XHTML internal link checker

elipsett · 12-09-2019, 08:36 PM

Every so often I need to make an ebook with zillions of footnotes or other cross-references, and while various utilities exist to help me make them all, I haven't been able to find one that can scan through the XHTML stack and show me a list of every link>target pair so I can verify them.

Does such a utility exist?
Technically it wouldn't be that hard to make, but I'm hoping there already is one somewhere.

Various bells and whistles could be added to make it even more useful, but basically just displaying every link>target pair would be wonderful.

j.p.s · 12-09-2019, 09:33 PM

grep, if footnote links and targets match patterns that other links and targets do not.

elipsett · 12-09-2019, 09:42 PM

Hmm. Links have href, making them easy to spot, but targets may have only ids, and lots of other things also have ids.
The only way to get a matching set would be to search for all ids, which would return a lot of random ids that are NOT targets.
Or am I missing something?

j.p.s · 12-10-2019, 10:32 AM

No, not missing anything. If footnote targets are not distinct from other targets, my idea would not work.

elipsett · 12-10-2019, 08:35 PM

Thanks, it's good to know I'm not wrong, but it would actually have been better to discover your idea worked!

EPUB-check and the IDPF Validator (which is back online again, for now at least) return some information, but obviously cannot check if a link points to the correct target or not.

Maybe I'll have it developed... it's basically just a text handler, and shouldn't be that complicated.

Tex2002ans · 12-11-2019, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elipsett

Every so often I need to make an ebook with zillions of footnotes or other cross-references, [...] I haven't been able to find one that can scan through the XHTML stack and show me a list of every link>target pair so I can verify them.

Does such a utility exist?

Sigil and Calibre's Editor both have:

Tools > Reports > Links

They break down all <a> links, the text inside, and whether the destination actually exists. You're able to sort by columns, and it lets you easily spot inconsistencies.

Calibre also even has a Tools > External Links > Check External Links which visits every URL and lets you know if it's alive or not. Very helpful for catching dead links so you can update them.

elipsett · 12-11-2019, 09:17 PM

Well, that's a pleasant surprise!
I have Calibre but rarely use it for much... I'll have to take a closer look.

Thank you very much for heads-up!

12-09-2019, 08:36 PM	#1
elipsett Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Kumamoto, Japan Device: Kindle, MacOS, Win7	XHTML internal link checker Every so often I need to make an ebook with zillions of footnotes or other cross-references, and while various utilities exist to help me make them all, I haven't been able to find one that can scan through the XHTML stack and show me a list of every link>target pair so I can verify them. Does such a utility exist? Technically it wouldn't be that hard to make, but I'm hoping there already is one somewhere. Various bells and whistles could be added to make it even more useful, but basically just displaying every link>target pair would be wonderful.

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12-09-2019, 09:33 PM	#2
j.p.s Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,323 Karma: 98809518 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: pb360	grep, if footnote links and targets match patterns that other links and targets do not.

12-09-2019, 09:42 PM	#3
elipsett Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Kumamoto, Japan Device: Kindle, MacOS, Win7	Hmm. Links have href, making them easy to spot, but targets may have only ids, and lots of other things also have ids. The only way to get a matching set would be to search for all ids, which would return a lot of random ids that are NOT targets. Or am I missing something?

12-10-2019, 10:32 AM	#4
j.p.s Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,323 Karma: 98809518 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: pb360	No, not missing anything. If footnote targets are not distinct from other targets, my idea would not work.

12-10-2019, 08:35 PM	#5
elipsett Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Kumamoto, Japan Device: Kindle, MacOS, Win7	Thanks, it's good to know I'm not wrong, but it would actually have been better to discover your idea worked! EPUB-check and the IDPF Validator (which is back online again, for now at least) return some information, but obviously cannot check if a link points to the correct target or not. Maybe I'll have it developed... it's basically just a text handler, and shouldn't be that complicated.

12-11-2019, 09:17 PM	#7
elipsett Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Kumamoto, Japan Device: Kindle, MacOS, Win7	Well, that's a pleasant surprise! I have Calibre but rarely use it for much... I'll have to take a closer look. Thank you very much for heads-up!

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