[This document will be expanded when BibTeX version 1.00 comes out. Please report typos, omissions, inaccuracies, and especially unclear explanations to me (patashnik@SCORE.STANFORD.EDU). Suggestions for improvements are wanted and welcome.]
This documentation, for BibTeX version 0.99b, is meant for general BibTeX users; bibliography-style designers should read this document and then read ``Designing BibTeX Styles'' [], which is meant for just them.
This document has three parts: Section 2 describes the differences between versions 0.98i and 0.99b of BibTeX and between the corresponding versions of the standard styles; Section 3 updates Appendix B.2 of the LaTeX book []; and Section 4 gives some general and specific tips that aren't documented elsewhere. It's assumed throughout that you're familiar with the relevant sections of the LaTeX book.
This documentation also serves as sample input to help BibTeX implementors get it running. For most documents, this one included, you produce the reference list by: running LaTeX on the document (to produce the aux file(s)), then running BibTeX (to produce the bbl file), then LaTeX twice more (first to find the information in the bbl file and then to get the forward references correct). In very rare circumstances you may need an extra /LaTeX run.
BibTeX version 0.99b should be used with LaTeX version 2.09, for which the closed bibliography format is the default; to get the open format, use the optional document style openbib (in an open format there's a line break between major blocks of a reference-list entry; in a closed format the blocks run together).]
Note: BibTeX 0.99b is not compatible with the old style files; nor is BibTeX 0.98i compatible with the new ones (the new , however, is compatible with old database files).
Note for implementors: BibTeX provides logical-area names TEXINPUTS: for bibliography-style files and TEXBIB: for database files it can't otherwise find.