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Get your Epub3 here!

A couple days ago I wrote a post asking for an Epub file that had content which was made to the Epub3 standard. Now, the standard hasn’t been enacted yet, so basically I was asking if anyone had made one by hand. An ebook turned up almost immediately, and I updated my old post with a link. I also made sure to pass it around on twitter.

As I watched that ebook get passed around on twitter I got the impression that i wasn’t the only one who wanted to try the new content. So here is that ebook again, just in case you didn’t see my updated post. I’m also going to go a step better with a bunch of demo videos. If the ebooks demoed in the videos are released I will of course post them.

The Epub3 sample is hosted on the official Epub3 project page on code.Google.com. There are several sample Epub3 files there, but the only one I’m interested in isĀ  Moby Dick.

Update: You can now find a second demo in iBooks with the title Les Balades en Yvelines.

The first 2 videos were found via ebookfriend.ly

Walrus Epub Demo#3 – Kadath from Walrus Books on Vimeo.

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Comments


Nick June 16, 2011 um 5:57 pm

Thanks for the link. Downloaded the moby dick file straight to my ipad and I got a message that the file format is not recognised. Any ideas ?

Nate Hoffelder June 16, 2011 um 6:12 pm

I don’t know. I’m getting the same error. it looks like iBooks is too picky.

jorgen June 17, 2011 um 6:18 am

You can read the book in Stanza or Bluefire reader on an iPod. HTML5 will of course be ignored.


Robert June 17, 2011 um 9:25 am

The Moby Dick sample doesn’t have an NCX file. Is it not part of EPUB3 or is this just a malformed sample? Hmmm…

Nate Hoffelder June 17, 2011 um 9:42 am

The release notes mention that this ebook went through several revisions, so i guess the NCX isn’t supported anymore. I’ll ask on Twitter.


Robert June 17, 2011 um 9:59 am

I found this regarding changes for EPUB3 vs 2.0.1
——————————————————
5.5. NCX specification incorporated

In OPF 2.0.1, NCX was defined by reference to the DAISY specification. As the expectation is that EPUB3 will supersede DAISY over time, NCX is now normatively defined as a section of [Publications30] .

5.6. NCX support required by Reading Systems

NCX was mandatory in EPUB2 Publications but supporting it was defined as a "should" for Reading Systems. It is now a "must".
————————————————————

Robert June 17, 2011 um 10:12 am

Yet, elsewhere the EPUB3 spec says this:

"Every EPUB Publication contains a special XHTML Content Document called the EPUB Navigation Document, which uses the HTML5 nav element to define human- and machine-readable navigation information.

The Navigation Document supersedes the NCX document [OPS2], and the inclusion of NCX documents is only recommended for forward compatibility in older Reading Systems."

http://idpf.org/epub/30/spec/epub30-overview.html


Robert June 17, 2011 um 10:21 am

The Moby Dick sample does contain a toc.xhtml file and that file DOES use the new "nav" element but it does not include a NCX. I guess they aren’t that concerned with "forward capatibitilty in older reading systems." Consequently, ADE and others simply claim this sample does not contain a TOC.


Access to Launch Epub3 Compatible Reading App – The Digital Reader October 17, 2011 um 11:14 am

[…] you’re interested in looking at an Epub3 compatible app, check out iBooks and try one of the demo ebooks I found a few months back. iBooks is mostly compliant with the Epub3 standard, but Apple never […]


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