Learning About EPUB: Structure and Content

Sure, you’ve been reading a lot about e-books in the news lately. But let’s take a moment to step back from the controversy and take a look at the technology behind these digital publications. There are various formats used to create e-books, but one of the most popular is the standards-based EPUB format.



EPUB® (electronic publication) is an open standard from the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) for creating and distributing digital publications such as e-books. EPUB content is “reflowable,” which means it can be accessed on any of the numerous e-readers that support the standard (iPad®, Sony® Reader™, NOOK®, Kobo™ Touch, et al).

An EPUB document is comprised of OPS (Open Publication Structure), OPF (Open Packaging Format), OCF (Open Container Format), XHTML, CSS, SVG, image, and other file types in a single, interoperable file format for easy distribution and publication.

Let’s examine this structure further by creating our own EPUB e-book, then repurposing some existing HTML pages to flesh out the content.

New Case Study: Automating XBRL Data Collection and Processing

Case studies are a great way to see how other organizations use Altova® technologies to develop unique projects that meet their business goals. We’re often asked, however, what comes next. Did the project take off? Has it grown since the case study was published?

We’re happy to bring you a follow up to a case study we published last year about the not-for-profit Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA).
In the original case study, MACPA converted General Ledger and other financial data from siloed systems into XBRL – in house and on a budget – with the Altova MissionKit®. At that point, they were mapping the XBRL file to multiple external targets, including an Excel spreadsheet used to feed their Key Performance Indicators (KPI) system. (You can read the original XBRL case study here.)

Since that time, they’ve built on the foundation they created and developed a business intelligence dashboard driven by the XBRL files they generate in MapForce®. They used Altova FlowForce®, an application designed to automate the execution of MapForce data transformations and other tasks on servers, virtual machines, and workstations, to automate the XBRL data collection and processing. Now the most recent data is available across the entire organization for custom reporting.

You can read the follow-up to the original XBRL case study here.



Read more about how they did it.

Versiones en español de XMLSpy, MapForce y StyleVision

Nos complace anunciar que, a partir de la versión 2012 Release 2 SP1, las aplicaciones XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision y el conjunto de aplicaciones MissionKit for XML Developers están disponibles en español. También en español está ya el sitio web de Altova.

Estas versiones en español amplían nuestra oferta de versiones traducidas, que ya incluye productos en inglés, alemán, japonés y chino.

Para descargar la versión en español de XMLSpy, MapForce y StyleVision o el conjunto de aplicaciones MissionKit for XML Developers, sólo tiene que seleccionar la opción "Spanish/Español" del menú desplegable de selección de idiomas. Con su actual código clave de licencia puede desbloquear cualquier versión traducida del producto que adquirió. Si lo prefiere, también puede descargar una versión de prueba gratis de 30 días de duración.

Spanish Language Versions of XMLSpy, MapForce, and StyleVision

We're excited to announce that, starting with Version 2012 Release 2 SP1, Altova XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and the MissionKit for XML Developers are now available in fully localized Spanish language versions! Much of the Altova Web site is now available in Spanish, as well.

Spanish is latest addition to our growing list of localized options including English, German, Japanese, and Chinese.

To download the Spanish version of XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, or the MissionKit for XML Developers, simply select Spanish from the language selector. Your existing license key code will unlock any language version of your purchased product(s). You can also download a free 30-day trial at any time.