Packaging Review

Hi DPUB,

As promised:

We are aiming to put together comments regarding the TAG's draft spec for Packaging on the Web [1]. Ivan has helpfully written a summary of the document [2].

For comparative purposes, Brady provided the Open eBook Forum (OEBF), now the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), spec [3]. This 1999 specification had an implementation, but was abandoned in favor of Zip which was seen as better tooled and easier to use than multipart MIME.

Note that the document itself includes some issues as open questions. We might wish to offer our thoughts on those issues.

Additional questions regarding packaging in the context of DPUB:

1.       Fragment ID would potentially supplant (and maybe improve upon) EPUB CFI [4].  Bill K and Metadata (Identifiers) TF (and others who love IDs), would you be able list all the things that Fragment IDs need to do now? Is this sufficient? What would you recommend we layer on top of this for EPUB-WEB [5]? Let's get a wiki page going, and Markus will be in touch with you shortly.

2.       Are there aspects OEBFF draft that we would like to recommend for Packaging? for EPUB-WEB on top of Packaging?

3.       There's nothing about sequence, manifest, metadata, digital signatures, encryption, etc. EPUB 3 can include this information. See [6] and [7].  ( "Issue 2" in the document alludes to metadata being included in a package header.) Would we recommend these as MUSTs/SHOULDs/MAYs for Packaging? For EPUB-WEB?

4.       What else?

Brady, Dave, Alan, and I agreed to begin work on this.  I know Dave has already begun creating a sample file,  which I'm sure he'll share with the group in due time. As you can see, there are many items to address. I am quite sure that I've missed some obvious points. Please tell me what I'm missing.

We will likely discuss the topics of packaging  and identifiers at our next meeting (23 Feb). I hope we will have some fruitful online discussion before that time.

[1] http://w3ctag.github.io/packaging-on-the-web/
[2] https://github.com/w3c/epubweb/wiki/Notes-on-Packaging
[3] https://www.w3.org/dpub/IG/wiki/File:OEBFF_draft.pdf
[4] http://www.idpf.org/epub/linking/cfi/epub-cfi.html
[5] http://w3c.github.io/epubweb/
[6] http://www.idpf.org/epub/301/spec/epub-publications.html#sec-package-def EPUB package definition
[7] http://www.idpf.org/epub/301/spec/epub-ocf.html#sec-container-metainf-encryption.xml EPUB encryption


Thank you,
Tzviya

Tzviya Siegman
Digital Book Standards & Capabilities Lead
Wiley
201-748-6884
tsiegman@wiley.com<mailto:tsiegman@wiley.com>