ADE
See Digital Editions.
Android
Google developed operating system for mobile devices. This is an open standard and seen as the leading contender for producers of mobile Apps for device manufacturers other than Apple.
API
Application Programming Interface. A set of rules by which an operating system or application allows communication and interaction. E.g. Google maps publishes an API which allows developers to integrate Google Maps into websites and Apps. Apple provide APIs for developers to access and integrate software and hardware into their OS for Mac, iPad or iPhone Apps.
App
Short for Application. An Application is a computer program written to run on a particular operating system. Because Apps don’t need to conform to a file format, Apps can take full advantage of the device’s capabilities and can be presented in different forms, e.g. games, browsers or eReader Apps. Apps are more fully featured than ePub or PDF files and so require specialist programming skills.
Blackberry OS
The operating system used for Blackberry mobile devices.
Browser
An application that interprets HTML or XHTML code and then presents the results to the user.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets. A way for styling information to be applied to HTML and XHTML documents. By using CSS, webpages and eBooks can have styles quickly applied and changed.
Digital Editions
Sometimes called ADE, Adobe Digital Editions is a desktop application to display ePub files and PDFs on both PC or Mac computers.
DocBook
A standard XML schema used in publishing for documents and books.
DTD
Document Type Definition. Also referred to as a Schema. See Schema.
DRM
Digital Rights Management. A way to wrap content (e.g. ePub) in such a way as to prevent sharing and copyright infringement.
eBook
A loose term which can mean any book file which can be read electronically.
Eclipse
An IDE application which can be used to create Java Apps e.g. suitable for use with devices running the Android OS.
Enhanced ePub
An unofficial term which can mean any file which still meets the ePub standard but which alongside the text may contain and images, video, music, animation and interactivity. Possibilities to enhance traditional books arise as the devices emerge which support these features.
ePDF
A loose term which can mean any PDF file which is optimised for on screen reading. There is no standard for ePDFs.
ePub
An open standard for the creation of electronic publications. eReaders such Sony Reader and iPad understand and display ePub files. ePub is a collection of standards including XHTML, CSS and XML and instructions on how they must be be packaged together. ePub is published and maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum.
eReader
The collective term for reading devices, e.g. Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook or Apple iPad.
Flash
Adobe video and animation format which is available to be displayed by a browser via a plug-in. Apple have not allowed Flash to be displayed onto iPads / iPods / iPhones.
HTML
Hyper Text Mark Up Language. The simple browser language that spawned the internet boom. HTML describes how a web page should be displayed. The current version is HTML4, HTML5 which is due for release in 2011 is likely to better support video playback and animation which currently rely on plug-ins and scripting. See also XHTML.
iBooks
The App that Apple provide for iPad / iPod / iPhone to organise and display ePubs. The iBookstore can be easily reached through the iBooks App.
iBookstore
The section of the Apple iTunes Store dedicated exclusively to promoting, selling and distributing ePubs. Users can be taken directly to the iBookstore through the iBooks App.
IDE
Integrated Development Environment. A collection of software provided through an SDK that helps programmers us. e.g Xcode is the main Apple application for writing and testing Applications.
InDesign
Adobe page layout software. Files can be exported many formats including PDF, Flash, HTML, ePub and XML. InDesign can be used to apply XML tagging.
iPad
Apple portable touchscreen device (9.7-inch screen, 1024×768 pixels) which can be used to run Apps. A tablet device (no physical keyboard) which can be used for surfing, gaming, playing video and music and to display ePub books. Wifi enabled, some models can also have 3G phone connection which allows Apps and browsers to access the internet from anywhere there is a suitable phone signal.
iPhone
Apple handheld touchscreen device (115 x 59mm 3.5-inch screen, iPhone 4 has 960×640-pixel at 326 ppi earlier iPhone have half this) A smart phone which can be used for surfing, gaming, taking and playing images, video and music and to show ePub books. As well as allowing owners to make phone calls and text, the 3G phone connection allows Apps and browsers to access the internet from anywhere there is a suitable phone signal.
iPod Touch
Apple handheld touchscreen device very similar in size and functions to an iPhone. Wifi enabled, but without the ability to use phone or remote web connection.
iTunes
Apple application for storing, searching, displaying and playing video, music and ePub files. iPads / iPods / iPhones all run the iTunes App and content can be synchronised between devices and PC/Macs. Also has connection to the iTunes Store.
iTunes Store
Apple web based store through which users can find, sample and purchase music, video, Apps and ePubs.
iOS
Apple’s proprietary operating system for iPads / iPods / iPhones.
Java
A programming language which can be used to create Apps for the Android operating system.
JavaScript
A programming language which can be used to extend the capabilities of HTML files, e.g. to improve animation and interactivity. All modern browsers and some Reading Systems support JavaScript functions.
Kindle
The Amazon developed eReader which can be used to read Mobi files.
Manifest
The part of an ePub which lists all the elements within the ePub folder structure. Contained in the OPF.
Mark Up
The method of applying text tags to give meaning or presentation instructions. The ‘ML’ in HTML and XML (and others) means Markup Language.
Metadata
Literally translates as data about data. Metadata is the information stored within a file which describes the file itself, e.g. ePub metadata contains the title, author, ISBN, publication date.
Mobi
Amazon proprietary format used for for use on their Kindle device. Currently Penguin supplies ePub standard to Amazon, Amazon then converts these to Mobi and sells for use on their Kindle eReader
NCX
A table of contents file inside an ePub used to control the navigation of an ePub.
Objective-C
A programming language based on C++, see X Code.
Open Standard / Open Source
A language, a piece of programming or a standard for which the source materials are freely available to all, e.g. the ePub standard is an open standard and we include a free open source font in all our ePubs. The opposite of and open standard is a proprietary standard.
OPF
Open Packaging Format. An XML file inside the ePub file which describes the structure of the ePub, e.g. the locations of all the text sections and images.
OPS
Open Publication Structure. The instructions about how the ePub must be structured and how content files can be formatted, e.g. all ePubs must contain an OPF file, an NCX file, a CSS file in a folder named ‘styles’, all HTML files must be XHTML, images can be JPEG, GIF, PNG but must not be SVG.
OS
Operating System. The core software that a computer or device uses to run and manage the computer hardware and provide services to Apps, e.g. Apple develop iOS, Google develop Android.
Oxygen
A Mac Application that can be used to write and validate XML.
Portable Document Format. The Adobe developed file format used to faithfully display and output pages in a fixed layout. PDF is now an Open Standard.
PI
Processing Instruction. The declaration at the start of a code file which identifies which language it is in.
Plug-In
A small piece of application code which extends the capability of another application, e.g. a Flash plug-in can enable a browser to better play video, animation and sound.
Proprietary
The opposite of an Open Standard, only suitable for use with a certain hardware or operating system. e.g. The Mobi format is a proprietary Amazon only format. X Code Apps are proprietary and for Apple devices only.
QA Process
The process of checking that the ePub files supplied from our typesetters conform to the ePub standard and the standards that ePub is built upon.
Reading System
Similar to a browser, this is the way that an eReading device interprets and presents ePub content on screen. Different Reading Systems may present ePubs slightly differently.
Schema
A record of the structure and rules of an XML file which the file can be validated against. Penguin has it’s own schemas for poetry, cookery titles etc.
SDK
Software Development Kit. A collection of instructions, applications and reference material necessary for developing Apps.
Spine
The running order of the XHTML files inside the ePub. Contained in the OPF.
Standard Web Fonts
A limited set of fonts which are available to every browser. By limiting font choice to standard web fonts, appearance can be better anticipated in a browser or Reading System.
Tags
The code instructions used when marking up text, e.g. this text is tagged. By placing opening and closing tags around words the presentation or meaning can be specified. When tags contain other tags this is called nesting.
Validation
A check to make sure that a file is following the rules of its schema or standard, e.g. if an ePub does not have a title or does not declare what langauge it is in (within it’s metadata) then it is not valid.
Well-formed
A term which means that an XML document is properly created when measured against th rules of XML. e.g. All tags are correctly nested, with none missing and none overlapping or all beginning and end tags match exactly.
Windows Phone
The Microsoft developed operating system for mobile devices.
X Code
Apple’s version of Objective-C programming language used to create iPhone and iPad Apps for the iOS.
XHTML
An HTML document which also follows the rules of XML. The ePub standard requires all content to be XHTML.
XML
Extensible Mark Up Language. A set of rules for document tagging. Because new tags can be specified, XML lends itself to capturing more information about the content than purely how it should be displayed. XML can be used as a database, as a way to share data between applications and a way to convert content to different outputs e.g. XHTML, PDF or ePub
XSLT
Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations. A set of rules used to transform XML from one form to another (e.g. XML to PDF, XML to XHTML or XML to a differently structured XML).