Firmware 5.0.175773

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

As mentioned often enough, the renderer does not need those spans. They are used to simplify the location system for highlights and notes. The double barrelled kepub.epub extension was intended to simplify deciding which renderer to use.

And ghod alone knows, that you are well aware of the fact that converting ePub to kepub is an extremely easy process to use whether you use calibre, kepubify or any the other solutions that can be found by an simple search.

But why are the spans needed when no other software needs them? I can annotate with RMSDK, Thorium, and BookFusion without any of those spans.

[milady133]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But why are the spans needed when no other software needs them? I can annotate with RMSDK, Thorium, and BookFusion without any of those spans.

It's not about how different programs are doing it now, it's about what solutions where available when Kobo started offering synching of annotations and bookmarks.

Back then there wasn't a standard solution, it wasn't in ePub2 specifications, so every program developed its solution, and Kobo had to develop something outside of the RMSDK library.
The developers back then decided they needed spans for each paragraph with a unique ID for it to work between different platforms, and once they adopted that solution, other decisions cascaded from that. I'm just speculating, maybe there were other previous decisions that led to developing they're own reading program, but I'm sure it all started because there was something that the RMSDK lacked, and they needed to develop they're own solution. Then they kept adding on that solution because it's easier than working around other company's library. Once you have something you control completely and you can modify as needed it's easier to work on that.