This project contains a template used to write eBooks using AsciiDoc, Git, MacVim and other tools on Mac OS X.
The aim of the project is to provide a boilerplate used to generate eBooks in several formats on one operation:
- Self-contained HTML
- ePub
- Kindle
Why using such a complex setup instead of just using a simpler tool like Word or Pages?
- The primary motivation of this template is versioning. Being able to use plain text files as input for the book brings the possibility of versioning each change individually using Git, Subversion or any other similar tool. This also opens up the door to collaboration among team members when editing a document.
- The second motivation is to separate the presentation and the layout of the final book from its contents. Other output file types could be added in the future.
- This also brings the possibility of using any text editor in just about any operating system; files are just plain text files that can be edited with gEdit, Notepad, Emacs, Vim, TextEdit, or any other tool.
- Markup languages like Markdown or Asciidoc (used in this template) are simpler and more readable than LaTeX or other SGML-like languages, making the files readable and lean even when edited in a text editor without any syntax highlighting or formatting support.
- Finally, being able to streamline the creation of the three versions of the book in just one command-line operation allows the whole setup to be automatized.
The master.asciidoc file at the root of this project provides the
guiding structure of the book. Chapters can be shuffled around,
independently of their contents or internal structure.
Individual chapters are stored in the chapters folder, one file per
chapter.
Images are stored as PNG files in the images folder.
The build.sh script creates a temporary _build folder, copies all
the different elements in it (the master file, the chapters and the
images) and commands the execution of the whole toolchain in order to
get the final result.
Follow these instructions to install the required libraries in Mac OS X:
- Install Homebrew if not already installed.
- If already installed, remember to run
brew update.
- If already installed, remember to run
- Download and install
asciidocusing Homebrew:brew install asciidoc
- Install source-highlight with Homebrew:
brew install source-highlight
- Download and install the latest MacTeX package from
http://www.tug.org/mactex/ - Install the
dblatexpackage manually:brew install https://raw.github.com/bartschuller/homebrew/master/Library/Formula/dblatex.rb
- Download the kindlegen tool and install it in the following
path:
/Applications/KindleGen_Mac_i386_v2/kindlegen
- Make sure AsciiDoc and dblatex are properly installed.
- Execute the booklet/build.sh script. This will create the PDF, ePub and HTML versions of the book.
- The script also generates the .mobi (Amazon Kindle) version if the kindlegen tool is installed.
After the build process completes, the compiled eBooks will be available
at the _build subfolder.
If the generation of the PDF fails during "makeindex" follow the instructions in this page and add the following line:
openout_any = r
to the file /usr/local/texlive/2011/texmf.cnf
If the EPUB generation causes problems, check this page.
dblatex has to be installed using a custom Homebrew formula, because the default installation does not include it at the time of this writing. This might change in the future.
Using a2x for the HTML creation has the following drawbacks:
- It takes longer;
- It does not embed the images in the HTML;
- It does not do syntax highlighting.
However, it creates an index when required.
This work is placed in the public domain. It belongs to mankind and to nobody in particular. Use it to write poetry, arts, science books and novels. You cannot use it to write hatred or stupid things.
However, just in case, the author does not take any responsibility about any bad things that might happen when using this template. However, this should not happen.
Use, share, transform, as much as you want. I hope you find it useful!