Re: org-ref in action

[Matt Lundin <mdl@imapmail.org>]

John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

> Some features could be merged, but there is an important difference in
> that org-ref uses bibtex as the backend database, and reftex for
> searching, and org-bibtex uses org-mode headings as the backend
> database, and tag/property searches (I think).  It is like the
> difference between org-contacts and bbdb. They both serve similar
> needs, but with different data sources, and different ways to think
> about it.

Yes, org-bibtex.el generally precludes the use of reftex to enter
citations. I get around this problem with a custom perl script, which
runs automatically in the background, extracts all org-bibtex data, and
deposits it in a central bib file.

> We might be able to figure out a way to specify a "backend" that would
> allow the independent features to work in both though.

I think the key in any possible feature merge is to remember citation
management is idiosyncratic. I.e., org-mode should offer helper
functions that enable individuals to customize their own workflows
rather than "systems" that dictate a particular workflow (e.g., a single
notes file) or presuppose a specific export backend. For instance,
org-mode citation tools should not assume that users will export via
bibtex/bibtex2html rather than, say, biber/biblatex or pandoc (which now
has a powerful, format-agnostic citation filter).[1]

Best,
Matt

Footnotes:

[1] http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/demo/example19/Citations.html