Bridging the Gap between eBook Readers and Browsers

Using Web technologies as a platform has become a common approach for many IT scenarios. In this position paper, we describe how a structured analysis of current common eBook readers, and the capabilities of the evolving HTML5 platform, can help to identify areas where there are gaps between what a ”Web as a Platform (WaaP)” eBook reader requires, and what HTML5 and its implementation in modern browsers currently deliver. We believe that eBooks and ePublishing of pre-packaged materials in general should be an important enough use case to influence some of the relevant HTML5 standards, and the current landscape of over 50 specs under development makes it non-trivial to match identified eBook-reader uses cases against current WaaP capabilities. Our proposal is to work towards a functional description of eBook readers that makes it easy for eBook producers and the creators of eBook readers to decide whether a pure WaaP approach is currently feasible for them or not. Such a functional breakdown can also serve as a guide for identifying the most important areas where HTML5 needs to add or change functionality to become a better eBook implementation platform.