Long Paragraph Bug

[RG1]

If you have ever wondered why the long paragraph bug isn't fixed for your kobo device, look at the fairly old Adobe Reader Mobile SDK Kobo uses (almost two years old). Adobes RMSDK is used in most ereaders and mobile reading applications for rendering of epub and pdf files.
Version and build-number of RMSDK is clearly shown in file .adobe-digital-editions/device.xml. Firmware 2.8.1 on Aura HD has RMSDK (aka. hobbes) 9.3 <version name="hobbes" value="9.3.45695-DL.20111103"/>. The datalogic-website has release-info for the newer releases and bugfixes.
It's not clear why kobo doesn't use newer releases and doesn't implement bugfixes delivered by datalogics. Might be that kobo has to pay a maintenace fee to get the bugfixes and doesn't want to.

[AnemicOak]

I think Kobo is more interested in the ACCESS renderer and it's development and probably don't plan to do much with their use of the RMSDK other than keep it pretty much as is. Now that Adobe has joined Readium the ideal thing might be that the ACCESS renderer gets support for Adobe Adept DRM and Kobo drops the RMSDK altogether. IMO it'd be nice if there was a consistent rendering for both kepub and epub.

[roger64]

Hi

"Political" explanations of this kind do not stand the test of time. They are more than once used by developers to hide sheer incompetence and taken as God's word over and over.

Sounds harsh? At least I have a clear example: apply Kobo Patcher v 0.7 to Kobo Glo v 2.8.1 and the so-called long paragraph bug is gone... (among other goodies). It has been told many many times that this bug was a legacy from God knows whom and could not be tackled. Well, have a look please

[PeterT]

Saying the bug is gone is a very naïve statement.. It's not gone, all that has happened is that it is broken in a different manner.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Saying the bug is gone is a very naïve statement.. It's not gone, all that has happened is that it is broken in a different manner.

Doesn't the patcher fix this bug?

[roger64]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Doesn't the patcher fix this bug?

YES (Kobo Glo v 2.8.1 with Kobo Patcher 0.7): I do confirm the bug is gone. Thanks Metazoa!

And nothing is broken, at least with EPUB (I never used KEPUB and for this reason can't speak about them, but maybe it's also good for them).

[PeterT]

NO.. All the patch does is to change one instruction in the executable. There is STILL an issue with pagination; it is just "obscured" by the patch.

[roger64]

Well, I can now read normally, without these conspicuous and ridiculous pagebreaks. I complained for more than six months about them (since I bought my Glo) and this was a major nuisance.

Pagination seems to be working as usual. If it happens I am at page 84 instead of 85, let it be. Between two evils...

[robko]

What Peter is saying is that the patcher "hides" the problem, but doesn't actually fix it. Therefore complaining that if the people who built the patcher can fix it Kobo should be able to is complaining about that isn't true. Sure, Kobo could probably use the same "fix" but if it isn't properly fixing it that would be poor programing. Yes it makes things look the way you want, but if I remember correctly from other threads it has some other side effects that may cause others as much grief as you get from the long paragraph bug.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Doesn't the patcher fix this bug?

What I've seen is that since I implemented this fix, I randomly get a single line at the end of a paragraph moved to the next page even though there is more than enough space to fit it on the previous page -- two lines on one page and then the last line on the next page is rather annoying. It does happen less often than the splitting of long paragraphs but then few of the books I read had paragraphs long enough to trigger the bug. Most of those books were written in the 19th century when it was considered de rigueur to go overboard in descriptive prose, the why use 5 words when you can use 500 or 5000 school of writing. Perfervid turgidity at it's worst.

Regards,
David

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by DNSB

What I've seen is that since I implemented this fix, I randomly get a single line at the end of a paragraph moved to the next page even though there is more than enough space to fit it on the previous page -- two lines on one page and then the last line on the next page is rather annoying. It does happen less often than the splitting of long paragraphs but then few of the books I read had paragraphs long enough to trigger the bug. Most of those books were written in the 19th century when it was considered de rigueur to go overboard in descriptive prose, the why use 5 words when you can use 500 or 5000 school of writing. Perfervid turgidity at it's worst.

Regards,
David

I am a big fan of the reasonable length paragraph
Now I have to go look up Perfervid

Helen

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by DNSB

What I've seen is that since I implemented this fix, I randomly get a single line at the end of a paragraph moved to the next page even though there is more than enough space to fit it on the previous page -- two lines on one page and then the last line on the next page is rather annoying. It does happen less often than the splitting of long paragraphs but then few of the books I read had paragraphs long enough to trigger the bug. Most of those books were written in the 19th century when it was considered de rigueur to go overboard in descriptive prose, the why use 5 words when you can use 500 or 5000 school of writing. Perfervid turgidity at it's worst.

Well, my Aura HD didn't carry a warning sign "Not To Be Used With 19th Century Novels." Moreover, the attribution of long paragraphs solely to those is plainly wrong. The latest Pynchon novel has plenty of them; many philosophers used long paragraphs: Sometimes people just want to express something more complex than fits in a five-line paragraph. But of course you are right - if someone wants to read such things on an ereader they should just shut up about it; their device handles tweet-length paragraphs perfectly after all, and Dickens just didn't know anything about efficient prose composition.

The Last Line New Page Bug is indeed a new nuisance replacing the old one - but, as you say, it occurs much less frequently - I've read books in which I had the Long Paragraph Bug on every other page.

[roger64]

Originally Posted by DNSB

.../...then few of the books I read had paragraphs long enough to trigger the bug. Most of those books were written in the 19th century when it was considered de rigueur to go overboard in descriptive prose, the why use 5 words when you can use 500 or 5000 school of writing. Perfervid turgidity at it's worst.

Regards,
David

Well, this is very well said, David. Tweets are shorter for sure and, as everyone knows it, the shorter, the better.

Mostly for copyright reasons (life +70), I publish EPUB written by some "turgid" authors. I also must confess that sometimes (always at dark), I read some of them. At least those who share such decadent tastes like me have now a choice. For this reason, I will definitely keep Kobo Patcher on and let you enjoy the long paragraph bug.

Regards

Roger

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Well, my Aura HD didn't carry a warning sign "Not To Be Used With 19th Century Novels." Moreover, the attribution of long paragraphs solely to those is plainly wrong. The latest Pynchon novel has plenty of them; many philosophers used long paragraphs: Sometimes people just want to express something more complex than fits in a five-line paragraph. But of course you are right - if someone wants to read such things on an ereader they should just shut up about it; their device handles tweet-length paragraphs perfectly after all, and Dickens just didn't know anything about efficient prose composition.

The Last Line New Page Bug is indeed a new nuisance replacing the old one - but, as you say, it occurs much less frequently - I've read books in which I had the Long Paragraph Bug on every other page.

I did not attribute the long paragraph solely to books written in the 19th century. I believe what I said the most of the ebooks that I have that had exhibited that bug were written in the 19th century.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by roger64

Well, this is very well said, David. Tweets are shorter for sure and, as everyone knows it, the shorter, the better.

I would disagree with your comment about everyone knows. What I do believe is that there is a point where too many words are being used.

The traditional example being the opening sentence of Paul Clifford written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

The "It was a dark and stormy night" works well for me. It catches your attention. The rest of the sentence tries to establish just how dark and how stormy the night was is, in my opinion, not necessary and detracts from the story.

Originally Posted by roger64

Mostly for copyright reasons (life +70), I publish EPUB written by some "turgid" authors. I also must confess that sometimes (always at dark), I read some of them. At least those who share such decadent tastes like me have now a choice. For this reason, I will definitely keep Kobo Patcher on and let you enjoy the long paragraph bug.

I have several older books in my library though I seldom read them in the dark. Does that add a certain spice to your enjoyment of them? On the other hand, it is nice to know that such reading is now considered decadent. Hmmmm.... Pamela, a glass of absinthe and the glow of my Kobo's display in a darkened room...

Regards,
David