Thread: Why supported formats don't matter to me (very much)
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Old 12-03-2008, 04:05 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mobile27081906 View Post
Bob, I completely agree that users need to be able to forget about formats and just focus on the experience, the content and the presentation. HTML is an excellent format for rich text, and I would have to go one further and say why convert at all? HTML pages look a lot better than any pages I've seen in an ebook reader, especially in an advanced rendering engine like Webkit (see Stanza or Safari on Windows for reference).

@JasonWalton, HTML does support Dublin Core Meta tags. See the Dublin Core specs for info on how to use DC in head elements. Also, the choice of XML makes it easier for machines but harder for humans, which is the problem we're seeing with EPUB right now. Validation is a nightmare because of XML's namespaces and strict nature. HTML has flourished because of its backwards compatibility and forgiving syntax. I don't think mandating XHTML 1.1, the strictest flavor of XHTML, was a wise choice for the IDPF. Neither was eliminating the script tag. By avoiding the crucial issues of scripting and linking, and eliminating backwards compatibilty with 90% of the rendering engines out there, EPUB forgoes all the advantages that open web formats offer.

Also, EPUB is not a standard. It's based on worldwide standards, but it's still a proposal. The IDPF would like you to think it's as standard as any of the other ebook formats, of which only PDF is a standard. HTML is a standard, and the only reflowable standard ebooks have.

Until ebooks stop seeming ridiculously format-centric and technical to outsiders, they will never take off. We should be happy for EPUB, despite its flaws, and embrace it, and only then can we take the next steps to bring it up to par with the expectations of publishers and consumers.
Actually, I wouldn't claim that PDF is a standard for e-books, it's a standard for carrying over a formating of publications, preferably in letter/A4 size and precisely conserving the layout and content of said page. That however is NOT that convenient for the current line of available e-reading devices, so let's just leave PDF out of the discussion, m'kay?
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