Sure, publishers don’t have to use all these new features, and most won’t need to. Add the need to cost for a software development process to compete in, say, the college market, and you’ve got instant editorial heart failure. This is huge for publishing businesses, many of whom are only beginning to get their teams’ heads around reflowable text. In other words, ebooks just took a big step towards becoming software, rather than elaborate text files. EPUB 3.0 has great bells and important whistles, but you’re going to need actual software-development skills in-house to use them properly.

It adds “video, audio, interactivity, vertical writing and other global language capabilities, improved accessibility, MathML, and styling and layout enhancements” ( IDPF PR).īut for publishers, these possibilities extend the technical skill level required to create market-wowing products. Under EPUB 2.0, even market leaders took their time implementing support for basic features.ĮPUB 3.0 is a great step forward technologically.

The IDPF, which oversees the EPUB 3.0 spec, has announced the open-source Readium Project to get it implemented more quickly.Īnd goodness knows it needs acceleration. If you’ve been watching, you’ll know that EPUB 3.0 is here, the new specification for the world’s leading ebook format.

Readium epub