sortbib(1)         UNIX System V(BSD Compatibility Package)          sortbib(1)


NAME
      sortbib - sort a bibliographic database

SYNOPSIS
      /usr/ucb/sortbib [ -skey-letters ] database . . .

DESCRIPTION
      The sortbib command sorts files of records containing refer key-letters
      by user-specified keys.  Records may be separated by blank lines, or by
      `.[' and `.]'  delimiters, but the two styles may not be mixed together.
      This program reads through each database and pulls out key fields, which
      are sorted separately.  The sorted key fields contain the file pointer,
      byte offset, and length of corresponding records.  These records are
      delivered using disk seeks and reads, so sortbib may not be used in a
      pipeline to read standard input.

      By default, sortbib alphabetizes by the first %A and the %D fields, which
      contain the senior author and date.  The -s option is used to specify new
      key-letters.  See addbib for a list of the most common key letters.  For
      instance, -sATD will sort by author, title, and date, while -sA+D will
      sort by all authors, and date.  Sort keys past the fourth are not
      meaningful.  No more than 16 databases may be sorted together at one
      time.  Records longer than 4096 characters will be truncated.

      sortbib sorts on the last word on the %A line, which is assumed to be the
      author's last name.  A word in the final position, such as `jr.'  or
      `ed.', will be ignored if the name beforehand ends with a comma.  Authors
      with two-word last names or unusual constructions can be sorted correctly
      by using the nroff convention `\0' in place of a blank.  A %Q field is
      considered to be the same as %A, except sorting begins with the first,
      not the last, word.  sortbib sorts on the last word of the %D line,
      usually the year.  It also ignores leading articles (like `A' or `The')
      when sorting by titles in the %T or %J fields; it will ignore articles of
      any modern European language.  If a sort-significant field is absent from
      a record, sortbib places that record before other records containing that
      field.

SEE ALSO
      addbib(1), indxbib(1), lookbib(1), refer(1), roffbib(1)

NOTES
      Records with missing author fields should probably be sorted by title.












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