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Advanced Comic Book Format

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Whale:
thanks for all the replies. I managed to create a Win32 executable for ACBF Viewer, so if you wanna try it you may get it from project main page (green Downloads section on the right side). There's a viewer and sample comic book to download. No need to install Python and all those libraries anymore (at least I think so - tried on 2 different computers with Windows XP installed)

@John C
No problem. I do it in first place for myself. I wanted to have such a comic book reader in Linux with all those capabilities. I'm writing it as a free software, so anyone can take it or leave it or even help with it. If nobody cares and I'll be the only one using it and creating comic books in ACBF that's OK ;-)

John C:
As far as "transitions" and such things go, keep in mind that there's the emerging audience of people on phones, small tablets, netbooks, or really any setup where the user doesn't want or can't afford an enormous screen.  While you can argue that you can always zoom in and scroll around from panel to panel, it's better to let the "publisher" encode the pane ordering into the comic, rather than spoil the reading experience making a bunch of guesswork swishing motions.

So don't think of it as "animation" (though it's happening, so it's probably worth supporting it) so much as having someone point out where to read next, which can be difficult when you're not looking at the whole page.

bchat:
I should clarify what I mean, because I think I might be giving the wrong impression.

Whale - I wish you luck and hope you accomplish your goals with this.  I hope you didn't take what I said as being against your project, because I'm not. 

I'm not against change, never have been, never will be.  I'm fully aware that there is always something "better" just around the corner, especially when it comes to computers & similar technology.  I also know that a lot of formats never take-off and some people get stuck with something they get limited enjoyment from (HD DVD or cassette players, for example) because the format is no longer supported.

ACBF sounds interesting, I just don't have any use for it.  As JVJ points out, I'm thinking mainly of how this relates to the files available on DCM because they're pretty much the only comic files I read on my computer.

John C - I understand what you're saying.  Yes, on a small screen it's better to have the page move in the proper order, but I"m not talking about "everyone else" with their cellphones, tablets, netbooks, hula hoops and thingamajigs.  I remember checking-out Marvel's comic reader back when they had free comics online (lousy selection from a company that's older than dirt, by the way), and I found it really annoying that my options were only "full page" (where you can't read anything) or "panel-to-panel" (which handled viewing full page images poorly).  It wasn't an enjoyable experience for me and I'm not sure I see what difference there will be between what Marvel's application did and what ACBF will do in regards to handling images.

JVJ (RIP):
Me, too. Don't want wrong impressions, either.
I see LOTS of uses for all kinds of enhancements in newly created files and formats. As a realist, I see very little chance that anyone is going to go back into the thousands of DCM books and add any new features. Since adding artist or a collection list data would be of little value to me since I no longer collect new comics, this is one of those tools (like a smartphone) that simply wouldn't touch my life in any way.

But as I always try to make clear, I am NOT the target audience for such things, so my opinion represents a minority of one (ok, perhaps ten). I don't have a smartphone. I don't have a tablet. I don't even have a TV. NOBODY is targeting ME for anything. Please keep that in mind when I am commenting.

Peace, (and privacy) Jim (|:{>

John C:
Yeah, I see the disconnect, bchat.  I made the assumption that basic comic reader features would be carried over blindly.  I almost always read with "fit width" set, too, and wouldn't touch something without it.

But a project like this is less about the software (except for demonstration purposes) than making sure the format covers everything we'd want IF it became popular.

For example, GAC once had that crash where we lost all the file names; reconstructing that from inside the files themselves would've made life far easier.  By the same token, it'd be easy for any of us to automatically save files to the right location in our private libraries, whether we organize by publisher, year, artist, or whatever.  If we had unique ID numbers given to the books, we'd be able to distinguish the scanner's original from later-edited versions, automatically filter books we've been asked not to host, and so forth.  If it had the text of the comic, someone could copy it out and work with the transcript.  Holding the panel geometry would make it possible for the software to allow you to copy specific panels, too, which might be handy.

So there's a ton of potential in just the idea, regardless of the software.  The chicken-and-egg part, though, is without really good software (especially for the scanner, who would now have more work), nobody'll do the work, which basically means that it's the worst case scenario:  Functionally the same as CBR files, but incompatible.  That critical mass is difficult, especially with such a strongly-established format.

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