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Anyone reading or creating PDFs to begin with should ask why even bother with such a static and outdated format that was made for when it was common to print ou

by qplex 6y ago

Anyone reading or creating PDFs to begin with should ask why even bother with such a static and outdated format that was made for when it was common to print out documents on paper to read them.

Veen 6y ago
They can waste a couple of minutes wondering that. Then they can get on with reading the document in the form in which it’s available or creating a document in the form mandated by the publisher or editor.
FakeRemore 6y ago
I'm not sure what the alternative is supposed to be. ePub is reflowable, fine, but it absolutely chokes on placing images. At least with PDF's, I get the book in a form that was designed by a human being to be read by a human being.
- app4soft 6y ago
  > ePub is reflowable, fine, but it absolutely chokes on placing images. To be honest, ePub is based on HTML5 markup. So, you could place image in right place in your ePub book in same way as you place images on your website.
  - FakeRemore 6y ago
    > So, you could place image in right place in your ePub book in same way as you place images on your website. I've never seen an ePub with images where it looked anywhere as good as the PDF version. It's generally a mess.
    - diehunde 6y ago
      Agree. Also the code snippets are mess sometimes too.
- aasasd 6y ago
  What particular image placing complexity do you need? And why?
  - FakeRemore 6y ago
    I read a fuckton of papers and non-fiction literature with images. ePub simply isn't useable in these cases. If I'm reading something with no images or graphs or anything, then fine. I'll use ePub, otherwise, no.
    - aasasd 6y ago
      Alas this doesn't answer my question in any way.
      - FakeRemore 6y ago
        It does, actually. No ePub I've seen places the images in between text in a satisfying way. PDF's are designed in a certain layout to account for images and keep that design no matter what I'm viewing it on.
        aasasd 6y ago
        Your comments are like an old Russian joke that can be very approximately translated as such: — Oranges are better than bananas! — But how? How are they better?! — Better than bananas!
        FakeRemore 6y ago
        How is that helpful? Go bother somebody else. You obviously don't read many PDF textbooks or you wouldn't be treating me so rudely.
    - Tagbert 6y ago
      How are those images supposed to be placed? In what way do ePub documents not match this? Looking for specific complaints, please

by qplex 6y ago

Anyone reading or creating PDFs to begin with should ask why even bother with such a static and outdated format that was made for when it was common to print out documents on paper to read them.

Veen 6y ago

They can waste a couple of minutes wondering that. Then they can get on with reading the document in the form in which it’s available or creating a document in the form mandated by the publisher or editor.

FakeRemore 6y ago

I'm not sure what the alternative is supposed to be. ePub is reflowable, fine, but it absolutely chokes on placing images. At least with PDF's, I get the book in a form that was designed by a human being to be read by a human being.

app4soft 6y ago
> ePub is reflowable, fine, but it absolutely chokes on placing images. To be honest, ePub is based on HTML5 markup. So, you could place image in right place in your ePub book in same way as you place images on your website.
- FakeRemore 6y ago
  > So, you could place image in right place in your ePub book in same way as you place images on your website. I've never seen an ePub with images where it looked anywhere as good as the PDF version. It's generally a mess.
  - diehunde 6y ago
    Agree. Also the code snippets are mess sometimes too.
aasasd 6y ago
What particular image placing complexity do you need? And why?
- FakeRemore 6y ago
  I read a fuckton of papers and non-fiction literature with images. ePub simply isn't useable in these cases. If I'm reading something with no images or graphs or anything, then fine. I'll use ePub, otherwise, no.
  - aasasd 6y ago
    Alas this doesn't answer my question in any way.
    - FakeRemore 6y ago
      It does, actually. No ePub I've seen places the images in between text in a satisfying way. PDF's are designed in a certain layout to account for images and keep that design no matter what I'm viewing it on.
      - aasasd 6y ago
        Your comments are like an old Russian joke that can be very approximately translated as such: — Oranges are better than bananas! — But how? How are they better?! — Better than bananas!
        FakeRemore 6y ago
        How is that helpful? Go bother somebody else. You obviously don't read many PDF textbooks or you wouldn't be treating me so rudely.
  - Tagbert 6y ago
    How are those images supposed to be placed? In what way do ePub documents not match this? Looking for specific complaints, please