AST * bt_next_entry (AST * entry_list, 
                     AST * prev_entry)

Used to traverse the linked list of entries returned by bt_parse_file() (see bt_input). On the first call, you should supply "NULL" for "prev_entry", and a pointer to the head of the list will be returned. On subsequent calls, pass the previous return value as "prev_entry"; the function returns the next entry in the list, or "NULL" if there are no more entries. Also returns "NULL" if either "entry_list" or "prev_entry" are improper.

For example (ignoring error handling and variable declarations):

entries = bt_parse_file (filename, options, &status);
entry = NULL;
while (entry = bt_next_entry (entries, entry))
{
   /* process entry */
}

AST * bt_next_field  (AST * entry, AST * prev, char ** name)

Used to traverse the list of fields in a regular or macro definition entry. (You should call bt_entry_metatype() to determine if you have the right kind of entry before calling bt_next_field().) "entry" should be a pointer to the AST for a single entry, as returned by bt_parse_entry(), bt_parse_entry_s(), or bt_next_entry(). On the first call, supply "NULL" for "prev"; bt_next_field() will return a pointer to the first field in "entry", or "NULL" if "entry" has no fields (for instance, if it's a comment or preamble entry). On subsequent calls, pass the previous return value as "prev"; bt_next_field() will keep returning pointers to field sub-ASTs as long as it makes sense. These pointers can then be passed to bt_next_value() or bt_get_text() to get the field's value.

For example, the loop body in the previous example could be:

field = NULL;
while (field = bt_next_field (entry, field, &field_name))
{
   /* process field */
}

AST * bt_next_value (AST * head, 
                     AST * prev,
                     bt_nodetype_t * nodetype,
                     char ** text)

Traverses the list of simple values that make up the value of a single field. (Recall that a simple value is either a quoted string, a macro invocation, or a number. A compound value is a list of these separated by '#' in the original input. Depending on the string post-processing options used when the data was parsed, the "list of simple values" nature of the original data may be preserved in the AST that you're traversing, in which case you'll need a bt_next_value() loop.

bt_next_value() works much like bt_next_entry() and bt_next_field(): on the first call, you supply "NULL" for "prev", and on subsequent calls you supply the previous return value. Returns "NULL" when there are no more simple values to return. Also sets *nodetype and *text to the corresponding information from the simple value node. *nodetype will be one of "BTAST_STRING", "BTAST_MACRO", or "BTAST_NUMBER"; *text will point to the same string as the AST node does (it is not copied for you), so don't mess with it.

For example, the loop body in the bt_next_field() example could be replaced with:

value = NULL;
while (value = bt_next_field (field, value, &nodetype, &text))
{
   switch (nodetype)
   {
      case BTAST_STRING:    /* process the string */
      case BTAST_MACRO:     /* process the macro */
      case BTAST_NUMBER:    /* process the number */
   }
}

See also "bt_get_text".

bt_metatype_t bt_entry_metatype (AST * entry)

Returns the metatype of an entry. (Recall that the metatype is an enumerated type whose values are derived from the specific type of an entry; for instance, an @comment entry has type "comment" and metatype "BTE_COMMENT". The type-metatype relationship is similarly obvious for "BTE_PREAMBLE"; "BTE_MACRODEF" corresponds to @string entries; and "BTE_REGULAR" corresponds to any other type.)

Returns "BTE_UNKNOWN" if "entry" is invalid (i.e., "NULL" or not a pointer to an entry AST).

char * bt_entry_type (AST * entry)

Returns the type of an entry. Recall that the type is the name that appears after the '@' character in the original input. Returns "NULL" if "entry" is invalid (i.e., "NULL" or not a pointer to an entry AST).

char * bt_entry_key (AST * entry)

Returns the citation key of a regular entry. (The citation key is the name that appears after the entry-open delimiter in a regular entry.) Returns "NULL" if "entry" is invalid (i.e., "NULL" or not a pointer to the AST for a regular entry).

char * bt_get_text (AST * node)

Performs all string post-processing (macro expansion, concatenation of simple values, and whitespace collapsing) of a compound value and returns the string that results. Can be called either on a field for a regular or macro definition entry (as returned by bt_next_field()), or on a comment or preamble entry. Returns "NULL" if called on an invalid AST node.