Index Processing

The index processor performs the tasks indicated above — permutation, page number merging, subindexing, style handling, and other special effects. In order to achieve format and formatter independence, the index processor must be able to accept raw index terms designated by different keywords and delimiters. Likewise, it must be able to generate output in a specific style so that the result can be processed by the corresponding formatter. The intended tasks can be performed in multiple passes: First the input format file and output style file are scanned and analyzed. Entries in the input file are then processed. Next, all legal entries are sorted. Finally, the output index is generated in the last pass. The remainder of this section discusses the essential attributes for input formats and output styles and points out relevant issues for sorting and generating the entries.


Table: Input format parameters.
specifier attribute default meaning
keyword string "\\indexentry" index command
arg_open char '{' argument opening delimiter
arg_close char '}' argument closing delimiter
range_open char '(' page range opening delimiter
range_close char ')' page range closing delimiter
level char '!' index level delimiter
actual char '@' actual key designator
encap char '|' page number encapsulator
quote char '"' quote symbol
escape char '\\' symbol that escapes quote
page_compositor string "-" composite page delimiter



Subsections