Add drop down for citation key patterns

[priyanshu16095]

Fixes #12502

This PR introduces a functionality to display a drop-down list of matching suggestions when typing a citation key pattern.

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• I own the copyright of the code submitted and I licence it under the MIT license
• Change in CHANGELOG.md described in a way that is understandable for the average user (if change is visible to the user)
• Tests created for changes (if applicable)
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• Screenshots added in PR description (for UI changes)
• Checked developer's documentation: Is the information available and up to date? If not, I outlined it in this pull request.
• Checked documentation: Is the information available and up to date? If not, I created an issue at https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/issues or, even better, I submitted a pull request to the documentation repository.

[koppor]

Screenshot?

[priyanshu16095]

Recording.2025-02-16.mp4

The positioning of list is not perfect, it comes on top of it, else works fine and the list of patterns is hardcoded.

[subhramit]

I know it's a draft, but requesting a minor change.
Really good work so far! Thanks for picking this up.

[subhramit]

Also add [authorsAlphaLNI] (added in #12499).
Also, the issue asks for special field markers, which also includes Editor-related field markers, Title-related field markers, Other field markers and Bibentry fields apart from the author-related ones. Please add them as well.

[koppor]

We should either think how to auto-populate this list - or add a Java comment on how to populate the list manually.

[subhramit]

Yes, @priyanshu16095 - lets make this neat.
This is what I brainstormed, need a second opinion from @Siedlerchr and @koppor so that we know this is the best way and doesn't break things:
There is a record class, CitationKeyPatterns.java.

1. Modify it to make it a final class.
2. Hardcode the patterns as constants there. Leave proper comments with //region - citation key patterns offered. for any new pattern, add them here and // endregion below.
3. Make a public static function getAllPatterns, see if this works (I chatgpt'd this snippet - make any modifications needed):

Arrays.stream(CitationKeyPatterns.class.getDeclaredFields())
             .filter(field -> {
                 int modifiers = field.getModifiers();
                 return Modifier.isPublic(modifiers) && 
                        Modifier.isStatic(modifiers) && 
                        Modifier.isFinal(modifiers) &&
                        field.getType() == CitationKeyPattern.class &&
                        field != CitationKeyPattern.NULL_CITATION_KEY_PATTERN;
             })
             .map(field -> {
                 try {
                     return (CitationKeyPattern) field.get(null);
                 } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
                     throw new RuntimeException("Could not access field", e);
                 }
             })
             .collect(Collectors.toList());

4. Use that list returned in your observable array list

This way, the developer has to just change one line when adding a new pattern, without the overhead of finding the list where patterns are populated, or just using raw strings or using constants (you have to put them everywhere otherwise).

[subhramit]

Actually no need to even change the class type. You can add the method in the record itself.

[priyanshu16095]

Sure! Great suggestions, thanks!

[priyanshu16095]

Recording.2025-02-18.mp4

For CitationKeyPatternSuggestionCell, I found this solution on Stack Overflow and a similar gist on Github Gist and modified it.

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[priyanshu16095]

There is a problem with using the context menu because when it reaches the bottom of the screen, it shifts upward, making the UI buggy.
Instead, we can use a VBox or any other suggestions?

[koppor]

There is a problem with using the context menu because when it reaches the bottom of the screen, it shifts upward, making the UI buggy. Instead, we can use a VBox or any other suggestions?

If you don't get an answer quickly, just assume that nobody has a clue and will need invest time to investigate. Thus, go ahead and try.

Note that we could accept a different UI using a popup and buttons -similar to "Select entry type" -- if this works better

---

With this, we could even recommend certain citation key paterns.

[priyanshu16095]

The feature is now complete.
For the last element, it works fine, and the context menu does not change its position.

[subhramit]

Move this to a class-level constant with a brief comment explaining its use and the value

[subhramit]

Tested it, works fine.
Code-wise too I can see everything I asked for.

Someone a bit deeper into javafx should take a closer look at the gui files.

[priyanshu16095]

I found this solution on Stack Overflow for GUI.

[subhramit]

Update - tested a case - in case of compound patterns like [auth]_[year], however, the dropdown doesn't come except when typing the first [auth].
See comment #12502 (comment).
If this is possible to do, that would complete it, else too I guess it's better than not having it so I keep my approval.

[priyanshu16095]

Will do. I'll ensure [auth]_[year] triggers the dropdown.

WIP (extended)

[priyanshu16095]

Now it works as expected.

I have a suggestion, we can use something like this to further improve the user experience.

[priyanshu16095]

This pattern [auth]_[year] does not exist in the Java record.

[github-actions]

Your code currently does not meet JabRef's code guidelines. We use Checkstyle to identify issues. Please carefully follow the setup guide for the codestyle. Afterwards, please run checkstyle locally and fix the issues.
In case of issues with the import order, double check that you activated Auto Import. You can trigger fixing imports by pressing Ctrl+Alt+O to trigger Optimize Imports.

[Siedlerchr]

Wow this is a really epic feature! Looks great!

[Siedlerchr]

Please add a changelog entry!

[subhramit]

This pattern [auth]_[year] does not exist in the Java record.

Yes, it is not supposed to, it is a compound pattern - what I meant was (as per #12502 (comment)) - the individual components of a compound pattern should trigger a dropdown. I have given an example. [auth] triggering a dropdown (as matches exist), _ not (as no matches) and [year] again individually triggering a matching dropdown, treating it as running text.

I like your solution more though, and hardcoding it into the record works as it's a common pattern. Any less used pattern can be manually typed anyway. The sub-dropdowns are an icing on the cake, so really good work. JabRef users will love this.

[priyanshu16095]

Thanks for the clarification! I will try it in a follow-up PR.

[subhramit]

Thanks for the clarification! I will try it in a follow-up PR.

Not a priority right now, maybe when you can't find things more striking to work on.

Also, to clarify:

The sub-dropdowns are an icing on the cake, so really good work. JabRef users will love this.

I was referring to what you did, not what is left :)