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From BibTeX to XML to HTML
The main goal of the software tools provided by the BibTeX-XML-HTML Bibliography Project is to transform a BibTeX bibliography into an HTML file to facilitate the publication of the bibliography on the web. Along the way the software supplies many useful functions.
The BibTeX-XML-HTML Project tools will first transform your BibTeX file into an XML file. The advantage of the XML format is that it is standardized, platform independent and used universally. Furthermore, it can easily be edited and managed with XML tools and translated into HTML (or text files) with the XSLT style-sheet language.
In the next step, the tool will generate multiple HTML files from the XML representation of your bibliography. All of them will be generated automatically with just one command. They are
  • an HTML representation of your BibTeX-file, »list.html«.
    This file lists ALL entries from your BibTeX-file in Cambridge style.
  • several different HTML bibliography files categorized according to subjects of your choice - each file contains a sub-bibliography of publications from the main bibliography on a particular subject.
The format of all of these HTML files is the same, which means that all available additional functions are the same in each catalogue.
Each bibliographical list in your HTML files is divided into two columns. The right column contains an alphabetical list of publications. For each entry in the right column, there is a citation key in standard citation format (e.g., [Richter, 2000]) in the left column. Under each citation key you find up to six clickable icons that provide additional functions:
  • bib.gif Go to a separate page containing a complete BibTeX entry of the paper for pasting it into your own BibTeX file.
  • ps.gif Download the paper in postscript format.
  • psgz.gif Download the paper in gzipped postscript format.
  • pdf.gif Download the paper in PDF format for Acrobat Reader.
  • html.gif A description of the paper or additional information about it
  • home.gif The homepage of the (first) author
In addition, the tool generates:
  • a graphical overview table »overview.html« of the available thematic subjects.
  • HTML-files, one for each BibTeX entry. These files contain a single entry in its original BibTeX format
    (these are the files the corresponding bib.gif icon in bibliographical lists is linked to).
How does it work?
To take advantage of the full range of capabilities the tool offers, mark the entries in your BibTeX file with a thematic Id. This Id assigns each entry to one (or more than one) thematic category.
Next, declare your thematic categories in a separate XML file, »definitions.xml« (this file is included as part of the tool package).
Finally, run two commands to generate your HTML files from the BibTeX source, and you upload the resulting bibliography files to the web. It really is this simple.
Are you ready to create your own online library from your BibTeX files? Simply follow the detailed description on how to prepare your BibTeX files and install the necessary software packages on your computer.
For a brief graphical overview of the complete translation process, a simple diagram is available.
To find out how this project began and developed, refer to the Project History.