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Features people have requested for EPUB

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Dave Cramer edited this page Aug 15, 2019 · 12 revisions

Feature Requests for EPUB 3.1 (from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QINuKE5Hsemll6G6tSQe6BaRuCHerFuwfXIRTgdaO7o/edit)

Media

  • Consider adding a 3D format as Core Media Type
  • Consider adding a speech-optimized audio format as Core Media Type
  • Consider adding the new image format BPG
  • [done] Consider adding support for a new WOFF2 webfont format

Scripting

  • Consider adding formalized mechanism for scripts requesting to make remote calls
  • Consider incorporating Cross-Origin Resource Sharing in EPUB
  • Consider prescribing a local storage API for JS-enabled reading systems

Open Web Platform Alignment

  • Consider supporting the HTML serialization
  • Consider starting the migration from @epub:type to @role
  • Consider reviving the OCF File System Container as a server-oriented manifestation
  • Identify a workable solution to the aria-describedat/longdesc conundrum
  • Identify method to retain one (and only one) table of contents that can be rendered to reader in more than one way
  • Consider adding RDFa Lite (and possibly JSON-LD) as the syntax for metadata

Media Overlays

  • Consider supporting user-controlled granularity of synchronization
  • Consider supporting CFI character range synchronization in SMIL files
  • Consider supporting hard of hearing use cases in Media Overlays
  • Consider adding metadata to specify different types of MOs (audio-only, text-audio, video? etc.)

Package File

  • Consider adding metadata for Braille formatting and Braille codes
  • Consider adding new value for epub-type to represent the list of skippable structures in the Navigation Document.
  • Consider adding metadata for Navigation presentation modes
  • Consider adding support for custom attributes in the Package File
  • Consider adding XAdES or ASIC
  • Consider extending alternate style tags (2.1.3.5)
  • Consider allowing nesting of meta tags

Deprecation of existing features

  • [done] Consider deprecating epub:switch
  • [done] Consider deprecating epub:trigger
  • [done] Consider deprecating bindings

Modular specs for incorporation

  • Consider incorporating Region-based Navigation
  • Consider incorporating Multiple Renditions
  • Consider incorporating EPUB Previews
  • Consider incorporating EPUB Scriptable Components
  • Consider incorporating Open Annotations in EPUB
  • Consider incorporating EPUB Dictionaries and Glossaries semantics for internal Content Docs and external, stand-alone publications

Synchronization with Other Specifications

  • [done] CSS Modules
  • [done] HTML5
  • ISO/IEC EPUB

Bug fixes

Issues labeled "Deferred" in publ-epub-revision repo

Original Goals for EPUB 3.0 (from http://idpf.org/epub/30/wg-charter)

  1. Need for rich media and interactivity support. EPUB 2.0.1 has an extension mechanism, with provision for fallbacks, but does not intrinsically standardize support for rich media (such as video) and interactivity (programmatic content, such as would be needed to implement a quiz or crossword puzzle). These capabilities are necessary for interactive digital textbooks and digital magazines, and more generally to enable eBooks to evolve into a new medium, rather than simply be digital equivalents of paper books.

  2. Need for enhanced global language support. There is substantial interest in using EPUB in China, Japan, Korea , and other geographies, however it is recognized that at a minimum, requirements for support for the character sets, Ruby markup, and typographic rules needed for reading systems in these geographies (including but not limited to special line-breaking rules and vertical writing direction) are not adequately specified in EPUB 2.0.1. Published Minimal Requirements on EPUB for Japanese Text Layout (English)

  3. Need for enhanced article support. The fundamental atomic unit of magazines and newspapers is the article, an entity which is not specifically defined in EBUB 2.0.1.The magazine industry has adopted the PRISM standard for interchange and archival of digital content and it is desirable to support a work flow where PRISM content can be delivered as EPUB.

  4. Need for enhanced metadata support. EPUB 2.0.1 provides basic support for expressing embedded publication metadata. However, native support for standards such as ONIX, RDFa, and others is not yet provided, which has a negative impact on the fidelity of metadata provision. Likewise, PRISM has article-level and inline metadata support that could integrate into EPUB.

  5. Need for a means to convey page-level layouts and target multiple display surface sizes in a single publication. EPUB 2.0.1 lacks any way to specify page-level layouts or dynamically select different layouts based on considerations such as available display area and user-preferred font size. This is a barrier to supporting books with more complex information designs, as well as digital magazines, and even for trade books makes it harder to convey a “house style” (addressing this requirement was requested by the AAP in conjunction with its endorsement of EPUB in May 2008).

  6. Need for enhanced navigation support. There is currently no ability to represent preferred instantiations of navigational elements; as well, presently any rendering of page-to-page navigation as well as Table of Contents and other navigation elements is optional and entirely Reading System-dependent. Version 2.0.1 makes “end user” presentation of the NCX TOC a “should” with statement that the next version will likely transform to a “must” and that other NCX sections may receive similar “upgraded” treatment.

  7. Incomplete alignment with broadly-adopted Web standards. EPUB 2.0.1 is built on numerous horizontal industry standards. However, these building-block standards, and the Web browsers that implement them, are rapidly evolving and the versions of these standards utilized in 2006 when EPUB 2.0 was formulated are no longer current. Since most distributed Reading Systems utilize Web browsers to present content to end users, and many standalone Reading Systems utilize Web browser rendering technologies in their implementations, it is desirable to improve alignment with Web standards as implemented by modern browsers.

  8. Lack of annotation support. There is presently no standard mechanism by which user-generated (aka “post publication”) information such as reading-position, bookmarks, and annotations may be stored and exchanged, which reduces interoperability across Reading Systems. It unclear if annotations should be a separate specification which could “overlay” the other EPUB specs. Note that annotations may wish to be stored and/or transported separately from publication content, and there exist at least two annotation specifications that can work with EPUB as well as other formats (DAISY and Adobe’s).

  9. No native support for mathematics. The lack of a native schema to represent mathematical equations (MathML) limits applicability and interoperability of eBook in the textbook and academic publishing segments.

  10. No native support for book-specific semantics. For academic publishing in particular, the absence of native support for book-specific structures such as glossaries, note reference systems and advanced cross-reference systems pose a limitation that negatively impacts the behavioral repertoire of reading systems.

  11. Insufficient accessibility support. EPUB is well-aligned with the DAISY standard but does not presently incorporate all DAISY features; in particular, there is not explicit support for full synchronization of multiple media types, such as audio and text. The proposed EPUB 2.1 revision will coincide in time with the revision of DAISY (ANSI/NISO Z39.86); the option to further the harmonization of the two standards should be considered.

  12. Insufficient mechanism for adding industry specific extensions. Vertical markets have defined schemas that communicate specific semantics important to their market segment, which presently cannot be handled in an interoperable manner within EPUB.

  13. No clear relationship to approved national and international standards. While EPUB has enjoyed broad adoption, the relationship to national and international standards has not been clearly articulated. In addition, no roadmap has been provided to address these questions in the industry.

  14. No mechanism for including advertising. Currently there is no mechanism to identify and include advertising in publications, which is required in several markets.

Others

CG Call

  • Navigation, and UI for large, complex nav docs

  • Fixed Layout improvements

  • STEM issues, MathML and SVG support, resizing of SVG... support for the HTML5 details element...

CG Emails

  • annotations

  • semantic enrichment

  • non-linear content

  • rendering (running heads, paged media, etc)

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