Subject: bug#21099: 24.3; bibtex-clean-entry and date fields in biblatex

From: Gustavo Barros <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2019 10:30:58 -0300

Hi Lars,

On Fri, Aug 02 2019, Lars Ingebrigtsen wrote:

> Do you have an example bibtex file that demonstrates the error in
> `bibtex-clean-entry'?

Precisely, what I meant to say is that (currently at least) the problem 
does not seem to arise.

The default value of `bibtex-entry-format`, indeed makes 
`bibtex-clean-entry` strip braces of numerical fields.  But this 
behavior can be customized by removing `numerical-fields` from 
`bibtex-entry-format`.

So, with defaults, from an original entry like:

    @Article{Author2019c,
      author       = {Author},
      title        = {Title},
      journaltitle = {Journal title},
      date         = {2019},
    }

the result of `bibtex-clean-entry` is:

    @Article{Author2019c,
      author       = {Author},
      title        = {Title},
      journaltitle = {Journal title},
      date         = 2019,
    }

If we customize `bibtex-entry-format` by just removing 
`numerical-fields` from it with:

    (setq bibtex-entry-format
	  '(opts-or-alts required-fields))

We then get from `bibtex-clean-entry`:

    @Article{Author2019c,
      author       = {Author},
      title        = {Title},
      journaltitle = {Journal title},
      date         = {2019},
    }

Besides, to the best of my knowledge, the default of striping braces of 
numerical fields is also not problematic for biblatex or biber.  And I 
see no reason why latexmk would have any special implications on the 
case.

> `C-h f bibtex-mode RET' gives me a quite long doc string (in Emacs 27,
> at least).

I expressed myself poorly here.  Of course the docstring is built-in 
documentation.  What I meant to say is that there appears to be no info 
document for bibtex-mode.  And please compare the docstring with the 
link I provided.  The content of that link seems to have been the 
“manual” of bibtex-mode which, as far as I could search, is not (no 
longer?) shipped with Emacs.

In my experience with bibtex-mode, that “manual” was quite useful.  I 
have no idea if there was any good reason for it not being included with 
the package itself (or for it to be dropped).  But, if the only reason 
was that it got “lost in the way” it might be worth to try to recover 
it.

But I might well be drifting from the OP here.  From a strict 
perspective, the message is: I cannot (currently) reproduce the problem, 
it is likely just a customization issue, and even the default behavior 
of bibtex-mode should not make biblatex/biber choke.

Best regards,
Gustavo Barros.