BibTeX: enclosing whole title in braces
staschuk
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=capbibtex
says, in part,
It is definitely *not* a good idea to enclose an entire title in
braces, as in
title = {{TeXniques and tips}},
though that does ensure that the capitalisation is not changed.
Your BibTeX database should be a general-purpose thing, not
something tuned to the requirements of a particular document,
or to the way you are thinking today.
It seems that the second statement ("database should be general-
purpose") is intended as justification for the first statement ("not
a good idea to enclose an entire title"). But what is the connection?
In what way does enclosing the entire title in braces make the
database
less general-purpose?
Michael Shell
staschuk <stas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In what way does enclosing the entire title in braces make the
> database less general-purpose?
Because other bibstyles use other capitalization formats for the title
and they will be unable to reformat any text within extra braces.
Cheers,
Mike Shell
Robin Fairbairns
thank you for beating me to it ;-)
perhaps my wording in the faq could be better. (i'm always open to
suggestions for improvements, folks.)
--
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
staschuk
> Because other bibstyles use other capitalization formats for the title
> and they will be unable to reformat any text within extra braces.
Ok, so the idea of "general-purpose" being used here is something like
"suitable for use with all reasonable bibliographic styles", right?
So if I understand correctly, then, for example,
title={A paean to {K}nuth} is good
because the K should be upper-case even if "normal" words are not, but
title={A paean to {Knuth}} is bad
because the "nuth" isn't special (it should, for example, be
capitalized along with the normal words if the title is being rendered
in ALL CAPS), and
title={{A paean to Knuth}} is very bad
because it defeats the recapitalization feature entirely.
If all that is right, then here's some follow-up questions.
First, in which fields should I anticipate capitalization changes?
The title field, of course. The booktitle too?
Second, what range of capitalization changes should I anticipate?
I suppose in English the usual things would be
(1) The first word capitalized, but nothing else.
(2) The First Word, and the Major Words, Capitalized.
(3) EVERYTHING CAPITALIZED.
Is this everything?
Assuming that's everything, I note that only form (2) has enough
information to recover the other two. So, third, is it standard
(and/or best) practice to put all titles in a BibTeX database in this
Major Words Capitalized form?
Fourth, how does this interact with the method of putting accents
inside their own groups, as in Matou{\v s}ek? Can that S be
capitalized if the style demands it?
Fifth, what should I do with a German article title, whose
capitalization should follow German rules, no matter what the
prevailing style for English titles is?
Sixth -- and this is just out of curiosity -- what if what I really
want is not a well-formed bibliography (with consistent capitalization
across the entries) but a *faithful* one (i.e., with each entry
capitalized as it was in the original)? Is this within the range of
"reasonable bibliographic styles" that the standard practices for
BibTeX databases can accommodate?
staschuk
> perhaps my wording in the faq could be better. (i'm always open to
> suggestions for improvements, folks.)
Yeah, I saw the thing to give feedback on the faq directly, but I'm
not yet at the point where I can say what I think the faq should say.
(My other follow-up a moment ago gives, I think, a clear idea of my
current ignorance.) So I thought I'd ask here first.
Dan Luecking
<stas...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>First, in which fields should I anticipate capitalization changes?
>The title field, of course. The booktitle too?
Probably. Depends on the bibstyle.
>
>Second, what range of capitalization changes should I anticipate?
>I suppose in English the usual things would be
> (1) The first word capitalized, but nothing else.
> (2) The First Word, and the Major Words, Capitalized.
> (3) EVERYTHING CAPITALIZED.
>Is this everything?
>
>Assuming that's everything, I note that only form (2) has enough
>information to recover the other two. So, third, is it standard
>(and/or best) practice to put all titles in a BibTeX database in this
>Major Words Capitalized form?
I think you have answered your own question. This is best
practice, though my experience it is not often followed.
(And so "standard practice" is probably not an apt term.)
>
>Fourth, how does this interact with the method of putting accents
>inside their own groups, as in Matou{\v s}ek? Can that S be
>capitalized if the style demands it?
This is called a "special character" in bibtex
documentation: when the left brace is immediately
followed by a backslash, it is not considered a group
for capitalization purposes. See btxdoc.pdf
>
>Fifth, what should I do with a German article title, whose
>capitalization should follow German rules, no matter what the
>prevailing style for English titles is?
>
Surround the whole thing in braces. Or at least all the
initial letters of nouns.
>Sixth -- and this is just out of curiosity -- what if what I really
>want is not a well-formed bibliography (with consistent capitalization
>across the entries) but a *faithful* one (i.e., with each entry
>capitalized as it was in the original)? Is this within the range of
>"reasonable bibliographic styles" that the standard practices for
>BibTeX databases can accommodate?
Bibtex doesn't itself force capitalizations. It is up to
the bibstyle that is used. If you want an ideosyncratic
style, you will need to select a .bst that matches it.
If you want the case left alone, find a .bst which doesn't
use change.case$ in the function format.title.
Dan
To reply by email, change LookInSig to luecking
Peter Flynn
staschuk <stas...@gmail.com> wrote:
[...]
>> is it standard
>> (and/or best) practice to put all titles in a BibTeX database in this
>> Major Words Capitalized form?
>
> I think you have answered your own question. This is best
> practice, though my experience it is not often followed.
> (And so "standard practice" is probably not an apt term.)
US practice seems still to be "capitalize everything" in many places; UK
(and some European) practice was until recently NVAA
(Noun-Verb-Adjective-Adverb), but increasingly I see capitalization of
the first word and proper nouns only (so that the title is treated as a
normal sentence).
The problem with auto-capitalization routines is that they almost always
fail except on common dictionary words :-) which makes them useless for
research work where specialist words and unusual usages abound.
///Peter
staschuk
> On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:53:18 -0700 (PDT), staschuk wrote:
> >Sixth -- and this is just out of curiosity -- what if what I really
[...]
> If you want the case left alone, find a .bst which doesn't
> use change.case$ in the function format.title.
I'm trying to ask about what to put in the database, not what style
to choose. Let me be more explicit:
We have already discussed how to record a title in a BibTeX database
in such a way that we can automatically produce three forms:
(1) The first word capitalized only
(2) The First Word and the Major Words Capitalized
(3) ALL CAPS
and, I suppose I should have added,
(4) All Words Capitalized, Major And Minor
To be able to produce these forms automatically, I must record form
(2), since that one cannot be produced by algorithm from any of
the others.
I now want to ask (for curiosity) about producing the form
(5) Words Capitalized or Not following the Original
This is the form I need to produce if I want a *faithful*
bibliography,
i.e., one which is faithful to (the capitalization of the) original,
even if that leads to an inconsistent capitalization style within
the bibliography.
But form (5), like form (2), cannot be produced by algorithm, so I'd
have to include it in the database. Right?
Joost Kremers
> I'm trying to ask about what to put in the database, not what style
> to choose. Let me be more explicit:
Yes, but for what you're asking, the bib style is relevant.
> We have already discussed how to record a title in a BibTeX database
> in such a way that we can automatically produce three forms:
> (1) The first word capitalized only
> (2) The First Word and the Major Words Capitalized
> (3) ALL CAPS
> and, I suppose I should have added,
> (4) All Words Capitalized, Major And Minor
> To be able to produce these forms automatically, I must record form
> (2), since that one cannot be produced by algorithm from any of
> the others.
>
> I now want to ask (for curiosity) about producing the form
> (5) Words Capitalized or Not following the Original
> This is the form I need to produce if I want a *faithful*
> bibliography,
> i.e., one which is faithful to (the capitalization of the) original,
> even if that leads to an inconsistent capitalization style within
> the bibliography.
>
> But form (5), like form (2), cannot be produced by algorithm, so I'd
> have to include it in the database. Right?
You'd have to put it in the database, but there are two ways of doing that. Both
ways of course make option (2) impossible, but one way makes all other options
equally impossible. If you put your titles in the bibliography like this:
title = {Words Capitalized or Not following the Original}
then you'd need a .bst style that does not change the capitalisation of the
titles in the database. Advantage is that forms (1), (3) and (4) are still
possible to achieve. You could also write titles like this:
title = {{Words Capitalized or Not following the Original}}
or this:
title = {Words {C}apitalized or {N{ot following the {O}riginal}
In that case, however, only option (5) is possible.
Note, BTW, that there are bibliography styles (and journals requiring them) in
which titles of books use form (2) or (4), while titles of articles use form (1).
--
Joost Kremers joostk...@yahoo.com
Selbst in die Unterwelt dringt durch Spalten Licht
EN:SiS(9)
Dan
> On Sep 11, 2:20 pm, Dan Luecking <LookIn...@uark.edu> wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:53:18 -0700 (PDT), staschuk wrote:
> > >Sixth -- and this is just out of curiosity -- what if what I really
> > >want is [...] a *faithful* one [...]
> [...]
> > If you want the case left alone, find a .bst which doesn't
> > use change.case$ in the function format.title.
>
> I'm trying to ask about what to put in the database, not what style
> to choose. Let me be more explicit:
But _all_ of the things below are handled by the bibstyle:
>
> We have already discussed how to record a title in a BibTeX database
> in such a way that we can automatically produce three forms:
> (1) The first word capitalized only
change.case$ is used to lowercase all but the first word and the first
after a colon (and words in braces). These it leaves alone (so if you
want them capitalized you have to enter capitals).
> (2) The First Word and the Major Words Capitalized
Bibtex doesn't know a major word from a major general, so the title
has to be entered this way in the database, and the bibstyle has to
leave it alone.
> (3) ALL CAPS
Again, the bibstyle does this, the title can be entered any way
except in braces. Alternatively, the bibstyle can arrange for the
whole title to be the argument of \MakeUpercase.
> and, I suppose I should have added,
> (4) All Words Capitalized, Major And Minor
The only way to acheive this is either enter it that way and arrange
for the bibstyle to leave it alone, or have the bibstyle enclose it
in
a LaTeX macro defined to step through word by word an capitalize
each initial letter.
> To be able to produce these forms automatically, I must record form
> (2), since that one cannot be produced by algorithm from any of
> the others.
>
> I now want to ask (for curiosity) about producing the form
> (5) Words Capitalized or Not following the Original
Then they need to be entered that way. No program is going to go
to the library/internet and look up the original capitalization. And
then
as I said. you have to arrange for the bibstyle to leave it alone,
either by putting it in braces or (the best choice IMO) by choosing
a bibstyle that leaves the whole title alone.
> This is the form I need to produce if I want a *faithful*
> bibliography,
> i.e., one which is faithful to (the capitalization of the) original,
> even if that leads to an inconsistent capitalization style within
> the bibliography.
>
> But form (5), like form (2), cannot be produced by algorithm, so I'd
> have to include it in the database. Right?
Of course.
Dan
Scott Pakin
> We have already discussed how to record a title in a BibTeX database
> in such a way that we can automatically produce three forms:
> (1) The first word capitalized only
> (2) The First Word and the Major Words Capitalized
> (3) ALL CAPS
> and, I suppose I should have added,
> (4) All Words Capitalized, Major And Minor
> To be able to produce these forms automatically, I must record form
> (2), since that one cannot be produced by algorithm from any of
> the others.
Yes.
> I now want to ask (for curiosity) about producing the form
> (5) Words Capitalized or Not following the Original
> This is the form I need to produce if I want a *faithful*
> bibliography,
> i.e., one which is faithful to (the capitalization of the) original,
> even if that leads to an inconsistent capitalization style within
> the bibliography.
>
> But form (5), like form (2), cannot be produced by algorithm, so I'd
> have to include it in the database. Right?
Right. As Dan alluded to, BibTeX can (practically) perform only four
case-changing operations:
* Convert all letters in a string to uppercase.
* Convert all letters in a string to lowercase.
* Convert all letters in a string to lowercase except the first
letter and any letters following ": ", which are left unmodified.
* Leave all letters in a string unmodified.
Consequently, words should be capitalized according to (2) or (5) with
letters whose case must never be changed surrounded by curly braces.
-- Scott
staschuk
> > (1) The first word capitalized only
> > (2) The First Word and the Major Words Capitalized
> > (3) ALL CAPS
> Right. As Dan alluded to,BibTeXcan (practically) perform only four
> case-changing operations:
I appreciate you and Dan educating me about BibTeX's capabilities,
but for my purposes it is also important to consider the possibility
of other software processing this data. So for me it is good to
consider not just what BibTeX can do with my data, but what can be
done with it by any (reasonable) algorithm.
[...]
> Consequently, words should be capitalized according to (2) or (5) with
> letters whose case must never be changed surrounded by curly braces.
Okay, I understand.
So, if I may summarize for the benefit of future readers (at some
risk of being tedious), my original question on whether "faithful"
bibliographies are within the range supported by prevailing ideas of
best practice has the following answer:
When the FAQ entry speaks of "general purpose" BibTeX databases
-- meaning, as we have discussed, ones whose data allows maximum
flexibility for choices of presentation style (esp. the capitalization
system for titles) -- the range of capitalization systems which are
understood as falling under "general purpose" are forms 1,2,3,4 above,
while form 5 is not. Of course if someone is gung ho about form 5
(or has any other special capitalization needs) then they can do
something else, but the Right Thing for "normal" use with English
titles is to record form 2 (with braces as needed for exceptional
letters) so that forms 1,2,3,4 can be generated.
(Right?)