:  
There is a special command for rendering a (combination) of authors:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxflushauthor{author}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxflushauthor{author}
Line 539: Line 492:
 
\btxflushauthor[inverted]{editor}
 
\btxflushauthor[inverted]{editor}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>Instead of the last one you can also use:  
Instead of the last one you can also use:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxflushauthorinverted{editor}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\btxflushauthorinverted{editor}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can use a (configurable) default or pass directives: Valid directives are  
You can use a (configurable) default or pass directives: Valid directives are  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 630: Line 581:
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>The first argument is optional.
The first argument is optional.
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition cite </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition cite </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can tune the way a citation shows up:  
You can tune the way a citation shows up:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setupbtxcitevariant[author]    [sorttype=author,color=darkyellow]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setupbtxcitevariant[author]    [sorttype=author,color=darkyellow]
Line 647: Line 596:
 
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>Here we sort the authors and color the citation:  
Here we sort the authors and color the citation:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<div>
 
<div>
Line 656: Line 604:
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>For reasons of backward compatibility the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> command is a bit picky about spaces between the two arguments, of which the first is optional. This is a consequence of allowing its use with the key specified between curly brackets as is the traditional practice. (We do encourage users to adopt the more coherent <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> syntax by using square brackets for keywords and reserving curly brackets to regroup text to be typeset.)
For reasons of backward compatibility the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> command is a bit picky about spaces between the two arguments, of which the first is optional. This is a consequence of allowing its use with the key specified between curly brackets as is the traditional practice. (We do encourage users to adopt the more coherent <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> syntax by using square brackets for keywords and reserving curly brackets to regroup text to be typeset.)
+
<br/>The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\citation</tt> command is synonymous but is more flexible with respect to spacing of its arguments:  
    <br/>
 
The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\citation</tt> command is synonymous but is more flexible with respect to spacing of its arguments:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\citation[author]    [example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\citation[author]    [example::demo-004,demo-003]
Line 665: Line 611:
 
\citation[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
\citation[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>There is a whole bunch of cite options and more can be easily defined.  
There is a whole bunch of cite options and more can be easily defined.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 822: Line 767:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>Because we are dealing with database input and because we generally need to manipulate entries, much of the work is delegated to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span>. This makes it easier to maintain and extend the code. Of course <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> still does the rendering. The typographic details are controlled by parameters but not all are used in all variants. As with most <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> commands, it starts out with a general setup command:
Because we are dealing with database input and because we generally need to manipulate entries, much of the work is delegated to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span>. This makes it easier to maintain and extend the code. Of course <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> still does the rendering. The typographic details are controlled by parameters but not all are used in all variants. As with most <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">ConTEXt</span> commands, it starts out with a general setup command:
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxcitevariant </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition setupbtxcitevariant </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>On top of that we can define instances that inherit either from a given parent or from the topmost setup.
On top of that we can define instances that inherit either from a given parent or from the topmost setup.
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxcitevariant </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition definebtxcitevariant </span >
 
</div>
 
</div>
    <br/>
+
<br/>But, specific variants can have them overloaded:  
But, specific variants can have them overloaded:  
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : author</tt>  
    <br/>
 
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : author</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 871: Line 812:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authornum</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authornum</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 908: Line 848:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authoryear</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authoryear</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 965: Line 904:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authoryears</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : authoryears</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,022: Line 960:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : doi</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : doi</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,049: Line 986:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : key</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : key</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,076: Line 1,012:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : none</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : none</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,093: Line 1,028:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : num</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : num</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,140: Line 1,074:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : page</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : page</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,157: Line 1,090:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : serial</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : serial</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,184: Line 1,116:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : short</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : short</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,211: Line 1,142:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : type</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : type</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,238: Line 1,168:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : url</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : url</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,265: Line 1,194:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/><tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : year</tt>  
<tt style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%;" >setupbtxcitevariant : year</tt>  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,298: Line 1,226:
 
\stopsetups
 
\stopsetups
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can overload such setups if needed, but that only makes sense when you cannot configure the rendering with parameters. The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcitevariant</tt> command is one of the build in accessors and it calls out to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> where more complex manipulation takes place if needed. If no manipulation is known, the field with the same name (if found) will be flushed. A command like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcitevariant</tt> assumes that a dataset and specific tag has been set. This is normally done in the wrapper macros, like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt>. For special purposes you can use these commands  
You can overload such setups if needed, but that only makes sense when you cannot configure the rendering with parameters. The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcitevariant</tt> command is one of the build in accessors and it calls out to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> where more complex manipulation takes place if needed. If no manipulation is known, the field with the same name (if found) will be flushed. A command like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\btxcitevariant</tt> assumes that a dataset and specific tag has been set. This is normally done in the wrapper macros, like <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt>. For special purposes you can use these commands  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setbtxdataset[example]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\setbtxdataset[example]
 
\setbtxentry[hh2013]
 
\setbtxentry[hh2013]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>But don’t expect too much support for such low level rendering control.
But don’t expect too much support for such low level rendering control.
+
<br/>Unless you use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >criterium=all</tt> only publications that are cited will end up in the lists. You can force a citation into a list using <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\usecitation</tt>, for example:  
    <br/>
 
Unless you use <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >criterium=all</tt> only publications that are cited will end up in the lists. You can force a citation into a list using <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\usecitation</tt>, for example:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usecitation[example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usecitation[example::demo-004,demo-003]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>This command has two synonyms: <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocite</tt> and <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocitation</tt> so you can choose whatever fits you best.
This command has two synonyms: <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocite</tt> and <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\nocitation</tt> so you can choose whatever fits you best.
 
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<div style="border:thin solid black;" >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition nocite </span >
 
<span style="font-style:oblique;" > setup definition nocite </span >
Line 1,321: Line 1,245:
  
 
Because we manage data at the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> end it is tempting to access it there for other purposes. This is fine as long as you keep in mind that aspects of the implementation may change over time, although this is unlikely once the modules become stable.
 
Because we manage data at the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> end it is tempting to access it there for other purposes. This is fine as long as you keep in mind that aspects of the implementation may change over time, although this is unlikely once the modules become stable.
    <br/>
+
<br/>The entries are collected in datasets and each set has a unique name. In this document we have the set named <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >example</tt>. A dataset table has several fields, and probably the one of most interest is the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >luadata</tt> field. Each entry in this table describes a publication:  
The entries are collected in datasets and each set has a unique name. In this document we have the set named <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >example</tt>. A dataset table has several fields, and probably the one of most interest is the <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >luadata</tt> field. Each entry in this table describes a publication:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">t={  
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">t={  
Line 1,349: Line 1,272:
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
 
These details are accessed as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publications.datasets.example.details["demo-001"]</tt> and by using a separate table we can overload fields in the original entry without losing the original.
 
These details are accessed as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >publications.datasets.example.details["demo-001"]</tt> and by using a separate table we can overload fields in the original entry without losing the original.
    <br/>
+
<br/>You can loop over the entries using regular <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> code combined with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkIV</span> helpers:  
You can loop over the entries using regular <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> code combined with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkIV</span> helpers:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">local dataset = publications.datasets.example
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">local dataset = publications.datasets.example
Line 1,365: Line 1,287:
 
context.stoptabulate()
 
context.stoptabulate()
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>This results in:  
This results in:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
{|
 
{|
Line 1,447: Line 1,368:
  
 
The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >luadata</tt> table can be converted into an <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> representation. This is a follow up on earlier experiments with an <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span>-only approach. I decided in the end to stick to a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> approach and provide some simple <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> support in addition.
 
The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >luadata</tt> table can be converted into an <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> representation. This is a follow up on earlier experiments with an <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span>-only approach. I decided in the end to stick to a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> approach and provide some simple <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> support in addition.
    <br/>
+
<br/>Once a dataset is accessible as <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> tree, you can use the regular <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\xml...</tt> commands. We start with loading a dataset, in this case from just one file.  
Once a dataset is accessible as <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> tree, you can use the regular <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\xml...</tt> commands. We start with loading a dataset, in this case from just one file.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[tugboat][tugboat.bib]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[tugboat][tugboat.bib]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>The dataset has to be converted to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span>:  
The dataset has to be converted to <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span>:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\convertbtxdatasettoxml[tugboat]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\convertbtxdatasettoxml[tugboat]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>The tree is now accessible by its root reference <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx:tugboat</tt>. If we want simple field access we can use a few setups:  
The tree is now accessible by its root reference <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx:tugboat</tt>. If we want simple field access we can use a few setups:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:initialize
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:initialize
Line 1,473: Line 1,391:
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:initialize}
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:initialize}
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>The two setups are predefined in the core already, but you might want to change them. They are applied in for instance:  
The two setups are predefined in the core already, but you might want to change them. They are applied in for instance:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\starttabulate[|||]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\starttabulate[|||]
Line 1,553: Line 1,470:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>Here is another example:  
Here is another example:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:row
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:row
Line 1,882: Line 1,798:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>A more extensive example is the following. Of course this assumes that you know what <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> support mechanisms and macros are available.  
A more extensive example is the following. Of course this assumes that you know what <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> support mechanisms and macros are available.  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:getkeys
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\startxmlsetups btx:getkeys
Line 2,342: Line 2,257:
 
|}
 
|}
  
    <br/>
+
<br/>The original data is stored in a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> table, hashed by tag. Starting with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> 5.2 each run of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> gets a different ordering of such a hash. In older versions, when you looped over a hash, the order was undefined, but the same as long as you used the same binary. This had the advantage that successive runs, something we often have in document processing gave consistent results. In today’s <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> we need to do much more sorting of hashes before we loop, especially when we save multi--pass data. It is for this reason that the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> tree is sorted by hash key by default. That way lookups (especially the first of a set) give consistent outcomes.
The original data is stored in a <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> table, hashed by tag. Starting with <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> 5.2 each run of <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> gets a different ordering of such a hash. In older versions, when you looped over a hash, the order was undefined, but the same as long as you used the same binary. This had the advantage that successive runs, something we often have in document processing gave consistent results. In today’s <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">Lua</span> we need to do much more sorting of hashes before we loop, especially when we save multi--pass data. It is for this reason that the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">xml</span> tree is sorted by hash key by default. That way lookups (especially the first of a set) give consistent outcomes.
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
Line 2,349: Line 2,263:
  
 
The rendering of bibliographic entries is often standardized and prescribed by the publisher. If you submit an article to a journal, normally it will be reformatted (or even re- keyed) and the rendering will happen at the publishers end. In that case it may not matter how entries were rendered when writing the publication, because the publisher will do it his or her way. This means that most users probably will stick to the standard <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">apa</span> rules and for them we provide some configuration. Because we use setups it is easy to overload specifics. If you really want to tweak, best look in the files that deal with it.
 
The rendering of bibliographic entries is often standardized and prescribed by the publisher. If you submit an article to a journal, normally it will be reformatted (or even re- keyed) and the rendering will happen at the publishers end. In that case it may not matter how entries were rendered when writing the publication, because the publisher will do it his or her way. This means that most users probably will stick to the standard <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">apa</span> rules and for them we provide some configuration. Because we use setups it is easy to overload specifics. If you really want to tweak, best look in the files that deal with it.
    <br/>
+
<br/>Many standards exist and support for other renderings may be added to the core. Interested users are invited to develop and to test alternate standard renderings according to their needs.
Many standards exist and support for other renderings may be added to the core. Interested users are invited to develop and to test alternate standard renderings according to their needs.
+
<br/>Todo: maybe a list of categories and fields.
    <br/>
 
Todo: maybe a list of categories and fields.
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
Line 2,358: Line 2,270:
  
 
Although the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> format is reasonably well defined, in practice there are many ways to organize the data. For instance, one can use predefined string constants that get used (either or not combined with other strings) later on. A string can be enclosed in curly braces or double quotes. The strings can contain <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> commands but these are not standardized. The databases often have somewhat complex ways to deal with special characters and the use of braces in their definition is also not normalized.
 
Although the <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> format is reasonably well defined, in practice there are many ways to organize the data. For instance, one can use predefined string constants that get used (either or not combined with other strings) later on. A string can be enclosed in curly braces or double quotes. The strings can contain <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">TEX</span> commands but these are not standardized. The databases often have somewhat complex ways to deal with special characters and the use of braces in their definition is also not normalized.
    <br/>
+
<br/>The most complex to deal with are the fields that contain names of people. At some point it might be needed to split a combination of names into individual ones that then get split into title, first name, optional inbetweens, surname(s) and additional: <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >Prof. Dr. Alfred B. C. von Kwik Kwak Jr. II and P. Q. Olet</tt> is just one example of this. The convention seems to be not to use commas but <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >and</tt> to separate names (often each name will be specified as lastname, firstname).
The most complex to deal with are the fields that contain names of people. At some point it might be needed to split a combination of names into individual ones that then get split into title, first name, optional inbetweens, surname(s) and additional: <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >Prof. Dr. Alfred B. C. von Kwik Kwak Jr. II and P. Q. Olet</tt> is just one example of this. The convention seems to be not to use commas but <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >and</tt> to separate names (often each name will be specified as lastname, firstname).
+
<br/>We don’t see it as challenge nor as a duty to support all kinds of messy definitions. Of course we try to be somewhat tolerant, but you will be sure to get better results if you use nicely setup, consistent databases.
    <br/>
+
<br/>Todo: maybe some examples of bad.
We don’t see it as challenge nor as a duty to support all kinds of messy definitions. Of course we try to be somewhat tolerant, but you will be sure to get better results if you use nicely setup, consistent databases.
 
    <br/>
 
Todo: maybe some examples of bad.
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
Line 2,383: Line 2,292:
 
\stoptext
 
\stoptext
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>For <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkIV</span> the modules were partly rewritten and ended up in the core so the two commands were no longer needed. The overhead associated with the automatic loading of the bibliography macros can be neglected these days, so standardized modules such as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bib</tt> are all being moved to the core and do not need to be explicitly loaded.
For <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkIV</span> the modules were partly rewritten and ended up in the core so the two commands were no longer needed. The overhead associated with the automatic loading of the bibliography macros can be neglected these days, so standardized modules such as <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >bib</tt> are all being moved to the core and do not need to be explicitly loaded.
+
<br/>The first <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\setupbibtex</tt> command in this example is needed to bootstrap the process: it tells what database has to be processed by <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> between runs. The second <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\setuppublications</tt> command is optional. Each citation (tagged with <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt>) ends up in the list of publications.
    <br/>
+
<br/>In the new approach we no longer use <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>so we don’t need to setup <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>. Instead we define dataset(s). We also no longer set up publications with one command, but have split that up in rendering-, list-, and cite-variants. The basic <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> command remains. The above example becomes:  
The first <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\setupbibtex</tt> command in this example is needed to bootstrap the process: it tells what database has to be processed by <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span> between runs. The second <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\setuppublications</tt> command is optional. Each citation (tagged with <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt>) ends up in the list of publications.
 
    <br/>
 
In the new approach we no longer use <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>so we don’t need to setup <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">bibTEX</span>. Instead we define dataset(s). We also no longer set up publications with one command, but have split that up in rendering-, list-, and cite-variants. The basic <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >\cite</tt> command remains. The above example becomes:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxdataset
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\definebtxdataset
Line 2,406: Line 2,312:
 
\stoptext
 
\stoptext
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>So, we have a few more commands to set up things. If you intend to use just a single dataset and rendering, the above preamble can be simplified to:  
So, we have a few more commands to set up things. If you intend to use just a single dataset and rendering, the above preamble can be simplified to:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset
Line 2,414: Line 2,319:
 
   [numbering=yes]
 
   [numbering=yes]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>But keep in mind that compared to the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkII</span> derived method we have moved some of the options to the rendering, list and cite setup variants.
But keep in mind that compared to the old <span tag="MKIV" style="font-style:sans;">MkII</span> derived method we have moved some of the options to the rendering, list and cite setup variants.
+
<br/>Another difference is now the use of lists. When you define a rendering, you also define a list. However, all entries are collected in a common list tagged <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx</tt>. Although you will normally configure a rendering you can still set some properties of lists, but in that case you need to prefix the list identifier. In the case of the above example this is <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx:document</tt>.
    <br/>
 
Another difference is now the use of lists. When you define a rendering, you also define a list. However, all entries are collected in a common list tagged <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx</tt>. Although you will normally configure a rendering you can still set some properties of lists, but in that case you need to prefix the list identifier. In the case of the above example this is <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >btx:document</tt>.
 
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
Line 2,437: Line 2,340:
 
end
 
end
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>This then permits loading a database (into a dataset) with the command:  
This then permits loading a database (into a dataset) with the command:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[standard][myfile.myformat]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[standard][myfile.myformat]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
    <br/>
+
<br/>The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >myformat</tt> suffix is recognized automatically. If you want to use another suffix, you can do this:  
The <tt style="color:rgb(0,102,102);font-size:100%;" >myformat</tt> suffix is recognized automatically. If you want to use another suffix, you can do this:  
 
 
      
 
      
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[standard][myformat::myfile.txt]
 
<pre style="color:rgb(102,0,102);font-size:100%">\usebtxdataset[standard][myformat::myfile.txt]
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
   
 
 
 
$>
 

Revision as of 23:42, 17 January 2014

The database

The bibTEX format is rather popular in the TEX community and even with its shortcomings it will stay around for a while. Many publication websites can export and many tools are available to work with this database format. It is rather simple and looks a bit like Lua tables. Unfortunately the content can be polluted with non-standardized TEX commands which complicates pre- or postprocessing outside TEX. In that sense a bibTEX database is often not coded neutrally. Some limitations, like the use of commands to encode accented characters root in the ascii world and can be bypassed by using utf instead (as handled somewhat in LATEX through extensions such as bibtex8).
The normal way to deal with a bibliography is to refer to entries using a unique tag or key. When a list of entries is typeset, this reference can be used for linking purposes. The typeset list can be processed and sorted using the bibtex program that converts the database into something more TEX friendly (a .bbl file). I never used the program myself (nor bibliographies) so I will not go into too much detail here, if only because all I say can be wrong.
In ConTEXt we no longer use the bibtex program: we just use database files and deal with the necessary manipulations directly in ConTEXt. One or more such databases can be used and combined with additional entries defined within the document. We can have several such datasets active at the same time.
A bibTEX file looks like this:

@Article{sometag,
    author  = "An Author and Another One",
    title   = "A hopefully meaningful title",
    journal = maps,
    volume  = "25",
    number  = "2",
    pages   = "5--9",
    month   = mar,
    year    = "2013",
    ISSN    = "1234-5678",
}


Normally a value is given between quotes (or curly brackets) but single words are also OK (there is no real benefit in not using quotes, so we advise to always use them). There can be many more fields and instead of strings one can use predefined shortcuts. The title for example quite often contains TEX macros. Some fields, like pages have funny characters such as the endash (typically as --) so we have a mixture of data and typesetting directives. If you are covering non--english references, you often need characters that are not in the ascii subset but ConTEXt is quite happy with utf. If your database file uses old-fashioned TEX accent commands then these will be internally converted automatically to utf. Commands (macros) are converted to an indirect call, which is quite robust.
The bibTEX files are loaded in memory as Lua table but can be converted to xml so that we can access them in a more flexible way, but that is a subject for specialists.
In the old MkII setup we have two kinds of entries: the ones that come from the bibTEX run and user supplied ones. We no longer rely on bibTEX output but we do still support the user supplied definitions. These were in fact prepared in a way that suits the processing of bibTEX generated entries. The next variant reflects the ConTEXt recoding of the old bibTEX output.

\startpublication[k=Hagen:Second,t=article,a={Hans Hagen},y=2013,s=HH01]
    \artauthor[]{Hans}[H.]{}{Hagen}
    \arttitle{Who knows more?}
    \journal{MyJournal}
    \pubyear{2013}
    \month{8}
    \volume{1}
    \issue{3}
    \issn{1234-5678}
    \pages{123--126}
\stoppublication


The split \artauthor fields are collapsed into a single author field as we deal with the splitting later when it gets parsed in Lua. The \artauthor syntax is only kept around for backward compatibility with the previous use of bibTEX.
In the new setup we support these variants as well:

\startpublication[k=Hagen:Third,t=article]
    \author{Hans Hagen}
    \title{Who knows who?}
    ...
\stoppublication


and

\startpublication[tag=Hagen:Third,category=article]
    \author{Hans Hagen}
    \title{Who knows who?}
    ...
\stoppublication


and

\startpublication
    \tag{Hagen:Third}
    \category{article}
    \author{Hans Hagen}
    \title{Who knows who?}
    ...
\stoppublication


Because internally the entries are Lua tables, we also support loading of Lua based definitions:

return {
    ["Hagen:First"] = {
        author   = "Hans Hagen",
        category = "article",
        issn     = "1234-5678",
        issue    = "3",
        journal  = "MyJournal",
        month    = "8",
        pages    = "123--126",
        tag      = "Hagen:First",
        title    = "Who knows nothing?",
        volume   = "1",
        year     = "2013",
    },
}


Files set up like this can be loaded too. The following xml input is rather close to this, and is also accepted as input.

<?xml version="2.0" standalone="yes" ?>
<bibtex>
    <entry tag="Hagen:First" category="article">
        <field name="author">Hans Hagen</field>
        <field name="category">article</field>
        <field name="issn">1234-5678</field>
        <field name="issue">3</field>
        <field name="journal">MyJournal</field>
        <field name="month">8</field>
        <field name="pages">123--126</field>
        <field name="tag">Hagen:First</field>
        <field name="title">Who knows nothing?</field>
        <field name="volume">1</field>
        <field name="year">2013</field>
    </entry>
</bibtex>


Todo: Add some remarks about loading EndNote and RIS formats, but first we need to complete the tag mapping (on Alan’s plate).
So the user has a rather wide choice of formatting style for bibliography database files.

You can load more data than you actually need. Only entries that are referred to explicitly through the \cite and \nocite commands will be shown in lists. We will cover these details later.

Commands in entries

One unfortunate aspect commonly found in bibTEX files is that they often contain TEX commands. Even worse is that there is no standard on what these commands can be and what they mean, at least not formally, as bibTEX is a program intended to be used with many variants of TEX style: plain, LATEX, and others. This means that we need to define our use of these typesetting commands. However, in most cases, they are just abbreviations or font switches and these are often known. Therefore, ConTEXt will try to resolve them before reporting an issue. In the log file there is a list of commands that has been seen in the loaded databases. For instance, loading tugboat.bib gives a long list of commands of which we show a small set here:

publications > start used btx commands
publications > standard CONTEXT 1 known
publications > standard ConTeXt 4 known
publications > standard TeXLive 3 KNOWN
publications > standard eTeX    1 known
publications > standard hbox    6 known
publications > standard sltt    1 unknown
publications > stop used btxcommands


You can define unknown commands, or overload existing definitions in the following way:

\definebtxcommand\TUB {TUGboat}
\definebtxcommand\sltt{\tt}
\definebtxcommand\<#1>{\type{#1}}


Unknown commands do not stall processing, but their names are then typeset in a mono- spaced font so they probably stand out for proofreading. You can access the commands with \btxcommand{...}, as in:

commands like \btxcommand{MySpecialCommand} are handled in an indirect way


As this is an undefined command we get: “commands like MySpecialCommand are handled in an indirect way”.
??


Datasets

Normally in a document you will use only one bibliographic database, whether or not distributed over multiple files. Nevertheless we support multiple databases as well which is why we talk of datasets instead. A dataset is loaded with the \usebtxdataset command. Although currently it is not necessary to define a (default) dataset you can best do this because in the future we might provide more options. Here are some examples:

\definebtxdataset[standard]
\usebtxdataset[standard][tugboat.bib]
\usebtxdataset[standard][mtx-bibtex-output.xml]
\usebtxdataset[standard][test-001-btx-standard.lua]


These three suffixes are understood by the loader. Here the dataset has the name standard and the three database files are merged, where later entries having the same tag overload previous ones. Definitions in the document source (coded in TEX speak) are also added, and they are saved for successive runs. This means that if you load and define entries, they will be known at a next run beforehand, so that references to them are independent of when loading and definitions take place.

setup definition setupbtxdataset

setup definition definebtxdataset

setup definition usebtxdataset


In this document we use some example databases, so let’s load one of them now:

\definebtxdataset[example]
\usebtxdataset[example][mkiv-publications.bib]


You can ask for an overview of entries in a dataset with:

\showbtxdatasetfields[example]


this gives:

tag

category

fields

demo-001

book

author index title year

demo-002

book

crossref index year

demo-003

book

author comment index title year

demo-004

book

author comment index title year

demo-005

book

author doi index pages serial title url year


You can set the current active dataset with

\setbtxdataset[standard]


but most publication-related commands accept optional arguments that denote the dataset and references to entries can be prefixed with a dataset identifier.. More about that later.


Renderings

A list of publications can be rendered at any place in the document. A database can be much larger than needed for a document. The same is true for the fields that make up an entry. Here is the list of fields that are currently handled, but of course there can be additional ones:
abstract, address, annotate, assignee, author, bibnumber, booktitle, chapter, comment, country, day, dayfiled, doi, edition, editor, eprint, howpublished, institution, isbn, issn, journal, key, keyword, keywords, language, lastchecked, month, monthfiled, names, nationality, note, notes, number, organization, pages, publisher, revision, school, series, size, title, type, url, volume, year, yearfiled
If you want to see what publications are in the database, the easiest way is to ask for a complete list:

\definebtxrendering
  [example]
  [dataset=example,
   method=local,
   alternative=apa]
\placelistofpublications % \placebtxrendering
  [example]
  [criterium=all]


This gives:1 Hagen, H. and Otten, T. (1996). Typesetting education documents2 Scarso, L. (2021). Designing high speed trains3 author (year). title pages p.
The rendering itself is somewhat complex to set up because we have not only many different standards but also many fields that can be set up. This means that there are several commands involved. Often there is a prescribed style to render bibliographic descriptions, for example apa. A rendering is setup and defined with:

setup definition setupbtxrendering

setup definition definebtxrendering


And a list of such descriptions is generated with:

setup definition placebtxrendering


A dataset can have all kind of entries:
article, book, booklet, conference, inbook, incollection, inproceedings, manual, mastersthesis, misc, phdthesis, proceedings, techreport, unpublished
Each has its own rendering variant. To keep things simple we have their settings separated. However, these settings are shared for all rendering alternatives. In practice this is seldom a problem in a publication as only one rendering alternative will be active. If this be not sufficient, you can always group local settings in a setup and hook that into the specific rendering.

setup definition setupbtxlistvariant

setup definition definebtxlistvariant


Examples of list variants are:
setupbtxlistvariant : artauthor

no specific settings


setupbtxlistvariant : author

no specific settings


setupbtxlistvariant : editor

no specific settings


The exact rendering of list entries is determined by the alternative key and defaults to apa which uses definitions from publ-imp-apa.mkiv. If you look at that file you will see that each category has its own setup. You may also notice that additional tests are needed to make sure that empty fields don’t trigger separators and such.
There are a couple of accessors and helpers to get the job done. When you want to fetch a field from the current entry you use \btxfield. In most cases you want to make sure this field has a value, for instance because you don’t want fences or punctuation that belongs to a field.

\btxdoif {title} {
    \bold{\btxfield{title}},
}


There are three test macros:

\btxdoifelse{fieldname}{action when found}{action when not found}
\btxdoif    {fieldname}{action when found}
\btxdoifnot {fieldname}                   {action when not found}


An extra conditional is available for testing interactivity:

\btxdoifelseinteraction{action when true}{action when false}


In addition there is also a conditional \btxinteractive which is more efficient, although in practice efficiency is not so important here.
There are three commands to flush data:

\btxfield

fetch a explicit field (e.g. year)

\btxdetail

fetch a derived field (e.g. short)

\btxflush

fetch a derived or explicit field


Normally you can use \btxfield or \btxflush as derived fields just like analyzed author fields are flushed in a special way.
You can improve readability by using setups, for instance:

\btxdoifelse {author} {
    \btxsetup{btx:apa:author:yes}
} {
    \btxsetup{btx:apa:author:nop}
}


Keep in mind that normally you don’t need to mess with definitions like this because standard rendering styles are provided. These styles use a few helpers that inject symbols but also take care of leading and trailing spaces:

\btxspace

before after

\btxperiod

before. after

\btxcomma

before, after

\btxlparent

before (after

\btxrparent

before) after

\btxlbracket

before [after

\btxrbracket

before] after


So, the previous example setup can be rewritten as:

\btxdoif {title} {
    \bold{\btxfield{title}}
    \btxcomma
}


There is a special command for rendering a (combination) of authors:

\btxflushauthor{author}
\btxflushauthor{editor}
\btxflushauthor[inverted]{editor}


Instead of the last one you can also use:

\btxflushauthorinverted{editor}


You can use a (configurable) default or pass directives: Valid directives are

conversion

rendering

inverted

the Frog jr, Kermit

invertedshort

the Frog jr, K

normal

Kermit, the Frog, jr

normalshort

K, the Frog, jr


Citations

Citations are references to bibliographic entries that normally show up in lists someplace in the document: at the end of a chapter, in an appendix, at the end of an article, etc. We discussed the rendering of these lists in the previous chapter. A citation is normally pretty short as its main purpose is to refer uniquely to a more detailed description. But, there are several ways to refer, which is why the citation subsystem is configurable and extensible. Just look at the following commands:

\cite[author][example::demo-003]
\cite[authoryear][example::demo-003]
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-003]
\cite[author][example::demo-003,demo-004]
\cite[authoryear][example::demo-003,demo-004]
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-003,demo-004]
\cite[author][example::demo-004,demo-003]
\cite[authoryear][example::demo-004,demo-003]
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten)
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten (1996))
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, 1996)
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, Luigi Scarso)
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten (1996), Luigi Scarso (2021))
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, 1996, Luigi Scarso, 2021)
(Luigi Scarso, Hans Hagen and Ton Otten)
(Luigi Scarso (2021), Hans Hagen and Ton Otten (1996))
(Luigi Scarso, 2021, Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, 1996)


The first argument is optional.

setup definition cite


You can tune the way a citation shows up:

\setupbtxcitevariant[author]     [sorttype=author,color=darkyellow]
\setupbtxcitevariant[authoryear] [sorttype=author,color=darkyellow]
\setupbtxcitevariant[authoryears][sorttype=author,color=darkyellow]
\cite[author][example::demo-004,demo-003]
\cite[authoryear][example::demo-004,demo-003]
\cite[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]


Here we sort the authors and color the citation:

(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, Luigi Scarso)
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten (1996), Luigi Scarso (2021))
(Hans Hagen and Ton Otten, 1996, Luigi Scarso, 2021)


For reasons of backward compatibility the \cite command is a bit picky about spaces between the two arguments, of which the first is optional. This is a consequence of allowing its use with the key specified between curly brackets as is the traditional practice. (We do encourage users to adopt the more coherent ConTEXt syntax by using square brackets for keywords and reserving curly brackets to regroup text to be typeset.)
The \citation command is synonymous but is more flexible with respect to spacing of its arguments:

\citation[author]     [example::demo-004,demo-003]
\citation[authoryear] [example::demo-004,demo-003]
\citation[authoryears][example::demo-004,demo-003]


There is a whole bunch of cite options and more can be easily defined.

key

rendering

author

(author)

authornum

[author [btx error 1]]

authoryear

(author (year))

authoryears

(author, year)

doi

[todo: doi]

key

[demo-005]

none

num

btx error 1

page

pages

serial

[5]

short

[aut00]

type

[book]

url

[todo: url]

year

(year)


Because we are dealing with database input and because we generally need to manipulate entries, much of the work is delegated to Lua. This makes it easier to maintain and extend the code. Of course TEX still does the rendering. The typographic details are controlled by parameters but not all are used in all variants. As with most ConTEXt commands, it starts out with a general setup command:

setup definition setupbtxcitevariant


On top of that we can define instances that inherit either from a given parent or from the topmost setup.

setup definition definebtxcitevariant


But, specific variants can have them overloaded:
setupbtxcitevariant : author

right

)

middle

,

left

(


setupbtxcitevariant : authornum

right

]

middle

,

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : authoryear

compress

yes

inbetween

,

right

)

middle

,

left

(


setupbtxcitevariant : authoryears

compress

yes

inbetween

,

right

)

middle

,

left

(


setupbtxcitevariant : doi

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : key

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : none

no specific settings


setupbtxcitevariant : num

compress

yes

inbetween

--

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : page

inbetween


setupbtxcitevariant : serial

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : short

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : type

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : url

right

]

left

[


setupbtxcitevariant : year

right

)

left

(

A citation variant is defined in several steps and if you really want to know the dirty details, you should look into the publ-imp-*.mkiv files. Here we stick to the concept.

\startsetups btx:cite:author
    \btxcitevariant{author}
\stopsetups


You can overload such setups if needed, but that only makes sense when you cannot configure the rendering with parameters. The \btxcitevariant command is one of the build in accessors and it calls out to Lua where more complex manipulation takes place if needed. If no manipulation is known, the field with the same name (if found) will be flushed. A command like \btxcitevariant assumes that a dataset and specific tag has been set. This is normally done in the wrapper macros, like \cite. For special purposes you can use these commands

\setbtxdataset[example]
\setbtxentry[hh2013]


But don’t expect too much support for such low level rendering control.
Unless you use criterium=all only publications that are cited will end up in the lists. You can force a citation into a list using \usecitation, for example:

\usecitation[example::demo-004,demo-003]


This command has two synonyms: \nocite and \nocitation so you can choose whatever fits you best.

setup definition nocite


The LUA view

Because we manage data at the Lua end it is tempting to access it there for other purposes. This is fine as long as you keep in mind that aspects of the implementation may change over time, although this is unlikely once the modules become stable.
The entries are collected in datasets and each set has a unique name. In this document we have the set named example. A dataset table has several fields, and probably the one of most interest is the luadata field. Each entry in this table describes a publication:

t={ 
 ["author"]="Hans Hagen", 
 ["category"]="book", 
 ["index"]=1, 
 ["tag"]="demo-001", 
 ["title"]="\\btxcmd{BIBTEX}, the \\btxcmd{CONTEXT}\\ way", 
 ["year"]="2013", 
} 

This is publications.datasets.example.luadata["demo-001"]. There can be a companion entry in the parallel details table.

t={ 
 ["author"]={ 
  { 
   ["firstnames"]={ "Hans" }, 
   ["initials"]={ "H" }, 
   ["original"]="Hans Hagen", 
   ["surnames"]={ "Hagen" }, 
   ["vons"]={}, 
  }, 
 }, 
 ["short"]="Hag13", 
} 

These details are accessed as publications.datasets.example.details["demo-001"] and by using a separate table we can overload fields in the original entry without losing the original.
You can loop over the entries using regular Lua code combined with MkIV helpers:

local dataset = publications.datasets.example
context.starttabulate { "|l|l|l|" }
for tag, entry in table.sortedhash(dataset.luadata) do
    local detail = dataset.details[tag] or { }
    context.NC() context.type(tag)
    context.NC() context(detail.short)
    context.NC() context(entry.title)
    context.NC() context.NR()
end
context.stoptabulate()


This results in:

demo-001

Hag13

bibTEX, the ConTEXt way

demo-002

Hag14

bibTEX, the ConTEXt way

demo-003

HO96

Typesetting education documents

demo-004

Sca21

Designing high speed trains

demo-005

aut00

title


The XML view

The luadata table can be converted into an xml representation. This is a follow up on earlier experiments with an xml-only approach. I decided in the end to stick to a Lua approach and provide some simple xml support in addition.
Once a dataset is accessible as xml tree, you can use the regular \xml... commands. We start with loading a dataset, in this case from just one file.

\usebtxdataset[tugboat][tugboat.bib]


The dataset has to be converted to xml:

\convertbtxdatasettoxml[tugboat]


The tree is now accessible by its root reference btx:tugboat. If we want simple field access we can use a few setups:

\startxmlsetups btx:initialize
    \xmlsetsetup{#1}{bibtex|entry|field}{btx:*}
    \xmlmain{#1}
\stopxmlsetups
\startxmlsetups btx:field
    \xmlflushcontext{#1}
\stopxmlsetups
\xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:initialize}


The two setups are predefined in the core already, but you might want to change them. They are applied in for instance:

\starttabulate[|||]
    \NC \type {tag}   \NC \xmlfirst {btx:tugboat}
        {/bibtex/entry[string.find(@tag,'Hagen')]/attribute('tag')}
    \NC \NR
    \NC \type {title} \NC \xmlfirst {btx:tugboat}
        {/bibtex/entry[string.find(@tag,'Hagen')]/field[@name='title']}
    \NC \NR
\stoptabulate

tag

Hagen:TB17-1-54

title

PPCHTEX: typesetting chemical formulas in TEX


\startxmlsetups btx:demo
    \xmlcommand
        {#1}
        {/bibtex/entry[string.find(@tag,'Hagen')][1]}{btx:table}
\stopxmlsetups
\startxmlsetups btx:table
\starttabulate[|||]
    \NC \type {tag}   \NC \xmlatt{#1}{tag} \NC \NR
    \NC \type {title} \NC \xmlfirst{#1}{/field[@name='title']} \NC \NR
\stoptabulate
\stopxmlsetups
\xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:demo}

tag

Hagen:TB17-1-54

title

PPCHTEX: typesetting chemical formulas in TEX


Here is another example:

\startxmlsetups btx:row
    \NC \xmlatt{#1}{tag}
    \NC \xmlfirst{#1}{/field[@name='title']}
    \NC \NR
\stopxmlsetups
\startxmlsetups btx:demo
    \xmlfilter {#1} {
        /bibtex
        /entry[@category='article']
        /field[@name='author' and (find(text(),'Knuth') or find(text(),'DEK'))]
        /../command(btx:row)
    }
\stopxmlsetups
\starttabulate[|||]
    \xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:demo}
\stoptabulate

Knuth:TB10-1-31

Typesetting Concrete Mathematics

Knuth:TB10-1-8

TEX would find it difficult …

Knuth:TB10-3-325

The new versions of TEX and MF

Knuth:TB10-4-529

The errors of TEX

Knuth:TB11-1-13

Virtual Fonts: More Fun for Grand Wizards

Knuth:TB11-2-165

Exercises for TEX: The Program

Knuth:TB11-4-489

The future of TEX and MF

Knuth:TB11-4-497

Arthur Lee Samuel, 1901--1990

Knuth:TB11-4-499

Answers to Exercises for TEX: The Program

Knuth:TB12-2-313

Fixed-point glue setting: Errata

Knuth:TB14-4-387

Icons for TEX and MF

Knuth:TB17-1-29

Important message regarding CM fonts

Knuth:TB2-3-5

The current state of things

Knuth:TB3-1-10

Fixed-point glue settingDash an example of WEB

Knuth:TB31-2-121

An Earthshaking Announcement

Knuth:TB4-2-64

A note on hyphenation

Knuth:TB5-1-4

TEX incunabula

Knuth:TB5-1-67

Comments on quality in publishing

Knuth:TB5-2-105

A course on MF programming

Knuth:TB6-1-36

Recipes and fractions

Knuth:TB7-2-101

The TEX logo in various fonts

Knuth:TB7-2-95

Remarks to celebrate the publication of Computers & Typesetting

Knuth:TB8-1-14

Mixing right-to-left texts with left-to-right texts

Knuth:TB8-1-6

It happened: announcement of TEX 2.1

Knuth:TB8-1-73

Problem for a Saturday afternoon

Knuth:TB8-2-135

Fonts for digital halftones

Knuth:TB8-2-210

Saturday morning problemDash solution

Knuth:TB8-2-217

Reply: Printing out selected pages

Knuth:TB8-3-309

Macros for Jill

Knuth:TB9-2-152

A Punk Meta-Font


A more extensive example is the following. Of course this assumes that you know what xml support mechanisms and macros are available.

\startxmlsetups btx:getkeys
    \xmladdsortentry{btx}{#1}{\xmlfilter{#1}{/field[@name='author']/text()}}
    \xmladdsortentry{btx}{#1}{\xmlfilter{#1}{/field[@name='year'  ]/text()}}
    \xmladdsortentry{btx}{#1}{\xmlatt{#1}{tag}}
\stopxmlsetups
\startxmlsetups btx:sorter
    \xmlresetsorter{btx}
  % \xmlfilter{#1}{entry/command(btx:getkeys)}
    \xmlfilter{#1}{
        /bibtex
        /entry[@category='article']
        /field[@name='author' and find(text(),'Knuth')]
        /../command(btx:getkeys)}
    \xmlsortentries{btx}
    \starttabulate[||||]
        \xmlflushsorter{btx}{btx:entry:flush}
    \stoptabulate
\stopxmlsetups
\startxmlsetups btx:entry:flush
    \NC \xmlfilter{#1}{/field[@name='year'  ]/context()}
    \NC \xmlatt{#1}{tag}
    \NC \xmlfilter{#1}{/field[@name='author']/context()}
    \NC \NR
\stopxmlsetups
\xmlsetup{btx:tugboat}{btx:sorter}

1984

Knuth:TB5-1-67

Don Knuth

1984

Knuth:TB5-1-4

Donald E. Knuth

1984

Knuth:TB5-2-105

Donald E. Knuth

1985

Knuth:TB6-1-36

Donald E. Knuth

1986

Knuth:TB7-2-101

Donald E. Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-2-135

Donald E. Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-3-309

Donald E. Knuth

1988

Knuth:TB9-2-152

Donald E. Knuth

1989

Knuth:TB10-3-325

Donald E. Knuth

1989

Knuth:TB10-4-529

Donald E. Knuth

1990

Knuth:TB11-4-489

Donald E. Knuth

1993

Knuth:TB14-4-387

Donald E. Knuth

1996

Knuth:TB17-1-29

Donald E. Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-1-14

Donald Knuth and Pierre MacKay

1981

Knuth:TB2-3-5

Donald Knuth

1982

Knuth:TB3-1-10

Donald Knuth

1983

Knuth:TB4-2-64

Donald Knuth

1986

Knuth:TB7-2-95

Donald Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-1-6

Donald Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-1-73

Donald Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-2-210

Donald Knuth

1987

Knuth:TB8-2-217

Donald Knuth

1989

Knuth:TB10-1-8

Donald Knuth

1989

Knuth:TB10-1-31

Donald Knuth

1990

Knuth:TB11-1-13

Donald Knuth

1990

Knuth:TB11-2-165

Donald Knuth

1990

Knuth:TB11-4-497

Donald Knuth

1990

Knuth:TB11-4-499

Donald Knuth

1991

Knuth:TB12-2-313

Donald Knuth

2010

Knuth:TB31-2-121

Donald Knuth


The original data is stored in a Lua table, hashed by tag. Starting with Lua 5.2 each run of Lua gets a different ordering of such a hash. In older versions, when you looped over a hash, the order was undefined, but the same as long as you used the same binary. This had the advantage that successive runs, something we often have in document processing gave consistent results. In today’s Lua we need to do much more sorting of hashes before we loop, especially when we save multi--pass data. It is for this reason that the xml tree is sorted by hash key by default. That way lookups (especially the first of a set) give consistent outcomes.


Standards

The rendering of bibliographic entries is often standardized and prescribed by the publisher. If you submit an article to a journal, normally it will be reformatted (or even re- keyed) and the rendering will happen at the publishers end. In that case it may not matter how entries were rendered when writing the publication, because the publisher will do it his or her way. This means that most users probably will stick to the standard apa rules and for them we provide some configuration. Because we use setups it is easy to overload specifics. If you really want to tweak, best look in the files that deal with it.
Many standards exist and support for other renderings may be added to the core. Interested users are invited to develop and to test alternate standard renderings according to their needs.
Todo: maybe a list of categories and fields.


Cleaning up

Although the bibTEX format is reasonably well defined, in practice there are many ways to organize the data. For instance, one can use predefined string constants that get used (either or not combined with other strings) later on. A string can be enclosed in curly braces or double quotes. The strings can contain TEX commands but these are not standardized. The databases often have somewhat complex ways to deal with special characters and the use of braces in their definition is also not normalized.
The most complex to deal with are the fields that contain names of people. At some point it might be needed to split a combination of names into individual ones that then get split into title, first name, optional inbetweens, surname(s) and additional: Prof. Dr. Alfred B. C. von Kwik Kwak Jr. II and P. Q. Olet is just one example of this. The convention seems to be not to use commas but and to separate names (often each name will be specified as lastname, firstname).
We don’t see it as challenge nor as a duty to support all kinds of messy definitions. Of course we try to be somewhat tolerant, but you will be sure to get better results if you use nicely setup, consistent databases.
Todo: maybe some examples of bad.


Transition

In the original bibliography support module usage was as follows (example taken from the contextgarden wiki):

% engine=pdftex
\usemodule[bib]
\usemodule[bibltx]
\setupbibtex
  [database=xampl]
\setuppublications
  [numbering=yes]
\starttext
    As \cite [article-full] already indicated, bibtex is a \LATEX||centric
    program.
    \completepublications
\stoptext


For MkIV the modules were partly rewritten and ended up in the core so the two commands were no longer needed. The overhead associated with the automatic loading of the bibliography macros can be neglected these days, so standardized modules such as bib are all being moved to the core and do not need to be explicitly loaded.
The first \setupbibtex command in this example is needed to bootstrap the process: it tells what database has to be processed by bibTEX between runs. The second \setuppublications command is optional. Each citation (tagged with \cite) ends up in the list of publications.
In the new approach we no longer use bibTEXso we don’t need to setup bibTEX. Instead we define dataset(s). We also no longer set up publications with one command, but have split that up in rendering-, list-, and cite-variants. The basic \cite command remains. The above example becomes:

\definebtxdataset
  [document]
\usebtxdataset
  [document]
  [mybibfile.bib]
\definebtxrendering
  [document]
\setupbtxrendering
  [document]
  [numbering=yes]
\starttext
    As \cite [article-full] already indicated, bibtex is a \LATEX||centric
    program.
    \completebtxrendering[document]
\stoptext


So, we have a few more commands to set up things. If you intend to use just a single dataset and rendering, the above preamble can be simplified to:

\usebtxdataset
  [mybibfile.bib]
\setupbtxrendering
  [numbering=yes]


But keep in mind that compared to the old MkII derived method we have moved some of the options to the rendering, list and cite setup variants.
Another difference is now the use of lists. When you define a rendering, you also define a list. However, all entries are collected in a common list tagged btx. Although you will normally configure a rendering you can still set some properties of lists, but in that case you need to prefix the list identifier. In the case of the above example this is btx:document.


MLBIBTEX

Todo: how to plug in MLbibTEX for sorting and other advanced operations.


Extensions

As TEX and Lua are both open and accessible in ConTEXt it is possible to extend the functionality of the bibliography related code. For instance, you can add extra loaders.

function publications.loaders.myformat(dataset,filename)
    local t = { }
    -- Load data from 'filename' and convert it to a Lua table 't' with
    -- the key as hash entry and fields conforming the luadata table
    -- format.
    loaders.lua(dataset,t)
end


This then permits loading a database (into a dataset) with the command:

\usebtxdataset[standard][myfile.myformat]


The myformat suffix is recognized automatically. If you want to use another suffix, you can do this:

\usebtxdataset[standard][myformat::myfile.txt]