'Language' specification disappears?

jttraverse · 05-20-2011, 12:48 AM

A quick question...is it just me or does Sigil have a problem with dropping the language specification whenever you open or save a file? I've had an epub with the language specified (English) and tested it and it works fine and passes validation.

Then I open the file in Sigil and do anything, and save the file. When I open it again or try to validate it...the language setting is gone, and validation reports it as missing?

Is this something I'm doing...or is it happening everywhere? Why does it do this?
-JTT

huebi · 05-20-2011, 01:53 AM

Why didnt you mention what exactly you've specified (and where)?

jttraverse · 05-20-2011, 03:16 AM

The ePub 3.0 specification (RFC5646) indicates that this is good:

<dc:language>en-US</dc:language>

I've checked and this is used in other ePub files (meant to specify "US English"). But apparently Sigil only wants >en< and if the '-US' is there then it simply deletes the whole thing. Why it wouldn't simply change the entry to what it wants rather than just wipe out the entire line is perplexing. But okay, I'll leave just the 'en' in there, and it works.

What I don't understand is why Sigil chooses to remove this line of the metadata when I simply open the file. It's another instance of a great program doing something totally beyond reason with no warnings, nothing helpful, just poof...and then it fails validation because the line is missing.
-JTT

Toxaris · 05-20-2011, 03:57 AM

Sigil does not use the ePub 3.0 specification as it is still not finalized and approved. Therefore Sigil uses the 2.0 specifications. I remember reading something about it on the forum with regards to the language setting.

As to why Sigil removes the line I don't know. The version you use could be the main factor. For version 0.3.4 I could image that this would happen. You can set the language in the meta editor (F7 I believe) and upon saving the opf would be recreated with the metadata. Since that version could not read/understand the setting you had, it would ignore it. As no language is set, it will not be there while saving and thus failing validation. Any custom metadata which is not within specs would be deleted.
In version 0.4 you can prevent recreation of the opf-file (you can choose to maintain it yourself), which would keep your meta-data.

I think you use version 0.3.4. If you search on the forum, there is a post somewhere from Valloric in which he explains why he decided to recreate the ncx and opf when saving the epub.

Jellby · 05-20-2011, 04:16 AM

The OPF 2.0.1 spec, which directs here seems to say that "en-US" is a valid language tag too.

Toxaris · 05-20-2011, 02:41 PM

The way I read it, is that a "en" should be used. The other format is allowed when there is no 2-character code available.

Anyway, I still think it is because he uses Sigil 0.3.4.

DaleDe · 05-20-2011, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxaris

The way I read it, is that a "en" should be used. The other format is allowed when there is no 2-character code available.

Anyway, I still think it is because he uses Sigil 0.3.4.

there could also be en-gb but of course this is a variation of the real English

Valloric · 05-23-2011, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

The OPF 2.0.1 spec, which directs here seems to say that "en-US" is a valid language tag too.

The 2.0.1 OPF update redefined it, and I failed to notice this change. It used to require a two character code before.

Make an issue on the tracker about this.

05-20-2011, 12:48 AM	#1
jttraverse Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 2000 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	'Language' specification disappears? A quick question...is it just me or does Sigil have a problem with dropping the language specification whenever you open or save a file? I've had an epub with the language specified (English) and tested it and it works fine and passes validation. Then I open the file in Sigil and do anything, and save the file. When I open it again or try to validate it...the language setting is gone, and validation reports it as missing? Is this something I'm doing...or is it happening everywhere? Why does it do this? -JTT

05-20-2011, 03:57 AM	#4
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Sigil does not use the ePub 3.0 specification as it is still not finalized and approved. Therefore Sigil uses the 2.0 specifications. I remember reading something about it on the forum with regards to the language setting. As to why Sigil removes the line I don't know. The version you use could be the main factor. For version 0.3.4 I could image that this would happen. You can set the language in the meta editor (F7 I believe) and upon saving the opf would be recreated with the metadata. Since that version could not read/understand the setting you had, it would ignore it. As no language is set, it will not be there while saving and thus failing validation. Any custom metadata which is not within specs would be deleted. In version 0.4 you can prevent recreation of the opf-file (you can choose to maintain it yourself), which would keep your meta-data. I think you use version 0.3.4. If you search on the forum, there is a post somewhere from Valloric in which he explains why he decided to recreate the ncx and opf when saving the epub. Last edited by Toxaris; 05-20-2011 at 04:00 AM.

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05-20-2011, 01:53 AM	#2
huebi Zealot Posts: 121 Karma: 5070 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	Why didnt you mention what exactly you've specified (and where)?

05-20-2011, 03:16 AM	#3
jttraverse Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 2000 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	The ePub 3.0 specification (RFC5646) indicates that this is good: <dc:language>en-US</dc:language> I've checked and this is used in other ePub files (meant to specify "US English"). But apparently Sigil only wants >en< and if the '-US' is there then it simply deletes the whole thing. Why it wouldn't simply change the entry to what it wants rather than just wipe out the entire line is perplexing. But okay, I'll leave just the 'en' in there, and it works. What I don't understand is why Sigil chooses to remove this line of the metadata when I simply open the file. It's another instance of a great program doing something totally beyond reason with no warnings, nothing helpful, just poof...and then it fails validation because the line is missing. -JTT

05-20-2011, 04:16 AM	#5
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,515 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	The OPF 2.0.1 spec, which directs here seems to say that "en-US" is a valid language tag too.

05-20-2011, 02:41 PM	#6
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	The way I read it, is that a "en" should be used. The other format is allowed when there is no 2-character code available. Anyway, I still think it is because he uses Sigil 0.3.4.