MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - A little about the FictionBook 2.0 format

rsperberg · 01-21-2006, 06:02 PM

I guess I'm kind of slow, but it was only a couple days ago that I realized that the FictionBook 2.0 authoring format is also the format that the e-readers use for rendering.

Marking up text is similar to putting it into HTML, except the tags are XML, they only overlap html partially, not wholly, and there are very specific ways you need to treat your footnotes. And of course being XML, the order of tags and what can go where is very strictly regimented in the W3C XML schema file (which probably makes things easier to construct an FB2 e-reader).

I won't go into the nature of the FB2 file here -- you can find a pretty complete description at haali.cs.msu.ru/pocketpc/FictionBook_description.html, written by the author of one of the Windows FB2 e-readers (the Haali e-reader), who also is in some part responsible for the FB2 format. The biggest difference is in how much metadata you can/should put into the file, and in the strict fashion that titles are handled.

I had assumed that for an e-book reader, the marked-up text was converted to a binary file -- the way Microsoft .lit, RocketBook .rb, and Plucker .pdb files are, to mention three formats I've worked with. And so I assumed that "conversion tools" meant "conversion to FB2 reading format." Instead they mean "conversion from html or iSilo or Word doc or .lit" formats to FB2 xml format, or the other direction (to rtf instead of .doc, plus to .rb).

Thus most of the burden on rendering a file and creating a linked table of contents is put on the e-readers.

With compiled binary reading formats, you can have many html and image files, and the conversion program puts them all into a single file. With FB2, all the text and metadata must be joined into a single file, and all the images are put there as well, after first being converted to base64 format. So there is only a single file, but it is the author who must put it all together.

To make the file smaller, put it into a zip archive. I haven't tested all the readers, but FBReader on the Nokia 770 (and Linux desktop and Sharp Zaurus) reads the zip file without your needing to extract the e-book. And, of course, if you notice something that has to be changed or corrected (I for one can't let any typo slide by), you simply go in and edit the FB2 file in any text editor.

I've mentioned FBReader (home page: only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/ ) and the platforms it runs on. Haali Reader (home) runs on Windows, WinCE and PocketPC. Athenaeum (home: sourceforge.net/projects/athenaeum runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

I should mention that two pages linking to various tools can be found at haali.cs.msu.ru/pocketpc/scripts.html.en
and at www.fictionbook.org/en/programs/redact.html .
I found a fair amount of information at FictionBook.org and a link there led me to several book repositories, some with English titles..

I'll report further details as I master them.

-- Roger

01-21-2006, 06:02 PM	#1
rsperberg Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NJ Device: Kindle Voyage	A little about the FictionBook 2.0 format I guess I'm kind of slow, but it was only a couple days ago that I realized that the FictionBook 2.0 authoring format is also the format that the e-readers use for rendering. Marking up text is similar to putting it into HTML, except the tags are XML, they only overlap html partially, not wholly, and there are very specific ways you need to treat your footnotes. And of course being XML, the order of tags and what can go where is very strictly regimented in the W3C XML schema file (which probably makes things easier to construct an FB2 e-reader). I won't go into the nature of the FB2 file here -- you can find a pretty complete description at haali.cs.msu.ru/pocketpc/FictionBook_description.html, written by the author of one of the Windows FB2 e-readers (the Haali e-reader), who also is in some part responsible for the FB2 format. The biggest difference is in how much metadata you can/should put into the file, and in the strict fashion that titles are handled. I had assumed that for an e-book reader, the marked-up text was converted to a binary file -- the way Microsoft .lit, RocketBook .rb, and Plucker .pdb files are, to mention three formats I've worked with. And so I assumed that "conversion tools" meant "conversion to FB2 reading format." Instead they mean "conversion from html or iSilo or Word doc or .lit" formats to FB2 xml format, or the other direction (to rtf instead of .doc, plus to .rb). Thus most of the burden on rendering a file and creating a linked table of contents is put on the e-readers. With compiled binary reading formats, you can have many html and image files, and the conversion program puts them all into a single file. With FB2, all the text and metadata must be joined into a single file, and all the images are put there as well, after first being converted to base64 format. So there is only a single file, but it is the author who must put it all together. To make the file smaller, put it into a zip archive. I haven't tested all the readers, but FBReader on the Nokia 770 (and Linux desktop and Sharp Zaurus) reads the zip file without your needing to extract the e-book. And, of course, if you notice something that has to be changed or corrected (I for one can't let any typo slide by), you simply go in and edit the FB2 file in any text editor. I've mentioned FBReader (home page: only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/ ) and the platforms it runs on. Haali Reader (home) runs on Windows, WinCE and PocketPC. Athenaeum (home: sourceforge.net/projects/athenaeum runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. I should mention that two pages linking to various tools can be found at haali.cs.msu.ru/pocketpc/scripts.html.en and at www.fictionbook.org/en/programs/redact.html . I found a fair amount of information at FictionBook.org and a link there led me to several book repositories, some with English titles.. I'll report further details as I master them. -- Roger Last edited by rsperberg; 01-21-2006 at 08:32 PM.