FBReader is a free

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 and open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 e-book reader

E-book reader

An e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals....

 for GNU

GNU

GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...

/Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

, Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, and other platforms.

It was originally written for the Sharp Zaurus

Sharp Zaurus

The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistant made by Sharp Corporation. The Zaurus was the most popular PDA during the 1990s in Japan and was based on a proprietary operating system. The first Sharp PDA to use the Linux operating system was the SL-5000D, running the...

 and currently runs on many other mobile devices, like the Nokia Internet Tablets, as well as desktop computer

Desktop computer

A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...

s. A preview of FBReaderJ (the Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

 port) for Google Android was released on April 13, 2008.

Supported formats include EPUB

EPUB

EPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum...

, FictionBook

FictionBook

FictionBook is an open XML-based e-book format, which originated and gained popularity in Russia. The FictionBook files have the .fb2 filename extension....

, HTML

HTML

HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....

, plucker

Plucker

Plucker is an offline Web and free e-book reader for Palm OS based handheld devices, Windows Mobile devices and other PDAs. Plucker contains POSIX tools, scripts and "conduits" which work on Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows...

, PalmDoc, zTxt, TCR, CHM, RTF

Rich Text Format

The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....

, OEB

Open eBook

Open eBook , or formally, the Open eBook Publication Structure , is a legacy e-book format "based primarily on technology developed by SoftBook Press" and on XML; it has been superseded by the EPUB electronic publication standard.Open eBook is a ZIP file plus a Manifest file...

, non-DRM'ed

Digital rights management

Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...

 mobipocket

Mobipocket

Mobipocket SA is a French company incorporated in March 2000 which produces Mobipocket Reader software, an E-Book reader for some PDAs, phones and desktop operating systems....

 (mobi), and plain-text.
DAISY 3 format support was added in FBReaderJ for Android.

History

FBReader was originally released for the Sharp Zaurus

Sharp Zaurus

The Sharp Zaurus is the name of a series of Personal Digital Assistant made by Sharp Corporation. The Zaurus was the most popular PDA during the 1990s in Japan and was based on a proprietary operating system. The first Sharp PDA to use the Linux operating system was the SL-5000D, running the...

 in January 2005, a Maemo

Maemo

Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...

 port was added in December 2005 for the Nokia 770. FBReader has since had binary packages released for many mobile device platforms and most major personal computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 (PC) operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

s .
The FBReader name with the FB

FB

FB may stand for:* Flashback Media Group, a Swedish internet forum* Fenerbahçe, a Turkish sports club* Fly ball, a type of batted ball or a pitching stat in baseball* Fullback , a position in American football...

 prefix comes from FictionBook, an e-book format which is popular in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, the country of FBReader's author .

Components

For easy cross-platform

Cross-platform

In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...

 compiling, FBReader uses zlibrary, a cross-platform interface library. It allows recompiling for many platforms while disregarding the GUI-toolkit

Widget toolkit

In computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...

used.