NAME

       lccnorm - normalize Library of Congress Classification call numbers

SYNOPSIS

       lccnorm [option...] [file...]

       lccnorm -h|--help

       lccnorm -V|--version

DESCRIPTION

       lccnorm transforms LC-style call numbers into a form that may be used in a straight ASCII
       sort.

       By default, each line of input is assumed to consist of a number of tab-delimited fields,
       of which the first contains an LC-style call number or class.

       If no file is specified, or if the file name "-" is specified, standard input will be
       processed.

       Normalization of call number ranges is a special challenge, because ranges are not
       normally specified using the exact endpoint.  Consider the range "B708-B713"; while "B708"
       does indicate the beginning point -- a no call number that comes before B 708 can fall
       within the range -- the end point is only a guide, not a strict limit, since the intent is
       that call numbers such as "B 713 .H94" and "B 713 .W55 L86" do fall within the range.
       Unfortunately, ranges are often specified ambiguously; for example, the call number "B
       713.14 G92" might or might not be considered to fall within this range.

OPTIONS

       -d, --delimiter string
           Specify a string other than a single tab (ASCII character 9) to delimit the fields in
           a line of input.  This also provides the default for joining fields in the output; see
           option -j below.

       -f, --field range
           The call number (or range) is found in the given range of fields.  Fields are 1-based
           (the first field is field 1, not field 0) and are separated by a single tab character
           (unless option -d is used to specify an alternate delimiter).

           When parsing call numbers (not ranges), all fields are concatenated using a single
           space to form the call number that will be normalized.

           When parsing ranges, there are four possibilities:

           1 field
               The field contains a range in the form prefix (e.g., "J80"), closed range (e.g.,
               "ML566-566.6" or "ML566-ML566.6") or half-open range (e.g., "KME451<KME500").

           2 fields
               The first field is the beginning of the (closed) range, and the second is the end.

           3 fields
               The first field is a prefix common to both the beginning and end of the range, and
               the second and third fields are the remainders.

           4 fields
               The first and third fields together are the beginning of the range, and the second
               and fourth are the end.

           For example, the following all produce identical output:

               $ echo 'PL4501-4509'     | lccnorm -d: -f1
               $ echo 'PL4501:PL4509'   | lccnorm -d: -f1-2
               $ echo 'PL:4501:4509'    | lccnorm -d: -f1-3
               $ echo 'PL:4501:PL:4509' | lccnorm -d: -f1-4

       -j, --join string
           Specify a character to use when joining fields for output. The default is to use the
           same string specified in option -d, or a single tab if -d was not given.

       -c  Don't delete the input fields from which call numbers (or ranges) were obtained.
           Either the -b and -e option must be provided to specify where the normalized string is
           to be placed.

       -b, --begin
           Place normalized strings at the beginning of output lines.

       -e, --end
           Place normalized strings at the end of output lines.

       -D, --die-on-error
           Exit with a non-zero status as soon as an unnormalizable input is encountered.  The
           default is to issue a warning and normalize to the empty string.

       -v, --verbose
           Be verbose.  This currently has no effect unless used with the -V or --version option.

       -h, --help
           Print help information and exit.

       -V, --version
           Print the version number and exit.  If the -v or --verbose option is specified, print
           out additional information.

       -M, --manual
           View the manual page for lccnorm.

       -L, --license
           View the license under which lccnorm is distributed.

AUTHOR

       Paul Hoffman (nkuitse AT nkuitse DOT com)

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright 2007 Paul M. Hoffman.

       This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl:

       a)  the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
           version 1, or (at your option) any later version;

           or

       b)  the "Artistic License".

           For the full text of these licenses, see the script file itself or enter the command
           lccnorm -L.

SEE ALSO

       Biblio::LCC