


SORTBIB(1)	    UNIX Programmer's Manual	       SORTBIB(1)



NAME
     sortbib - sort bibliographic database

SYNOPSIS
     sortbib [ -sKEYS ] database  ...

DESCRIPTION
     _S_o_r_t_b_i_b sorts files of records containing _r_e_f_e_r 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
     _d_a_t_a_b_a_s_e 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 _s_o_r_t_b_i_b
     may not be used in a pipeline to read standard input.

     By default, _s_o_r_t_b_i_b alphabetizes by the first %A and the %D
     fields, which contain the senior author and date.	The -s
     option is used to specify new _K_E_Y_S.  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.

     _S_o_r_t_b_i_b 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 _n_r_o_f_f 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.  _S_o_r_t_b_i_b sorts on
     the last word of the %D line, usually the year.  It also
     ignores leading articles (like ``A'' or ``The'') when sort-
     ing by titles in the %T or %J fields; it will ignore arti-
     cles of any modern European language.  If a sort-significant
     field is absent from a record, _s_o_r_t_b_i_b places that record
     before other records containing that field.

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

AUTHORS
     Greg Shenaut, Bill Tuthill

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





Printed 11/26/99	 April 29, 1985                         1



