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Off topic, but man is that document hard to use as a reference. Ironically, I wish they would publish it as HTML broken down by chapter and section. (I have us

Off topic, but man is that document hard to use as a reference. Ironically, I wish they would publish it as HTML broken down by chapter and section. (I have used that document a lot to write a custom PDF generator and parser in Java, using a downloaded copy)

zozbot234 5y ago
PDFs can support tables of contents with labeled chapters and sections. Not sure if the feature is standardized, but it's there.
- steerablesafe 5y ago
  The specification does have a hierarchical outline, and you can click on cross references too. Of course navigation can still be cumbersome, linking to chapters can also be awkward (tip: right click on outline element and copy link works in Firefox). There are some problems of the spec though, and navigation is not the most pressing one. The spec is huge, support for less used parts is spotty in various PDF readers. It also has inaccuracies (not corrected in errata) and underspecified parts.
fivea 5y ago
> Ironically, I wish they would publish it as HTML broken down by chapter and section. I wish there was an EPUB version of the document. Do PDFs support reflowable content?
- HWR_14 5y ago
  I believe one of the selling points of PDFs was the absolute lack of reflowing content.
  - hunter2_ 5y ago
    Right, as the point is to represent a physical document, paper and ink (or canvas, toner, whatever -- stuff that doesn't reflow). Why anyone would use such a format for these situations, where the audience definitely cares way more about consuming it on an electronic device than printing it out, is... mind-boggling. Of course, AI+ML to the rescue: Liquid Mode [0]. > Files are processed in our secure data servers and immediately deleted from our servers after the experience is generated. [0] https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobat/android/en/lmode.html https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobat/android/en/lmode.h...
    - HWR_14 5y ago
      I've found people being precise about the flow of equations and text intermixed can be easier to read than reflowing content. Other than that, not so much. Edit: Non-reflowing content also works well if you need to refer people to page numbers and paragraphs. I look forward to playing with liquidmode at some point soon.
      - hunter2_ 5y ago
        CSS flow control and specifying an `id` attribute value as a URL fragment would be my solutions to those particular concerns, if it weren't the case that our context here is capturing from software that offers printing but doesn't offer exporting to HTML very well. I think the solution might be "bring it to a good web dev and have a solid punch list."
- compressedgas 5y ago
  A PDF can be reflowed without reconstructive processing only if a PDF was generated as a Tagged PDF [1] and if the viewer supports reflowing. [1]: Essentially a PDF with its own EPUB inside it, but unlike just having an attached EPUB, there is a map between the page layout of the PDF and the tags. There are implementations of reconstructive reflowing that infer the layout block structure and reading order and can reflow a two column paper into a single column.
layer8 5y ago
> hard to use as a reference How so? I frequently reference specific sections, tables or pages of the spec at work.

zozbot234 5y ago

PDFs can support tables of contents with labeled chapters and sections. Not sure if the feature is standardized, but it's there.

steerablesafe 5y ago
The specification does have a hierarchical outline, and you can click on cross references too. Of course navigation can still be cumbersome, linking to chapters can also be awkward (tip: right click on outline element and copy link works in Firefox). There are some problems of the spec though, and navigation is not the most pressing one. The spec is huge, support for less used parts is spotty in various PDF readers. It also has inaccuracies (not corrected in errata) and underspecified parts.

fivea 5y ago

> Ironically, I wish they would publish it as HTML broken down by chapter and section. I wish there was an EPUB version of the document. Do PDFs support reflowable content?

HWR_14 5y ago
I believe one of the selling points of PDFs was the absolute lack of reflowing content.
- hunter2_ 5y ago
  Right, as the point is to represent a physical document, paper and ink (or canvas, toner, whatever -- stuff that doesn't reflow). Why anyone would use such a format for these situations, where the audience definitely cares way more about consuming it on an electronic device than printing it out, is... mind-boggling. Of course, AI+ML to the rescue: Liquid Mode [0]. > Files are processed in our secure data servers and immediately deleted from our servers after the experience is generated. [0] https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobat/android/en/lmode.html https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobat/android/en/lmode.h...
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    I've found people being precise about the flow of equations and text intermixed can be easier to read than reflowing content. Other than that, not so much. Edit: Non-reflowing content also works well if you need to refer people to page numbers and paragraphs. I look forward to playing with liquidmode at some point soon.
    - hunter2_ 5y ago
      CSS flow control and specifying an `id` attribute value as a URL fragment would be my solutions to those particular concerns, if it weren't the case that our context here is capturing from software that offers printing but doesn't offer exporting to HTML very well. I think the solution might be "bring it to a good web dev and have a solid punch list."
compressedgas 5y ago
A PDF can be reflowed without reconstructive processing only if a PDF was generated as a Tagged PDF [1] and if the viewer supports reflowing. [1]: Essentially a PDF with its own EPUB inside it, but unlike just having an attached EPUB, there is a map between the page layout of the PDF and the tags. There are implementations of reconstructive reflowing that infer the layout block structure and reading order and can reflow a two column paper into a single column.

layer8 5y ago

> hard to use as a reference How so? I frequently reference specific sections, tables or pages of the spec at work.