FictionBook is an open

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding electronic document, documents in a format that is both human-readable and Machine-r ...

-based

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

format which originated and gained popularity in Russia. FictionBook files have the or

filename extension A filename extension, file name extension or file extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file (for example, .txt, .mp3, .exe) that indicates a characteristic of the file contents or its intended use. A filename extension is typically d ...

, according to their version. All FB2/FB3 capable readers also support ZIP-compressed FictionBook files ( or ). FictionBook2 and FictionBook3 differ in two respects: FB2 consists of a single XML file, with pictures being embedded as base64-encoded "binary" blocks, thus removing the need for additional files. FB3 has a directory structure similar to that of the

ePub EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes stylized as ''ePUB''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smart ...

format and incorporates the layout and embedding of multimedia content. The FictionBook2 format describes the eBook's structure, rather than defining its layout. For example, there are special tags for epigraphs, verses and quotations. All eBook metadata, such as author name, title, and publisher are also present in the eBook file. This makes the format convenient for automatic processing, indexing, ebook collection management and allows for easy automated conversion into other formats. FB3 adds layout capabilities and removes the need to embed pictures as Base64 encoded blocks, but for the most part stays true to the concept established with FB2.

Software and hardware support

FB2 is supported by

e-book reader An e-reader, also called an e reader or e device, is a Mobile computing, mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and Periodical literature, periodicals. Any device that can display text on ...

s, such as

FBReader FBReader is an e-book reader for Linux, Microsoft Windows, Android (operating system), Android, and other platforms. It was originally written for the Sharp Zaurus and currently runs on many other mobile devices, like the Nokia Internet Tablets, ...

, AlReader, Haali Reader,

STDU Viewer STDU Viewer is computer software, a compact viewer for many computer file formats: Portable Document Format (PDF), World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), DjVu, comic book archive (CBR or CBZ), FB2, ePUB, XML Paper Specification (XPS), Text Compres ...

CoolReader EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes stylized as ''ePUB''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smart ...

Okular Okular is a free and open source multiplatform document viewer developed by the KDE community based on the Qt and KDE Frameworks libraries. It is distributed as part of the KDE Applications bundle. It replaced KPDF, its main predecessor, alongsi ...

Ectaco jetBook ECTACO jetBook is a series of electronic-book reader devices developed by Ectaco. The original device was announced in the United States in October 2008. ECTACO jetBook Specifications * Size: 153 mm × 109 mm × 10 mm ( ...

s, Documents for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, and some others. Firefox can read FictionBook2 by installing th
FB2 Reader
extension. Many hardware vendors support FictionBook2 in their firmware: BeBook One, BeBook Mini and BeBook Club in Europe (and other Hanlin V3 and V5 based devices), all

PocketBook Reader PocketBook is a multinational company which produces e-book readers based on E Ink technology (an electronic paper technology) under the ''PocketBook'' brand. The company was founded in 2007 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and its headquarters were shifted t ...

COOL-ER The COOL-ER is a discontinued e-book reader from UK company Interead. The device is compatible with both Macintosh, Mac and Windows computers, comes in a variety of colors, and supports e-books in English, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portugues ...

devices,

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. The device is 4.2� ...

and

Cybook Gen3 Cybook Gen3 is a 6-inch (15.2 cm) e-reader for reading e-books and periodicals, and it can be used to listen to MP3 and audiobook files. It was produced by the French company Bookeen. Description The Cybook Gen3 is a reading device based on ...

, and ASUS Eee Reader DR900. Devices based on the Hanvon N516 design can read FictionBook if a custom OpenInkpot firmware is installed; it is factory default for Azbooka 516. Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Sony devices do not support FictionBook directly. Conversion to and from FictionBook2 files ( and ) is possible via the cross-platform eBook management software

Calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

. Conversion to and from FictionBook2 format is also available via

Pandoc Pandoc is a free-software document converter, widely used as a writing tool (especially by scholars)- - - and as a basis for publishing workflows. It was created by John MacFarlane, a philosophy professor at the University of California, Berk ...

. With FictionBook3, the situation is a bit more complicated; not even the Calibre suite or

support FB3 yet, since the FB3 standard is virtually nonexistent outside of Russia as of November 2023.

References

*https://opensource.com/education/15/11/ebook-open-formats *https://www.publicbooks.org/books-after-the-death-of-the-book/ *https://publishingperspectives.com/2017/04/russia-litres-ebook-format-fb3/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20240521130856/https://ain.ua/ru/2023/09/11/ne-vse-znayut-chto-format-elektronnyh-knyg-fb2-eto-rossyjskaya-razrabotka/

External links

FictionBook 2.0 Specification
{{Ebooks XML-based standards Open formats Office document file formats Ebooks

Software and hardware support

See also

References

External links