Formatting language to define output styles: FL

3.10. Formatting language to define output styles: FL

Formatting language to define output styles - FL

RefWorks (web based) Biblioscape Bookends Library Master Procite EndNote Reference Manager Papyrus †

RW: made up of coded field names, text strings (alone or in front and/or after fields), punctuation, separators, style (italics etc.), tab, carriage return, page break;

many options for names;
"Accucite" feature warns which fields will be considered by the current citation style when publishing

(FL recognizes field names specifically belonging to each individual RT)
Bscp: made up of: coded field names, text strings (in front and/or after), punctuation, style (italics etc.), return, Red-id/record number ... BK: made up of: coded field names -can actually use more fields than are available for input-, text strings, punctuation, style (italics etc.), special codes (tab, return, record number ...) LM: there exist two "languages" : one for the Format -which determines the overall page layout- and one for the style --the actual citation format.
As a matter of fact, the complexity and goal of the Format go far beyond setting the page layout, for it can contain conditional commands, loops, tokens, counters, headings for subject bibliographies; to a given extent it can even print a report replacing a style file via its own style specifications, whereas you cannot print a report just with a style without a Format.
A style is mostly made up of:
1 field names
2 one formal instruction: field/string separator + text replacement for empty field (if the field is missing, display "this")
3 text strings, punctuation, spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written
4 many options for names, dates, pages numbers, call numbers
5 < the minus sign (ASCII 60) marks reserved chars as < | >
(FL recognizes field names belonging to each individual RT)
Pr: mostly made up of:
1 field names
2 two formal instructions: field/string separator, group command «...» (i.e. if more elements -fields- are included in a group, one is enough for the relevant surrounding punctuation to be output)
3 text strings, punctuation (automatic control on double punct.), spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written
4 many options for names, titles, dates, pages keywords
5 back slash \ (ASCII 92) marks any string as mere text, e.g.: " \« "
FL recognizes RT specific, not generic, workform fields names and not numbers (therefore be careful when copying definitions from one workform to another)
En: mostly made up of:
1 field names
2 field/string separator (|), link adjacent text (nonbreaking space)
3 text strings, punctuation, spacing, tab, style B I U etc.
4 many options for names, titles, pages
5 ` (ASCII 96) marks strings as mere text e.g. overlapping field names `Journal` 6 handles singular vs plural, e.g. p^pp. ed.^eds.

special provisions for anonymous works; recognizes generic field names
RM: mostly made up of:
1 field names;
2 two formal instructions: field/string separator, group command «...» (i.e. if more elements -fields- are included in a group, one is enough for the relevant surrounding punctuation to be output);
3 text strings, punctuation (automatic control on double punct.), spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written;
4 many options for names, titles, dates, pages keywords;
5 back slash \ (ASCII 92) marks any string as mere text, e.g.: " \« "
same as ProCite, but FL recognizes fields generic names and numbers
Papyrus:
1 fields names
2 main commands: [ ] [[ ]] < > out of these commands' control, strings are always appended
3 text strings, punctuation, | paragraph, { } to capitalize;
4 many options for: names, year, pages et al.

1 Selection
    1. fields
    2. subfields

RW: 1, subfields just for personal names Bscp: 1 (2 only first name and intials in personal names and the four digits year in the date field for output purposes) BK: 1 (2: only first name and qualifications in personal names; the four digits year in the date field for output purposes) LM: 1; 2: only "surname, name, qualification", internal date format Pr: 1; 2: only "surname, name, qualification", internal date format En: 1; 2: only "surname, name" RM: 1; 2: only "surname, name", internal date format Papyrus: 2: only "surname, name"

2 Add text : in front of/after fields content

RW: yes Bscp: yes (can also differentiate labels: singular/plural: Ed.^Eds. or p^pp.) BK: yes LM: yes Pr: yes En: yes (can handle singular vs plural: p^pp. ed.^eds if start-end pages or more authors are present) RM: yes Papyrus: yes (can handle singular vs plural, (p^pp.) if start-end pages are present)

3 Distinguishes among occurrences of a repeatable field
   1. by punctuation -separators;
   2. by position / sequence number;
   3. can count them

RW: 1-2-3 only as far as names are concerned Bscp: can count them as far as names are concerned for output, punctuation, purposes BK: 2 3 as far as names are concerned for output, punctuation, purposes LM: 1 2 3 (for any repeatable field -i.e. names and subjects- : first, last, all the others) Pr: 1; 2 only partially names i.e. as far as output and sort are concerned En: 1 names; 2 partially names, as far as output is concerned; 3: can count number of names to sort references with same first author RM: 1; 2 only partially: names, as far as output is concerned Papyrus: 1; 2 only partially: names, as far as output is concerned

4 Produces tagged format output --apart from built-in export routines

RW: yes

(e.g. \nKW: to output a repeatable field occurrences on different lines)
Bscp: but cannot output either authors or keywords each tagged on different lines

KW: water; fire
and not:
KW water
KW fire BK: yes (but cannot output keywords each tagged on a different line)

KW: water; fire
and not:
KW water
KW fire LM: yes Pr: yes (e.g. ^pKW: as keywords separator, where ^p are two characters) En: to a limited extent
can handle a repeatable field like authors field, but not keywords labelled on consecutive lines, does not handle <CR> as format specification within the same field
RM: yes (e.g. ¶KW: as keywords separator where ¶ is [ASCII 20]) Papyrus: yes

5 Displays RT (reference type via field token not as static text)

RW: yes Bscp: yes BK: yes LM: via a format, not in the style; yes in the Record list Pr: not in the styles; yes in the Record list En: not in the styles; yes in the Record list RM: yes Papyrus: no

7 Offers conditional commands (IF ... THEN ...)

RW: no (implied in many built-in options to be selected for: authors' names, anonymous works ...) Bscp: no (implied in many built-in options to be selected for: authors' names, anonymous works, ambiguous citations, repeated citations ...) BK: no (implied in built-in options to be selected) LM: yes, in the Formats, not in the styles :
(a) if a field is present -or absent
(b) if the field content is the same as -or different from- the previous
(c) if the record type is one of the specified
(d) implied by various style options (e.g. names) Pr: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names) En: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names) RM: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names) Papyrus: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names)

8 Upper/lowercase conversion

RW: yes for names and titles Bscp: yes for Titles can use Headline or Sentence case style BK: can force sentence case, title case, all CAPS LM: yes (on any field; customizable list : all upper, all lower, beginning of word, field, sentence) Pr: yes (names, titles, sort headings) En: yes : names -small caps also- titles + list of words that should not be altered RM: yes (names, titles) Papyrus: yes --headline style for any field

9 Look-up tables to expand acronyms, abbreviations, replace text

RW: no
(short Journal Title is actually a specific field content in each record, linked to a look-up/index list) Bscp: Journal name list (can use one out of three forms while outputting data) BK:  Journal Glossaries can replace abbreviation while entering data, short/full form when outputting LM: yes: puts in relation field content and a table's terms : a table's record is made up of an entry and three correspondent strings, most often abbreviations; this way you can handle periodical titles and abbreviations Pr: yes: a) text between "«...»" ; b) field 10: "Journal title" and relevant list(s) En: Journal field ("Secondary title") and relevant list
puts in relation Journal's field content and the Journal list's table: a table's record is made up by an entry and three correspondent strings, most often abbreviations; this way you can handle periodical titles and their abbreviations
RM: Periodical synonyms list Papyrus: Journal titles and relevant list(s)

10 Contextual Record Preview

RW: yes Bscp: yes BK: yes LM: not while designing a style, or a Format Pr: yes En: not while designing a style RM: yes Papyrus: yes, both in input and format design

11 Text added in styles can be language dependent for each record
     1. text lists can be modified
     2. new lists can be added (new language)
     3. text can be present in various fields

RW: no Bscp: no BK: no LM: no (but can use months' names from selected Windows language table) Pr: no En: no RM: no Papyrus: no

12 Checks format syntax

RW: no Bscp: no BK: no LM: yes (but messages are not expressive enough) Pr: no En: no RM: yes Papyrus: yes

13 Level of difficulty of the formatting language

RW: easy Bscp: easy
(apart from the Report Module which has got its own rules and command language, either option-menu driven or SQL driven: easy at basic level, vaste and complex if fully exploited) BK:  not complicated, no programming skills required, quite rich with features LM: rather easy, as far as styles are concerned. Format here language is definitely more coded and more complex, thus, to be fully exploited, it requires a really skillfull user Pr: rather easy, does not require programming skills En: rather easy, does not require programming skills RM: rather easy, does not require programming skills (offers a Wizard function, plus the abovementioned syntax control) Papyrus: rather easy, does not require programming skills

Formatting language to define output styles - FL

RefWorks (web based)	Biblioscape	Bookends	Library Master	Procite	EndNote	Reference Manager	Papyrus †
RW: made up of coded field names, text strings (alone or in front and/or after fields), punctuation, separators, style (italics etc.), tab, carriage return, page break; many options for names; "Accucite" feature warns which fields will be considered by the current citation style when publishing (FL recognizes field names specifically belonging to each individual RT)	Bscp: made up of: coded field names, text strings (in front and/or after), punctuation, style (italics etc.), return, Red-id/record number ...	BK: made up of: coded field names -can actually use more fields than are available for input-, text strings, punctuation, style (italics etc.), special codes (tab, return, record number ...)	LM: there exist two "languages" : one for the Format -which determines the overall page layout- and one for the style --the actual citation format. As a matter of fact, the complexity and goal of the Format go far beyond setting the page layout, for it can contain conditional commands, loops, tokens, counters, headings for subject bibliographies; to a given extent it can even print a report replacing a style file via its own style specifications, whereas you cannot print a report just with a style without a Format. A style is mostly made up of: 1 field names 2 one formal instruction: field/string separator + text replacement for empty field (if the field is missing, display "this") 3 text strings, punctuation, spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written 4 many options for names, dates, pages numbers, call numbers 5 < the minus sign (ASCII 60) marks reserved chars as < \| > (FL recognizes field names belonging to each individual RT)	Pr: mostly made up of: 1 field names 2 two formal instructions: field/string separator, group command «...» (i.e. if more elements -fields- are included in a group, one is enough for the relevant surrounding punctuation to be output) 3 text strings, punctuation (automatic control on double punct.), spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written 4 many options for names, titles, dates, pages keywords 5 back slash \ (ASCII 92) marks any string as mere text, e.g.: " \« " FL recognizes RT specific, not generic, workform fields names and not numbers (therefore be careful when copying definitions from one workform to another)	En: mostly made up of: 1 field names 2 field/string separator (\|), link adjacent text (nonbreaking space) 3 text strings, punctuation, spacing, tab, style B I U etc. 4 many options for names, titles, pages 5 ` (ASCII 96) marks strings as mere text e.g. overlapping field names `Journal` 6 handles singular vs plural, e.g. p^pp. ed.^eds. special provisions for anonymous works; recognizes generic field names	RM: mostly made up of: 1 field names; 2 two formal instructions: field/string separator, group command «...» (i.e. if more elements -fields- are included in a group, one is enough for the relevant surrounding punctuation to be output); 3 text strings, punctuation (automatic control on double punct.), spacing, style (B I U etc.): as written; 4 many options for names, titles, dates, pages keywords; 5 back slash \ (ASCII 92) marks any string as mere text, e.g.: " \« " same as ProCite, but FL recognizes fields generic names and numbers	Papyrus: 1 fields names 2 main commands: [ ] [[ ]] < > out of these commands' control, strings are always appended 3 text strings, punctuation, \| paragraph, { } to capitalize; 4 many options for: names, year, pages et al.
1 Selection 1. fields 2. subfields
RW: 1, subfields just for personal names	Bscp: 1 (2 only first name and intials in personal names and the four digits year in the date field for output purposes)	BK: 1 (2: only first name and qualifications in personal names; the four digits year in the date field for output purposes)	LM: 1; 2: only "surname, name, qualification", internal date format	Pr: 1; 2: only "surname, name, qualification", internal date format	En: 1; 2: only "surname, name"	RM: 1; 2: only "surname, name", internal date format	Papyrus: 2: only "surname, name"
2 Add text : in front of/after fields content
RW: yes	Bscp: yes (can also differentiate labels: singular/plural: Ed.^Eds. or p^pp.)	BK: yes	LM: yes	Pr: yes	En: yes (can handle singular vs plural: p^pp. ed.^eds if start-end pages or more authors are present)	RM: yes	Papyrus: yes (can handle singular vs plural, (p^pp.) if start-end pages are present)
3 Distinguishes among occurrences of a repeatable field 1. by punctuation -separators; 2. by position / sequence number; 3. can count them
RW: 1-2-3 only as far as names are concerned	Bscp: can count them as far as names are concerned for output, punctuation, purposes	BK: 2 3 as far as names are concerned for output, punctuation, purposes	LM: 1 2 3 (for any repeatable field -i.e. names and subjects- : first, last, all the others)	Pr: 1; 2 only partially names i.e. as far as output and sort are concerned	En: 1 names; 2 partially names, as far as output is concerned; 3: can count number of names to sort references with same first author	RM: 1; 2 only partially: names, as far as output is concerned	Papyrus: 1; 2 only partially: names, as far as output is concerned
4 Produces tagged format output --apart from built-in export routines
RW: yes (e.g. \nKW: to output a repeatable field occurrences on different lines)	Bscp: but cannot output either authors or keywords each tagged on different lines KW: water; fire and not: KW water KW fire	BK: yes (but cannot output keywords each tagged on a different line) KW: water; fire and not: KW water KW fire	LM: yes	Pr: yes (e.g. ^pKW: as keywords separator, where ^p are two characters)	En: to a limited extent can handle a repeatable field like authors field, but not keywords labelled on consecutive lines, does not handle <CR> as format specification within the same field	RM: yes (e.g. ¶KW: as keywords separator where ¶ is [ASCII 20])	Papyrus: yes
5 Displays RT (reference type via field token not as static text)
RW: yes	Bscp: yes	BK: yes	LM: via a format, not in the style; yes in the Record list	Pr: not in the styles; yes in the Record list	En: not in the styles; yes in the Record list	RM: yes	Papyrus: no
7 Offers conditional commands (IF ... THEN ...)
RW: no (implied in many built-in options to be selected for: authors' names, anonymous works ...)	Bscp: no (implied in many built-in options to be selected for: authors' names, anonymous works, ambiguous citations, repeated citations ...)	BK: no (implied in built-in options to be selected)	LM: yes, in the Formats, not in the styles : (a) if a field is present -or absent (b) if the field content is the same as -or different from- the previous (c) if the record type is one of the specified (d) implied by various style options (e.g. names)	Pr: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names)	En: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names)	RM: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names)	Papyrus: not explicitly, but implied by various options (e.g. names)
8 Upper/lowercase conversion
RW: yes for names and titles	Bscp: yes for Titles can use Headline or Sentence case style	BK: can force sentence case, title case, all CAPS	LM: yes (on any field; customizable list : all upper, all lower, beginning of word, field, sentence)	Pr: yes (names, titles, sort headings)	En: yes : names -small caps also- titles + list of words that should not be altered	RM: yes (names, titles)	Papyrus: yes --headline style for any field
9 Look-up tables to expand acronyms, abbreviations, replace text
RW: no (short Journal Title is actually a specific field content in each record, linked to a look-up/index list)	Bscp: Journal name list (can use one out of three forms while outputting data)	BK: Journal Glossaries can replace abbreviation while entering data, short/full form when outputting	LM: yes: puts in relation field content and a table's terms : a table's record is made up of an entry and three correspondent strings, most often abbreviations; this way you can handle periodical titles and abbreviations	Pr: yes: a) text between "«...»" ; b) field 10: "Journal title" and relevant list(s)	En: Journal field ("Secondary title") and relevant list puts in relation Journal's field content and the Journal list's table: a table's record is made up by an entry and three correspondent strings, most often abbreviations; this way you can handle periodical titles and their abbreviations	RM: Periodical synonyms list	Papyrus: Journal titles and relevant list(s)
10 Contextual Record Preview
RW: yes	Bscp: yes	BK: yes	LM: not while designing a style, or a Format	Pr: yes	En: not while designing a style	RM: yes	Papyrus: yes, both in input and format design
11 Text added in styles can be language dependent for each record 1. text lists can be modified 2. new lists can be added (new language) 3. text can be present in various fields
RW: no	Bscp: no	BK: no	LM: no (but can use months' names from selected Windows language table)	Pr: no	En: no	RM: no	Papyrus: no
12 Checks format syntax
RW: no	Bscp: no	BK: no	LM: yes (but messages are not expressive enough)	Pr: no	En: no	RM: yes	Papyrus: yes
13 Level of difficulty of the formatting language
RW: easy	Bscp: easy (apart from the Report Module which has got its own rules and command language, either option-menu driven or SQL driven: easy at basic level, vaste and complex if fully exploited)	BK: not complicated, no programming skills required, quite rich with features	LM: rather easy, as far as styles are concerned. Format here language is definitely more coded and more complex, thus, to be fully exploited, it requires a really skillfull user	Pr: rather easy, does not require programming skills	En: rather easy, does not require programming skills	RM: rather easy, does not require programming skills (offers a Wizard function, plus the abovementioned syntax control)	Papyrus: rather easy, does not require programming skills

Formatting language to define output styles - FL

1 Selection 1. fields 2. subfields

2 Add text : in front of/after fields content

3 Distinguishes among occurrences of a repeatable field 1. by punctuation -separators; 2. by position / sequence number; 3. can count them

4 Produces tagged format output --apart from built-in export routines

5 Displays RT (reference type via field token not as static text)

7 Offers conditional commands (IF ... THEN ...)

8 Upper/lowercase conversion

9 Look-up tables to expand acronyms, abbreviations, replace text

10 Contextual Record Preview

11 Text added in styles can be language dependent for each record 1. text lists can be modified 2. new lists can be added (new language) 3. text can be present in various fields

12 Checks format syntax

13 Level of difficulty of the formatting language

1 Selection
1. fields
2. subfields

3 Distinguishes among occurrences of a repeatable field
1. by punctuation -separators;
2. by position / sequence number;
3. can count them

11 Text added in styles can be language dependent for each record
1. text lists can be modified
2. new lists can be added (new language)
3. text can be present in various fields