                              Text::BibTeX
                              version 0.2
                   Greg Ward (greg@bic.mni.mcgill.ca)
                           5 September, 1997

INTRODUCTION
------------

Text::BibTeX is a Perl module (with a couple of helper modules) for
reading, parsing, and writing BibTeX files.  Currently, the documented
interface provides only the lowest level of support needed to process
BibTeX bibliographies: parsing the entries and turning them into Perl
hashes.  (Or rather, Perl objects queried through methods.  But it's all
done with hashes internally.)  No knowledge of BibTeX conventions or
requirements is present in the module, both in order to make it more
general (i.e. the input files could hold any kind of data that lends
itself to a bit of structure) and because I wanted to make this release
before adding a whole new layer of code.

(An experimental and incomplete new module, Text::BibTeX::Structure, is
included with this distribution to address the problem of generic
database structures using the BibTeX file language.  Please see
BibTeX/Structure.pm if you are interested in this and wish to comment or
contribute.)

After installing the module, see the Text::BibTeX man page for a brief
introduction to the system, Text::BibTeX::File for a little more material
that is essentially introductory, and Text::BibTeX::Entry for the real
thing.


DEPENDENCIES
------------

Text::BibTeX requires Perl 5.004 or later.

(It also requires the IO::File module, but since it you must be running
Perl 5.004, then you already have it!)

You must also have the btparse distribution, the C library underlying
Text::BibTeX.  It is enough to put btparse-0.2.tar.gz in the same
directory where you unpack the Text-BibTeX-0.2 archive; or you can put
the btparse tar file right into the Text-BibTeX-0.2 directory.


BUILDING
--------

Start by generating the Makefile and other preparatory steps (including
finding and unpacking the btparse distribution):

   perl Makefile.PL

Now, build and test btparse (the C library that is the back-end to
Text::BibTeX):

   cd btparse
   <edit Makefile.defs>
   make
   make test

(The "edit Makefile.defs" step is merely to ensure that `make' will use
the right compiler and options.  If "cc -O2" is ANSI-compliant and
generates correct code on your system, you're fine -- you don't need to
edit Makefile.defs.  If you're running an antiquated OS such as SunOS,
however, you will have to edit Makefile.defs.  See the btparse README
and/or the comments in Makefile.defs itself.)

Return to the main Text::BibTeX distribution directory, and continue as
usual:

   cd ..
   make
   make test
   make install

Note that "make install" only installs the Perl modules; if you wish to
install the C library, see btparse/README.

Please let me know if anything goes wrong with building either btparse
or Text::BibTeX.


AVAILABILITY
------------

The latest version of Text::BibTeX and btparse should be available from

   ftp://ftp.bic.mni.mcgill.ca/pub/users/greg/

in Text-BibTeX-x.y.tar.gz, where x.y is the version number.
