Syllabus 20100118

Epub hacking Day1

What is and epub?

"EPUB (electronic publication; also sometimes ePub, EPub, or epub) is a free and open e-book standard, by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). Files have the extension .epub. EPUB is designed for reflowable content, meaning that the text display can be optimized for the particular display device. The format is meant to function as a single format that publishers and conversion houses can use in-house, as well as for distribution and sale." (source: wikipedia)

Technically, an EPUB is just a compressed ZIP file, containing a bunch of XHTML and XML, so it's easy for anyone to make your own with a wide range of tools (including the most basic text editors) and this simplicity built on top of open standards is an attractive solution for the publishing industry to support it.

Getting started

• lucidor: http://lucidor.org/lucidor/ - standalone e-book reader

wget http://lucidor.org/lucidor/lucidor_0.8.1-1_all.deb
sudo dpkg --install lucidor_0.8.1-1_all.deb

• lucifox: http://lucidor.org/lucifox/ - Firefox add-on to read e-books from your browser
• fbreader: http://www.fbreader.org/ - standalone e-book reader

sudo apt-get install fbreader

• eCub: http://www.juliansmart.com/ecub - freeware (closed-source) epub creation tool

wget http://www.anthemion.co.uk/ecub/ecub_1.08-1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg --install ecub_1.08-1_i386.deb

• Bookworm: http://bookworm.oreilly.com - online e-book reader

Try some epubs

• download some epubs from Project Gutenberg
• Test on the various readers
• unzip the epub - what's inside?

Make your own

• Take this text as starter:

[Lissitzky, Topography of Typography]


1. The words on the printed surface are taken in by seeing, not by
hearing.

2. One communicates meanings through the convention of words; meaning
attains form through letters.

3. Economy of expression: optics not phonetics.

4. The design of the book-space, set according to the constraints
of printing mechanics, must correspond to the tensions and pressures
of content.

5. The design of the book-space using process blocks which issue from
the new optics. The supernatural reality of the perfected eye.

6. The continuous sequence of pages: the bioscopic book.

7. The new book demands the new writer. Inkpot and quill-pen are dead.

8. The printed surface transcends space and time. The printed surface,
the infinity of books, must be transcended.

THE ELECTRO-LIBRARY

First published in Merz no. 4 (Hannover: July 1923).

• Transform it into a HTML + CSS set of documents, advanced participants can check http://epubzengarden.com for inspiration
• Use eCub to turn it into an epub
• Test it on the hardware and software readers
• Experiment with styles, hack around or try to make a series or a brand new epub from scratch