Bug #56260 Provide MySQL Documentation in epub format
Submitted: 25 Aug 2010 16:29 Modified: 6 Sep 2010 12:45
Reporter: Lenz Grimmer Email Updates:
Status: Closed Impact on me:
None 
Category:MySQL Server: Documentation Severity:S4 (Feature request)
Version: OS:Any
Assigned to: MC Brown CPU Architecture:Any
Tags: documentation, ebook-reader, epub

[25 Aug 2010 16:29] Lenz Grimmer
Description:
The MySQL Reference Manual (and other documents) is currently available in a wide range of formats. However, none of these really support reading the documentation on eBook readers, which usually provide pretty low screen resolutions. PDF does not work well for these, especially if the reader does not support re-flowing of PDF documents (which sometimes breaks the formatting).

Therefore, it would be nice if the documentation would also be available in ePub format. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epub "EPUB (short for electronic publication; alternatively capitalized as ePub, ePUB, EPub, or epub, with "EPUB" preferred by the vendor) is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). Files have the extension .epub. EPUB is designed for reflowable  content, meaning that the text display can be optimized for the particular display device used by the reader of the EPUB-formatted book. The format is meant to function as a single format that publishers and conversion houses can use in-house, as well as for distribution and sale."

How to repeat:
Try to obtain the MySQL reference manual in a format appropriate for common eBook readers. Observe that the most popular one (ePub) is not supported.

Suggested fix:
Provide support for the ePub format. See the following URLs for more info:

http://labs.oreilly.com/2009/02/docbook-xsl-1dot74dot1-improves-epub-output.html 
http://docbook.sourceforge.net/release/xsl/current/epub/README
http://code.google.com/p/epub-tools/
[6 Sep 2010 12:45] MC Brown
Implemented; and EPUBs now available on the download pages.
[6 Sep 2010 13:54] Stefan Hinz
Thank you for your bug report. This issue has been addressed in the documentation. The updated documentation will appear on our website shortly, and will be included in the next release of the relevant products.