SORTBIB(1,C)                AIX Commands Reference                 SORTBIB(1,C)



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sortbib



PURPOSE

Sorts bibliographic data base.

SYNTAX


           +-----------+
sortbib ---|           |--- database ---|
           +- -s KEYs -+


Note:  This command does not have MBCS support.

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
KEYSs.  The most common key-letters and their meanings are listed with the
addbib command.  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 data bases may be sorted together at one time.
Records longer than 4096 characters will be truncated.

The sortbib command 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.

RELATED INFORMATION





Processed November 8, 1990       SORTBIB(1,C)                                 1

SORTBIB(1m,C)               AIX Commands Reference                SORTBIB(1m,C)



See the following commands:  "refer,"  "addbib,"  "roffbib," and "lookbib,
indxbib."





















































Processed November 8, 1990       SORTBIB(1m,C)                                2