collatex-critical 0.1.1

Critical edition enhancements for CollateX with footnote apparatus and transliterations

collatex-critical

collatex-critical helps scholars prepare critical editions from multiple textual witnesses, producing outputs suitable for publication.

Unlike python-collatex, which focuses on column-based difference visualization in XML, SVG, or HTML, collatex-critical produces Markdown, PDF, HTML, and LaTeX outputs where the majority reading appears in the main text, and variant readings are recorded in footnotes or endnotes.

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Features

• Multi-witness collation with clear footnote apparatus
• Output in Markdown, PDF, HTML, and LaTeX
• Supports multiple transliteration schemes: Devanagari, IAST, SLP1
• Integrates seamlessly with CollateX
• Designed specifically for critical editions and scholarly texts

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Installation

From PyPI

pip install collatex-critical

From GitHub (development version)

pip install git+https://github.com/drdhaval2785/collatex-critical.git

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Dependencies

1. CollateX (1.7.1 or later) Download here. Example: collatex-tools-1.7.1.jar

2. Pandoc Install from https://pandoc.org/installing.html

3. Indic Transliteration

   pip install indic-transliteration
   

   Provides indic_transliteration Python library and sanscript CLI tool.

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Project Structure

input/projectName/devanagari
input/projectName/iast
input/projectName/slp1

output/projectName/devanagari
output/projectName/iast
output/projectName/slp1

collatex-tools/1.7.1/collatex-tools-1.7.1.jar
generate.sh
merger.py

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Setting Up a Project

1. Place witness texts in input/projectName/devanagari.

2. Name witness files according to precedence:

   • Less than 10 witnesses: 1.txt, 2.txt, 3.txt …
   • 10 or more witnesses: 01.txt, 02.txt, 03.txt …

3. File order indicates descending precedence (first file = highest authority).

4. Make sure that collatex-tools/1.7.1/collatex-tools-1.7.1.jar is in the same folder as generate.sh file.

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Running the Project

sh generate.sh projectName

• Creates missing directories under input/ and output/.
• Generates outputs in all available transliteration schemes.
• Input witness files must exist prior to running.

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Output

For each project:

• projectName.md, projectName.pdf, projectName.tex, projectName.html → output/projectName/devanagari/

• Corresponding outputs in other transliterations: → output/projectName/iast/ and output/projectName/slp1/

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Collation Logic

1. Majority Rule: Reading preferred by the majority appears in the main text; others appear in footnotes.
2. Tie-Breaker: If no clear majority, the order of precedence determines the main reading (01.txt > 02.txt > …).

The choice of the most faithful witness is left to the editor’s discretion (e.g., oldest, most accurate, or scholarly judgment).

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Checking your installation

The github repository has a test data in input/test/devanagari/ directory.

It carries three witnesses of a manuscript.

Run the following from your commandline sh generate.sh test.

If everything goes as expected, you should see the output in output/test directory.

If there is any error logged, make sure you have installed the necessary dependencies and have the collatex-tools/1.7.1/collatex-tools-1.7.1.jar file at the correct location.

Example output

Contributing

Contributions are welcome:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add feature"
4. Push your branch: git push origin feature/my-feature
5. Open a pull request

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License

GNU GPL v3.0. See LICENSE for details.

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