Alan,
Thank you for your kind message.
Your explanation of the transition from the BibTeX-based MkII integration to
the MkIV database system is very helpful. It gives useful context for the
current bibliography module and for the work done by Hans and yourself.
I am glad that the wiki revision can help make the system easier to
understand
and give users a clearer way to report what they need. While working on the
pages, I have also come across a few areas where more formats or clearer
guidance would be useful. It is very good news that you are returning to
ConTeXt programming and will be
at the meeting next month.
Thank you again for your encouragement.
JP
Le 19/07/2026 à 21:19, Alan Braslau via ntg-context a écrit :
Jean-Pierre,
BibTeX is a great program, and Taco, Hans and perhaps others wrote macros
integrating it into ConTeXt mkii.
Hans undertook a complete re-write for mkiv+, liberating us from the BibTeXt binary. I
joined him in making this a "complete" database system aimed at producing
academic reference lists.
For various reasons, I had been mostly inactive for the past few years, but
that has now changed. I will be attending the ConTeXt meeting next month and
return to ConTeXt programming :-).
Your work on the bibliography wiki is great!
The module needs more formats and needs tweaking in some aspects. The wiki will
help more users express their needs. This is community in action!
Alan
--
Alan Braslau
On Jul 19, 2026, at 19:27, Willi Egger <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello Jean-Pierre,
I took my time to read through your great addition to the ConTeXtgarden.
This will be of good help for getting acquainted with the bibliography
module in ConTeXt. It is easy to read, complete with examples. Super.
I see that there is discussion about splitting the page up. Of course
one could do that, however the Wiki is already a difficult to navigate
monster and I would prefer to keep your work as one piece. I have though
a suggestion. The contents in front is numbered but the sections below
are not. To me it would be nice to have the sections numbered for ease
of navigation.
Thank you so much for your effort in writing this!
Willi
On Jul 18 2026, at 10:21 am, Jean-Pierre Delange via ntg-context
<[email protected]> wrote:
Dear all,
I have substantially reorganised and rewritten the ConTeXt Garden wiki
on bibliographies and citations
(https://wiki.contextgarden.net/References_notes_and_floats/Bibliography_and_citations).
The main goal was to turn the page into a progressive introduction to
the current MkIV/LMTX publications subsystem, while preserving useful
information about older formats and advanced customisation.
The revised page now proceeds through the following stages:
1. a minimal two-file example;
2. bibliographic data formats and BibTeX record structure;
3. datasets, specifications, renderings, selection methods, sorting,
and
placement;
4. multiple bibliographies from one dataset or from distinct datasets;
5. bibliography management in structured editorial projects;
6. citation syntax and citation alternatives;
7. custom bibliographic specifications;
8. a simple manual bibliography for very small documents.
A new section on structured editorial projects is based on a working
book project, but has been rewritten as a generic example. It separates:
- bibliographic data;
- project and bibliography environments;
- chapter-level citations;
- backmatter placement.
It also discusses practical problems encountered in real projects,
including:
- the difference between method=global and method=dataset;
- manually written references that are not connected to the BTX database;
- unsupported or incorrectly classified publication categories;
- unresolved citations;
- duplicate keys loaded into one dataset;
- relative paths and compilation roots.
I would especially appreciate review of the following technical points:
- the descriptions of method=local, method=global, and method=dataset;
- the use of repeat=yes with chapter bibliographies and a final
bibliography;
- the examples using several datasets and dataset::key;
- the distinction between citation and list namespaces;
- the examples involving \usecitation and manually written editorial notes;
- the minimal custom specification example.
I would also appreciate your opinion on the overall structure of the
material.
The page has become quite substantial and now serves several purposes
at
once: an introduction for beginners, a conceptual reference for
intermediate users, and a guide to advanced project-based workflows.
Would it be preferable to keep this as one comprehensive page, or to
divide it into several linked pages?
One possible division would be:
1. Bibliography and citations;
2. Multiple bibliographies;
3. Bibliographies in structured editorial projects.
The main page would retain the Quickstart, data formats, the general
bibliography workflow, and citation syntax, while the two longer
advanced sections would become separate pages.
Would you please indicate whether this division would improve
readability and maintenance, or whether the current single-page
structure is preferable.
The current version is intentionally detailed, but the structure is
progressive and the table of contents allows readers to stop after the
level they need.
Best//JP
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___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the
Wiki!
maillist : [email protected] /
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webpage : https://www.pragma-ade.nl / https://context.aanhet.net (mirror)
archive : https://github.com/contextgarden/context
wiki : https://wiki.contextgarden.net
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the
Wiki!
maillist : [email protected] /
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