FictionBook
Encyclopedia
FictionBook is an open XML
-based e-book
format, which originated and gained popularity in Russia
. The FictionBook files have the .fb2 filename extension
.
The FictionBook format does not specify the appearance of a document; instead, it describes its structure. For example, there are special tags for epigraphs, verses and quotations. All the ebook metadata, such as the author name, title, and publisher, is also present in the ebook file. Hence the format is convenient for automatic processing, indexing, and ebook collection management. This also allows automatic conversion into other formats.
) FictionBook eBook consists of just one XML file. Images are converted to Base64
and reside inside the tag, so the size of the embedded images is increased by approximately 37%. Often FictionBook files are distributed inside Zip archives, and most of hardware and software readers can work with compressed FictionBook files (*.fb2.zip) directly. The metadata and the plain text data are always placed in the beginning of the FictionBook file, while more heavyweight binary images are placed in the end. This allows software to start rendering or processing FictionBook before the file is available entirely.
FictionBook is the format of choice of some of the community-driven online electronic libraries. It does not allow for Digital Rights Management of any kind.
s such as FBReader
, AlReader, Haali Reader, STDU Viewer
, CoolReader, Okular
and some other. Many hardware vendors support FictionBook in their firmwares: BeBook One, BeBook Mini and BeBook Club in Europe (and other Hanlin V3 and V5 based devices), all PocketBook Reader
s, COOL-ER
devices, Cybook Opus
and Cybook Gen3
, ASUS Eee Reader DR900. Devices based on Hanvon N516 design can read FictionBook if custom OpenInkpot firmware is installed, it is factory default for Azbooka 516. Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Nobles Nook and Sony devices do not support FictionBook directly. However, a GNU GPL cross-platform e-book manager Calibre
allows conversion of .fb2 books into formats suitable for any e-reader.
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
-based e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
format, which originated and gained popularity 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 FictionBook files have the .fb2 filename extension
Filename extension
A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding of its contents or usage....
.
The FictionBook format does not specify the appearance of a document; instead, it describes its structure. For example, there are special tags for epigraphs, verses and quotations. All the ebook metadata, such as the author name, title, and publisher, is also present in the ebook file. Hence the format is convenient for automatic processing, indexing, and ebook collection management. This also allows automatic conversion into other formats.
Features of FictionBook
- free and open format with multiple hardware and software implementations
- DRMDigital rights managementDigital 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...
-free - supports reflow by design
- simple semantic markup
- optimized for narrative literature
- embeds metadata, proposes its own scheme for genre description
- supports Unicode
- documents may contain:
- structured text organized in nested sections (optionally titled)
- subtitles (which do not appear in the table of contents)
- epigraphs
- poetry
- quotations
- references and footnotes
- tables (but not all readers support them)
- raster images (PNG or JPEG)
- inline formatting:
- strong (usually bold)
- emphasized (usually slanted or italic)
- strikethrough
- superscript
- subscript
- program code (usually in monospace font)
Differences from other eBook formats
In contrast to other eBook formats (e.g. ePubEPUB
EPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum...
) FictionBook eBook consists of just one XML file. Images are converted to Base64
Base64
Base64 is a group of similar encoding schemes that represent binary data in an ASCII string format by translating it into a radix-64 representation...
and reside inside the
FictionBook is the format of choice of some of the community-driven online electronic libraries. It does not allow for Digital Rights Management of any kind.
Software and Hardware support
It is supported by e-book readerE-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....
s such as FBReader
FBReader
FBReader is a free and open source e-book reader for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, and other platforms.It was originally written for the Sharp Zaurus and currently runs on many other mobile devices, like the Nokia Internet Tablets, as well as desktop computers...
, AlReader, Haali Reader, STDU Viewer
STDU Viewer
STDU Viewer is a compact viewer for PDF, WWF, DjVu, Comic Book Archive , FB2, XPS, TCR, multi-page TIFF, TXT, PalmDoc , EMF, WMF, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PSD, PCX, DCX files...
, CoolReader, Okular
Okular
Okular is the document viewer for KDE SC 4 . It is based on KPDF and it replaced KPDF, KGhostView, KFax, KFaxview and KDVI in KDE 4.Its functionality can be easily embedded in other applications....
and some other. Many hardware vendors support FictionBook in their firmwares: BeBook One, BeBook Mini and BeBook Club in Europe (and other Hanlin V3 and V5 based devices), all PocketBook Reader
PocketBook Reader
PocketBook is a series of devices primarily for e-reading by PocketBook International, a Hong Kong based multinational company headquartered in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. USA headquarters are located in Overland Park, Kansas ....
s, COOL-ER
COOL-ER
The COOL-ER is an e-book reader from UK company Interead. The device is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers, comes in a variety of colors, and supports e-books in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Dutch, Russian, Korean, Ukrainian, Mandarin and Japanese. The device is...
devices, Cybook Opus
Cybook Opus
Cybook Opus is a 5 inch e-Reader, specially designed for reading e-Books and e-News. It is produced by the French company Bookeen.-Description:The Cybook Opus is an ultra-light reading device based on E Ink screen technology....
and Cybook Gen3
Cybook Gen3
Cybook Gen3 is a 6 inch e-Reader, specially designed for reading e-Books and e-News, or listening to MP3 music or audio-books. It is produced by the French company Bookeen....
, ASUS Eee Reader DR900. Devices based on Hanvon N516 design can read FictionBook if custom OpenInkpot firmware is installed, it is factory default for Azbooka 516. Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Nobles Nook and Sony devices do not support FictionBook directly. However, a GNU GPL cross-platform e-book manager Calibre
Calibre (software)
calibre is free and open source e-book computer software that organizes, saves and manages e-books, supporting a variety of formats. It also supports e-book syncing with a variety of popular e-book readers and will, within DRM restrictions, convert e-books between differing formats...
allows conversion of .fb2 books into formats suitable for any e-reader.
External links
- FictionBook Portal
- FictionBook 2.1 specification
- www.fictionbook-lib.org site with english e-books in fictionbook format
- ManyBooks.net - site with all Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
books in FB2 format
Programs for creation and editing
- FictionBook Editor - Famous (and, actually, the first one) WYSIWYG FB2 editor
- FB Writer
- RSS feeds to FB2 book converter - GoogleReader OPML file or simple RSS feeds converter into FB2 book (with images)
- OOo FBTools The free cross platform OpenOffice.org extension for converting and processing eBooks to FictionBook2 format.
- BookDesigner
- FictionBook Designer
- Calibre
- Books on Fiction
Reader Software
- List of fb2 reader software
- CoolReader 3(rus)(eng)
- FBReaderFBReaderFBReader is a free and open source e-book reader for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, and other platforms.It was originally written for the Sharp Zaurus and currently runs on many other mobile devices, like the Nokia Internet Tablets, as well as desktop computers...
both desktop and mobile devices e-book reader for Unix/Windows/Android/Symbian - FB2Reader — Addon for Firefox browser.
- Haali Reader - a book reader for Windows and Windows CE based platforms (Open source)
- ICE Book Reader Professional
- Lexcycle StanzaLexcycle StanzaLexcycle Stanza is a freeware program for reading eBooks, digital newspapers, and other digital publications. The software supports the eBook formats EPUB, eReader, MS LIT, Amazon Kindle, Mobipocket, and PalmDoc, as well as general document formats HTML, PDF, MS Word, and Rich Text Format...
- Moon+ reader e-book reader for Android smart-phones
- Open eBook Reader - tiny reader for Windows
- PyBookReader Book Reader for Linux/FreeBSD/other operation systems
- STDU ViewerSTDU ViewerSTDU Viewer is a compact viewer for PDF, WWF, DjVu, Comic Book Archive , FB2, XPS, TCR, multi-page TIFF, TXT, PalmDoc , EMF, WMF, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PSD, PCX, DCX files...
- free universal e-book reader. - TequilaCat Reader - reader for Java enabled phones
- ZXReader - reader for Symbian/S60