GNU bug report logs - #77792
Org-cite incorrectly parses periods after citekeys

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Zac E <zac.endter <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Org-cite incorrectly parses periods after citekeys
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2025 19:59:55 -0400

In a list of citations in footnote format, one often needs to 
separate some of the citations with periods. This is not 
currently possible with org-cite, although it is possible in 
other parsers like Pandoc. Org-cite fails to recognize the citekey
to which the period is appended, resulting in an undefined-citation
error. Escaping the period with a backslash resolves the undefined-
citation error, but actually prints the backslash in the final output, 
which is not correct either. Below, one finds examples of both. 
My example outputs assume that one is exporting to abbreviated 
footnotes, but this error is consistent across all citation export 
modes.

EXAMPLE 1: 
[cite:@cohen2003consum-repub.;@trentmann2016empire-things]
EXAMPLE 1 OUTPUT (PRESENT ERROR): 
cohen2003consum-repub.; Trentmann 2016.
EXAMPLE 1 OUTPUT (EXPECTED/CORRECT): 
Cohen 2003. Trentmann 2016.

EXAMPLE 2: 
[cite:@cohen2003consum-repub.;@trentmann2016empire-things]
EXAMPLE 2 OUTPUT (PRESENT ERROR): 
Cohen 2003, \. Trentmann 2016.
EXAMPLE 2 OUTPUT (EXPECTED/CORRECT): 
Cohen 2003. Trentmann 2016.

My system version information is below. However, this behavior 
has been consistent in all versions of org-cite since at least 2023.
I suspect that most testing of org-cite has been tested with the
needs of those working in the sciences, who cite parenthetically, 
in mind, and so this bug could have easily gone unnoticed. I am
somewhat competent in elisp but would neither know exactly where
to look in the codebase nor feel confident submitting a change
myself. 

Emacs  : GNU Emacs 29.4 (build 2, aarch64-apple-darwin24.2.0,
 NS appkit-2575.30 Version 15.2 (Build 24C101)) of 2025-01-24
Package: Org mode version 9.7.19 (9.7.19-??-5a4686915 
@ /Users/mainuser/.config/emacs/.local/straight/build-29.4/org/)

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