sortbib(1BSD)        (BSD System Compatibility)        sortbib(1BSD)


       NAME
             sortbib - (BSD) 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.

       REFERENCES
             addbib(1BSD), indxbib(1BSD), lookbib(1BSD), refer(1BSD),
             roffbib(1BSD)



                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1

      sortbib(1BSD)        (BSD System Compatibility)        sortbib(1BSD)


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













































                          Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 2