total noob, editing a stupidly complex style

nas
(It's not the existing code that is stupidly complex, it's the citation rules!)

My programming skills extend as far as CSS (though at least I'm talking hand-coded and standards-compliant). So this is a little over my head. Nevertheless, I'm forging ahead with adapting the Bluebook Law Review style to make it handle more types of citations correctly. The dev version right now is great (Endnote and Refworks, with which I've worked before, don't _have_ Bluebook styles.) But I need to cite legal cases, journal articles, books, book chapters, magazines, dissertations, blog posts, and webpages, and the dev style doesn't quite manage all those.

Biggest question: is there a good reason _not_ to have an if/else-if/else structure in the layout for a citation or bibliography?

Bluebook style is really illogical, so I've graphed out the structures of the different types of citations and I can't see how they can all be called with the same set of instructions, even using macros.

Smaller question: what is up with ibid/subsequent? I can't get them to output the author name at all.
  • bdarcus
    edited April 12, 2008
    Biggest question: is there a good reason _not_ to have an if/else-if/else structure in the layout for a citation or bibliography?
    Well, depends. I've been working on an idea (which I think will actually happen sooner rather than later) to create an easy-to-use web interface for this. This would be based on the idea that all stying can be done by selecting from a list of macros.

    More generally, I think it's easier to maintain styles if they're designed to rely on macros.

    Also, it's my assertion that one should rely on "types" only as a last resort.
    Bluebook style is really illogical, so I've graphed out the structures of the different types of citations and I can't see how they can all be called with the same set of instructions, even using macros.
    Even if you include conditionals within the macros?
    Smaller question: what is up with ibid/subsequent? I can't get them to output the author name at all.
    I don't know; kind of a vague question ;-)
  • erazlogo
    edited April 12, 2008
    >Bluebook style is really illogical, so I've graphed out the structures of the different types of citations and I can't see how they can all be called with the same set of instructions, even using macros.
    Even if you include conditionals within the macros?
    @nas It is possible to use macros even for the most complex styles--see Chicago Full Note with Bibliography.

    @bdarcus It may not be possible to avoid groups of macros in layouts entirely--it does not work for Chicago note styles.
  • nas
    Thanks Bruce.

    @erazlogo - I have been looking at Chicago Full Note w/bib - it makes my head explode! :) But I'll try again - I can see why ifs in the citation format would be bad, and it's not like I have to maintain separate citation and bibliography layouts like the Chicago.
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