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Joe Strout <joe@strout.net> wrote:
> Is there a BiBTeX module for Python? I did a search at python.org, but
> apart from a Perl module (ick!), I didn't find anything.

A collegue and myself hacked up a package (called Bridge) which enables
you to generate BibTeX from SGML/XML (so it includes both a BibTeX SGML dtd
and a BibTeX XML dtd) and vice versa and also has a web interface through
which you can search your bibfiles (using glimpse). See
http://www.cs.vu.nl/~frankn/bridge for an example.

The package itself is in a state of flux right now, but if you're
interested I guess we can make it available nevertheless.

Cheers, Frank

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suggests, and try it.
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I don't have a BiBTeX module but I do have a python program that converts
medline or OVID references to the BiBTeX format. It does not parse BiBTeX
files --- it just writes them.

Have you used bibtool?

Travis

Joe Strout wrote:
>
> Is there a BiBTeX module for Python? I did a search at python.org, but
> apart from a Perl module (ick!), I didn't find anything.
>

I'm in the middle of writing a program to extract BibTeX tags from bib
files at the moment. We'll be using it to produce an online
reinforcement learning research papers database. If you can wait a
couple of weeks it'll probably be finished and on the web. If you want,
I'll send you the source when its done.

Stuart

On Wed, 16 Jun 1999 21:29:46 GMT, Frank Niessink <frankn=news@cs.vu.nl> wrote:
>Joe Strout <joe@strout.net> wrote:
>> Is there a BiBTeX module for Python?

Having a look at the current programs available for editing and entering
BiBTeX files someone really ahs to write a good python/tk or
python/wxpython program for this task, too.

(sidebar: tkbibtex is not really good, and bibview-2.2, the old X11
program still seems to be the best, but hey old fashoined.)


>A collegue and myself hacked up a package (called Bridge) which enables
>you to generate BibTeX from SGML/XML (so it includes both a BibTeX SGML dtd
>and a BibTeX XML dtd) and vice versa


>The package itself is in a state of flux right now, but if you're
>interested I guess we can make it available nevertheless.
Make it available as free software, it sounds interesintg.

thanks,
Bernhard

--
Research Assistant, Geog Dept UM-Milwaukee, USA. (www.uwm.edu/~bernhard)
Funding/Promoting Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure (ffii.org)

>Having a look at the current programs available for editing and entering
>BiBTeX files someone really ahs to write a good python/tk or
>python/wxpython program for this task, too.

I've also started such a project as free software. The parser and the python
interface are working correctly now. My idea was to write something generic
for bibliographic databases, BibTeX being only the first module. A GNOME
interface is also in progress (does some display but no real edition yet)

So I can make a snapshot for you or you can use an old version : the new
parser tries to interpret things like lists of authors, first/last names,
and to deal with capitalization, whereas the old one just isolates the
BibTeX fields.

Frédéric

--
Frédéric GOBRY IDIAP
Rue du Simplon 4,
Research Assistant CH 1920 - Martigny
Machine Learning Group Tel: +41 27 721 77 31

* Frederic Gobry
|
| I've also started such a project as free software. The parser and
| the python interface are working correctly now. My idea was to write
| something generic for bibliographic databases, BibTeX being only the
| first module. A GNOME interface is also in progress (does some
| display but no real edition yet)

BTW: an XML version of BibTeX would be very useful. People keep asking
for it in XML/SGML newsgroups, and it just plain makes sense, since
XML is much better suited for this sort of thing than TeX is.

Just an idea.

--Lars M.

On 18 Jun 1999 13:04:51 +0100, Frederic Gobry <gobry@blanc.idiap.ch> wrote:
>>Having a look at the current programs available for editing and entering
>>BiBTeX files someone really ahs to write a good python/tk or
>>python/wxpython program for this task, too.
>
>I've also started such a project as free software. The parser and the python
>interface are working correctly now. My idea was to write something generic
>for bibliographic databases, BibTeX being only the first module. A GNOME
>interface is also in progress (does some display but no real edition yet)

Great!

>So I can make a snapshot for you or you can use an old version
Please make snapshot and more infos available.
I might be able to playtest a bit.
Bernhard

--
Research Assistant, Geog Dept UM-Milwaukee, USA. (www.uwm.edu/~bernhard)
Funding/Promoting Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure (ffii.org)

On 18 Jun 1999 16:58:49 +0200, Lars Marius Garshol <larsga@ifi.uio.no> wrote:
>| I've also started such a project as free software.

>BTW: an XML version of BibTeX would be very useful.
What do you mean with XML version?

> People keep asking
>for it in XML/SGML newsgroups, and it just plain makes sense, since
>XML is much better suited for this sort of thing than TeX is.

I am not sure.
Somebody has to write a good DTD first and then
XML doesn't have TeX's typesetting capabilities.
Often I find myself using them to really typeset the References precisely.

If you want something like a .bib format in XML you might have to invent the
needed typesetting rules, too.

But, of course, if would be good, if the new program can handle different
Bibliographic databases.

Bernhard


--
Research Assistant, Geog Dept UM-Milwaukee, USA. (www.uwm.edu/~bernhard)
Funding/Promoting Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure (ffii.org)

* Bernhard Reiter
|
| What do you mean with XML version?

I mean an XML vocabulary (or DTD, if you like) for marking up BibTeX
entries.

| Somebody has to write a good DTD first and then XML doesn't have
| TeX's typesetting capabilities.

That's true, but that's not what's interesting about XML either. The
point about XML is that you can describe the data (the references)
precisely, in a way that makes it easy to write software that works
with them.

As for the good DTD, anyone can write that. :)

| Often I find myself using them to really typeset the References
| precisely.

If that's the only think you ever do, then BibTeX is enough.

| If you want something like a .bib format in XML you might have to
| invent the needed typesetting rules, too.

No, all you need is to be able to convert back to .bib. The point is
that XML is easier to work with when you want to do something else
with your data than to typeset them.

--Lars M.

I'm surprised Greg Ward hasn't jumped into this thread yet, but take a
look at his tech report on his BibTeX parser btOOL, particularly the
first 3 sections, which contain an interesting examination of BibTeX's
design. Later sections dive into the Perl code and are less
interesting, but the C code for the parser could probably be wrapped
as a Python module without too much difficulty.

btOOL's page is at http://starship.python.net/~gward/btOOL/ ;
the tech report is btOOL.ps.gz or btOOl.dvi.gz.

--
A.M. Kuchling http://starship.python.net/crew/amk/
Brigadier, a straight line may be the shortest distance between two points,
but it is by no means the most interesting.
-- The Doctor, in "The Time Monster"

>Please make snapshot and more infos available.
>I might be able to playtest a bit.
> Bernhard

Have a look at:

http://www.idiap.ch/~gobry/pybliographer.html

In the snapshot version, I try to interpret authors and dates. Authors are
represented as

Honorific / First / Last / Lineage

fields. It has been inspired from BibTeX format, but I would like to be able
to handle DocBook bibliographic type and eventually XML if there is some
standard DTD for that...

Frédéric