PRS-500 reverse engineering the Reader USB protocol

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

The books are stored internally in a database, and the program doesn't keep track of the original file names. Instead it stores meta information about the files. Hence the need for automatically generated file names. Also since the program aims to be cross platform and each platform (read windows) has its file name related idiosyncracies, i thought it safer not to mess with file names that convey metadata at all.

Sounds okay for LRF's that have meta data, but it makes finding a text file thats been renamed a bit harder to deal with. But perhaps that's part of the bug I reported earlier.

[kovidgoyal]

If you update the metadata for the txt file in the GUI, the metadata gets uploaded to the reader, so in the reader list of books the txt file is identified by its metadata

[petersktang]

I tried the below but encountered "unknown url type", any clue?

[root@localhost libprs500-0.3.10]# easy_install-2.5 -U libprs500
Searching for libprs500
Reading http://cheeseshop.python.org/pypi/libprs500/
Reading http://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net
error: Download error: unknown url type: https
[root@localhost libprs500-0.3.10]#

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

If you update the metadata for the txt file in the GUI, the metadata gets uploaded to the reader, so in the reader list of books the txt file is identified by its metadata

Sounds good to me then.

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by petersktang

I tried the below but encountered "unknown url type", any clue?

[root@localhost libprs500-0.3.10]# easy_install-2.5 -U libprs500
Searching for libprs500
Reading http://cheeseshop.python.org/pypi/libprs500/
Reading http://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net
error: Download error: unknown url type: https
[root@localhost libprs500-0.3.10]#

Strange, probably PyPi was down when you tried. Try again. Or since you seem to have already downloaded libprs500 just run python setup.py install in the libprs500 directory.

[kovidgoyal]

Just uploaded a standalone windows installer for all ye faint of heart...
https://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net

In other news I'm partway to a open source cross platform HTML->LRF converter that respects CSS and follows links to external files.

[JSWolf]

Will this allow graphics to be placed next to text? Will it allow multiple fonts? Will it allow different font sizes?

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Will this allow graphics to be placed next to text? Will it allow multiple fonts? Will it allow different font sizes?

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong, Kovid) that it allows transfer of files to and from a Reader's internal memory without using the ConnSoft.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong, Kovid) that it allows transfer of files to and from a Reader's internal memory without using the ConnSoft.

I think you misunderstood. If I have an HTML file with different font sizes, graphics next to text, and maybe even a table, will they be kept when going from HTML to LRF?

[NatCh]

I understood what you were asking, JSWolf -- I think this isn't a book creation tool, but rather a book transfer/file management tool.

I could, however, easily be wrong, as a lot of Kovid's discussion swishes right over my head, and I admit that I haven't been following it as closely as I might.

[kovidgoyal]

Hmm I have to add a features list to the wiki at some point:

Initially libprs500 started out as a file transfer tool to avoid having to use the connect s/w which is especially important for people who dont use windows. However, it has since evolved to book an ebook library management application. It maintains a searchable database of your ebooks. The database is capable of storing each logical book in various ebook formats, and it knows enough to edit/read the metadata from various ebbok formats. Eventually it will have support for automatic conversion from txt/html -> lrf.

Coming to the converter subsystem. As a first step it will support common CSS properties, including font sizes/weights/styles. It's almost at that point already. Then I will add support for Image blocks and then support for importing html for links to external files.

Support for inline images and tables will be on a longer timescale.

The important thing is that all my tools are GPLed and designed to be cross platform from the start.

[esperanc]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

The important thing is that all my tools are GPLed and designed to be cross platform from the start.

This is a Good Thing(TM)

Keep up the good work.

As for the inline images, I got it _almost_ working in htmlbbeb, except for the fact that the plot command is not handled correctly by MSH_Parser. I started writing my own lrs-->lrf parser with the help of code from pylrs. Unfortunately, I scarcely have time to do some programming these days. I wonder if your project will include a lrs-->lrf parser or whether it will generate lrfs directly...

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by esperanc

As for the inline images, I got it _almost_ working in htmlbbeb, except for the fact that the plot command is not handled correctly by MSH_Parser. I started writing my own lrs-->lrf parser with the help of code from pylrs. Unfortunately, I scarcely have time to do some programming these days. I wonder if your project will include a lrs-->lrf parser or whether it will generate lrfs directly...

That is great news about the inline images. I did use your CSS translation routines in my code for which you will be duly acknowledged.

I use Falstaff's pylrs backend to generate the LRF files. It is not (as far as I know) capable of direct LRS->LRF conversion. I would urge you to either look into using it in your own code or consider merging our projects, that way the work each of us has to do is reduced.

[kovidgoyal]

I've uploaded the converter in libprs500-0.3.13
It's the command html2lrf

Note if you only want to try the the converter then you don't need to worry about satisfying any of libprs500's dependencies except python 2.5

[yargoflick]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

I've uploaded the converter in libprs500-0.3.13
It's the command html2lrf

Note if you only want to try the the converter then you don't need to worry about satisfying any of libprs500's dependencies except python 2.5

Ohla,
I just got this installed on my Debian machine (had to snag the python2.5 debs from the ubuntu fiesty fawn dist for now, but they work)

html2lrf works, (a bow, and many thanks).

When I tried to run txt2lrf python complained that it couldn't find the makelrf module.
I checked the sources and it doesn't seem to be in there.

Googling for makelrf.py shows that it used to be in the src/libprs500/lrf/ directory:
https://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net/changeset/222

Hmm.. what am I doing? I'm just gonna go file a bug, like a sane person.