EPub
 |
|
| Filename extension | .epub |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | application/epub+zip |
| Magic number | PK 0x03 0x04 |
| Developed by | International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) |
| Initial release | September 2007 |
| Latest release |
3.1
(January 5, 2017) |
| Type of format | e-book file format |
| Contained by | OEBPS Container Format (OCF; Zip) |
| Extended from | Open eBook, XHTML, CSS, DTBook |
| Standard | ISO/IEC TS 30135 |
| Open format? | Yes |
| Website | www |
EPUB is an e-book file format with the extension .epub that can be downloaded and read on devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, or e-readers. It is a technical standard published by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). The term is short for electronic publication and is sometimes styled ePub. EPUB became an official standard of the IDPF in September 2007, superseding the older Open eBook standard. The Book Industry Study Group endorses EPUB 3 as the format of choice for packaging content and has stated that the global book publishing industry should rally around a single standard. EPUB is the most widely supported vendor-independent XML-based (as opposed to PDF) e-book format; that is, it is supported by the largest number of hardware readers.
EPUB 2.0 was approved in October 2007, with a maintenance update (2.0.1) approved in September 2010. The EPUB 3.0 specification became effective in October 2011, superseded by a minor maintenance update (3.0.1) in June 2014. New major features include support for precise layout or specialized formatting (Fixed Layout Documents), such as for comic books, and MathML support. The current version of EPUB is 3.1, effective January 5, 2017. The (text of) format specification underwent reorganization and clean-up; format supports remotely-hosted resources and new font formats (WOFF 2.0 and SFNT) and uses more pure HTML and CSS.
In May 2016 IDPF Members approved World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) merger, "to fully align the publishing industry and core Web technology".
The format and many readers support the following:
The EPUB specification does not enforce or suggest a particular DRM scheme. This could affect the level of support for various DRM systems on devices and the portability of purchased e-books. Consequently, such DRM incompatibility may segment the EPUB format along the lines of DRM systems, undermining the advantages of a single standard format and confusing the consumer.
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