Biblio::EndnoteStyle(3) reference formatting using Endnote-like templates

SYNOPSIS


use Biblio::EndnoteStyle;
$style = new Biblio::EndnoteStyle();
($text, $errmsg) = $style->format($template, \%fields);

DESCRIPTION

This small module provides a way of formatting bibliographic references using style templates similar to those used by the popular reference management software Endnote (http://www.endnote.com/). The API is embarrassingly simple: a formatter object is made using the class's constructor, the "new()" method; "format()" may then be repeatedly called on this object, using the same or different templates.

(The sole purpose of the object is to cache compiled templates so that multiple "format()" invocations are more efficient than they would otherwise be. Apart from that, the API might just as well have been a single function.)

METHODS


new() 

 $style = new Biblio::EndnoteStyle();

Creates a new formatter object. Takes no arguments.

debug() 

 $olddebug = $style->debug(1);

Turns debugging on or off and returns the old debugging status. If an argument is provided, then debugging is turned either on or off according to whether then argument is true or false. In any case, the old value of the debugging status is returned, so that a call with no argument is a side-effect-free inquiry.

When debugging is turned on, compiled templates are dumped to standard error. It is not pretty.

format() 

 ($text, $errmsg) = $style->format($template, \%fields);

Formats a reference, consisting of a hash of fields, according to an Endnote-like template. The template is a string essentially the same as those used in Endnote, as documented in the Endnote X User Guide at http://www.endnote.com/support/helpdocs/EndNoteXWinManual.pdf pages 390ff. In particular, pages 415-210 have details of the recipe format. Because the templates used in this module are plain text, a few special characters are used:

AX
Link adjacent words. This is the ``non-breaking space'' described on page 418 of the EndNote X
|
Forced Seperation of elements that would otherwise be dependent.
^
Separator for singular/plural aternatives.
`
Used to prevent literal text from being interpreted as a fieldname.

The hash of fields is passed by reference: keys are fieldnames, and the corresponding values are the data. PLEASE NOTE AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE. Keys that do not appear in the hash at all are not considered to be fields, so that if they appear in the template, they will be interpreted as literal text; keys that appear in the hash but whose values are undefined or empty are considered to be fields with no value, and will be formatted as empty with dependent text omitted. So for example: 

 $style->format(";Author: ", { Author => "Taylor" }) eq ":Taylor: "
 $style->format(";Author: ", { Author => "" }) eq ";"
 $style->format(";Author: ", { xAuthor => "" }) eq ";Author: "

"format()" returns two values: the formatted reference and an error-message. The error message is defined if and only if the formatted reference is not.

AUTHOR

Mike Taylor, <[email protected]>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE

Copyright (C) 2007 by Mike Taylor.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.4 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.

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