Show difference between ePUB files

LGN · 01-07-2011, 02:36 PM

While working on some ePUB files I started wondering if there is a way to show changes between 2 versions of an ePUB, maybe with the possibility to merge them. Also a connection to a version control system like SVN or even CVS would be useful in an production enviroment.

Is there a way to hook Sigil up to a SVN repository and show differences between versions to, somehow, manage an ePUB file during production?

In a related question, is it possible to have some sort of pre-processor linked to Sigil so with a few variables a different version of an ePUB can be saved?

I know these wishes are normally used in the production of software but it would be useful to be able to use it while producing an ePUB.

I ask this because I sometimes work on an ePUB and would like to have the possibility of someone editing an slightly older version and be able to merge the changes, check where the chances are made to re-view the underlying code.

Idially in the future I like others be able to get the newest version of an ePUB directly from an online repository to work together on the 'same' ePUB.

This goes probably fay beyond the intended use of Sigil at this time but it might be useful in an enviroment where multiple people work on one ePUB.

Also FlightCrew will be included in Sigil soon, I like to have a way to 'hook' other checkers like ePubCheck and ePubPreFlight to ensure I checked with at least ePubCheck as that is what publishers use. (Although if FlightCrew says it's ok, it's probably valid for the other checkers, but just to be sure

What are your thoughts about this? Is it something other people find useful? Is it maybe possible already (through, I don't know, command line?)

Thanks.

Valloric · 01-08-2011, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGN

While working on some ePUB files I started wondering if there is a way to show changes between 2 versions of an ePUB, maybe with the possibility to merge them. Also a connection to a version control system like SVN or even CVS would be useful in an production enviroment.

An epub file is just a ZIP archive of various text-based content files. If you want to version these, just store the un-archived version of your epub inside a history-tracking repository like SVN.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGN

Is there a way to hook Sigil up to a SVN repository and show differences between versions to, somehow, manage an ePUB file during production?

No, see above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGN

In a related question, is it possible to have some sort of pre-processor linked to Sigil so with a few variables a different version of an ePUB can be saved?

No. This sounds like a pink bidet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGN

Also FlightCrew will be included in Sigil soon, I like to have a way to 'hook' other checkers like ePubCheck and ePubPreFlight to ensure I checked with at least ePubCheck as that is what publishers use. (Although if FlightCrew says it's ok, it's probably valid for the other checkers, but just to be sure

Currently, no; in the future, perhaps when I add scripting abilities to Sigil. You should be able to do it then.

LGN · 01-08-2011, 01:01 PM

Thanks for your response Valloric.
I understand I could add the unzipped epub to SVN, but the problem would be that I then have to save the epub, unzip it, add to svn and when starting an edit visa versa.
Maybe I could make some kind of custom start shortcut which before Sigil starts gets update from svn, start Sigil and wait till it closes and after closing Sigil, adds epub to SVN. Maybe with the steps to zip/unzip. The problem with this would be maybe the issue of having the whole repository handled on open and close, not just one epub. With one ePUB I whould have to change the name everytime.
Maybe in the future when scripting gets implemented I can try hooking up SVN through script.

The preprocessing, well maybe that can be done through scripting too, although I probably want to avoid the need to make different versions altogether.

Anyway, for now I keep saving each ePUB version with a different number, just in case, and send it though email.

Thanks

alexandrul.ct · 01-08-2011, 04:25 PM

+1 for editing unzipped epubs (maybe using a single epub per folder).

SVN is not really good at merging, but think about how easy can be merging various contributions using Mercurial/Git. This option can enable distributed epub editing/translating (very very helpful for teams), and is not supported by any other epub editor.

Toxaris · 01-10-2011, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexandrul.ct

+1 for editing unzipped epubs (maybe using a single epub per folder).

What is an unzipped epub? An epub IS a zipfile with specific specs. If you unzip it, it is no longer an epub, but just a bunch of files.

DaleDe · 01-11-2011, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxaris

What is an unzipped epub? An epub IS a zipfile with specific specs. If you unzip it, it is no longer an epub, but just a bunch of files.

That is true, but it is a special bunch of files. This is what ePUB Reader does. It builds a file structure of the ePUB contents and then views it on a web browser.

Dale

alexandrul.ct · 01-16-2011, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxaris

What is an unzipped epub? An epub IS a zipfile with specific specs. If you unzip it, it is no longer an epub, but just a bunch of files.

That bunch of files can be put in a DVCS (Mercurial or Git) and can make team work a reality, like Sphinx [1] is for documentation. And, at any moment, the files can be zipped to a valid epub.

[1]: http://sphinx.pocoo.org/

LGN · 01-16-2011, 05:41 PM

Apriciated, but my goal was to use sigil for editing. Unzipping, adding to repository and then back again is not the ideal way.

bernhard-r · 12-31-2013, 01:07 PM

I face the issues regarding the source versioning, too. I created a small python script to convert ePub to other forms that are more conducive to use version control (I use Bazzar).

The script requires Python 2.7 and should run on any platform supported by Python.

Script can be found at http://launchpad.net/epubtools

Hope this helps somebody...

DaleDe · 12-31-2013, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernhard-r

I face the issues regarding the source versioning, too. I created a small python script to convert ePub to other forms that are more conducive to use version control (I use Bazzar).

The script requires Python 2.7 and should run on any platform supported by Python.

Script can be found at http://launchpad.net/epubtools

Hope this helps somebody...

What and where is Bazzar?

Dale

DiapDealer · 12-31-2013, 02:06 PM

I think they meant Bazaar. Just a different version control system like subversion, git, mercurial and the like. I believe Calibre used Bazaar up until fairly recently. Launchpad is where the projects are hosted.

http://bazaar.canonical.com

rkomar · 01-02-2014, 03:19 AM

Can you not just expand the epub/zip file and put the contents into a version control system? Then the only special 'tool' needed would be zip/unzip.

DaleDe · 01-02-2014, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkomar

Can you not just expand the epub/zip file and put the contents into a version control system? Then the only special 'tool' needed would be zip/unzip.

I would think that if you expand the ePub the diff command (available automatically in Linux and mac and via download in Windows) could be used to recursively check the contents. A VCS is really a special tool itself and only provides a way to document versions.

Dale

01-07-2011, 02:36 PM	#1
LGN Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 60 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: ProMedia eReader, Sony PRS-600	Show difference between ePUB files While working on some ePUB files I started wondering if there is a way to show changes between 2 versions of an ePUB, maybe with the possibility to merge them. Also a connection to a version control system like SVN or even CVS would be useful in an production enviroment. Is there a way to hook Sigil up to a SVN repository and show differences between versions to, somehow, manage an ePUB file during production? In a related question, is it possible to have some sort of pre-processor linked to Sigil so with a few variables a different version of an ePUB can be saved? I know these wishes are normally used in the production of software but it would be useful to be able to use it while producing an ePUB. I ask this because I sometimes work on an ePUB and would like to have the possibility of someone editing an slightly older version and be able to merge the changes, check where the chances are made to re-view the underlying code. Idially in the future I like others be able to get the newest version of an ePUB directly from an online repository to work together on the 'same' ePUB. This goes probably fay beyond the intended use of Sigil at this time but it might be useful in an enviroment where multiple people work on one ePUB. Also FlightCrew will be included in Sigil soon, I like to have a way to 'hook' other checkers like ePubCheck and ePubPreFlight to ensure I checked with at least ePubCheck as that is what publishers use. (Although if FlightCrew says it's ok, it's probably valid for the other checkers, but just to be sure What are your thoughts about this? Is it something other people find useful? Is it maybe possible already (through, I don't know, command line?) Thanks.

12-31-2013, 01:07 PM	#9
bernhard-r Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: iPad / Sony Libre	A tool that might be useful I face the issues regarding the source versioning, too. I created a small python script to convert ePub to other forms that are more conducive to use version control (I use Bazzar). The script requires Python 2.7 and should run on any platform supported by Python. Script can be found at http://launchpad.net/epubtools Hope this helps somebody...

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01-08-2011, 01:01 PM	#3
LGN Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 60 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: ProMedia eReader, Sony PRS-600	Thanks for your response Valloric. I understand I could add the unzipped epub to SVN, but the problem would be that I then have to save the epub, unzip it, add to svn and when starting an edit visa versa. Maybe I could make some kind of custom start shortcut which before Sigil starts gets update from svn, start Sigil and wait till it closes and after closing Sigil, adds epub to SVN. Maybe with the steps to zip/unzip. The problem with this would be maybe the issue of having the whole repository handled on open and close, not just one epub. With one ePUB I whould have to change the name everytime. Maybe in the future when scripting gets implemented I can try hooking up SVN through script. The preprocessing, well maybe that can be done through scripting too, although I probably want to avoid the need to make different versions altogether. Anyway, for now I keep saving each ePUB version with a different number, just in case, and send it though email. Thanks

01-08-2011, 04:25 PM	#4
alexandrul.ct Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	+1 for editing unzipped epubs (maybe using a single epub per folder). SVN is not really good at merging, but think about how easy can be merging various contributions using Mercurial/Git. This option can enable distributed epub editing/translating (very very helpful for teams), and is not supported by any other epub editor.

01-16-2011, 05:41 PM	#8
LGN Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 60 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: ProMedia eReader, Sony PRS-600	Apriciated, but my goal was to use sigil for editing. Unzipping, adding to repository and then back again is not the ideal way.

12-31-2013, 02:06 PM	#11
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,358 Karma: 203720150 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I think they meant Bazaar. Just a different version control system like subversion, git, mercurial and the like. I believe Calibre used Bazaar up until fairly recently. Launchpad is where the projects are hosted. http://bazaar.canonical.com

01-02-2014, 03:19 AM	#12
rkomar Wizard Posts: 3,042 Karma: 18821071 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	Can you not just expand the epub/zip file and put the contents into a version control system? Then the only special 'tool' needed would be zip/unzip.

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