The ePub format is a publishing standard built on top of XHTML, CSS, XML and more. And since PHP is well suited for working with HTML and friends, why not use it to build ebooks? In this article we'll see what goes into building a tool for creating ePub packages starting from a set of content files. Maybe it's your next best selling cyber-sci-fi novel or documentation for your latest code project… because we all write good documentation for our projects, don't we?

He starts off with an introduction to the ePub format, showing the directory structure the package has to follow and some example contents. He helps you set up a test book with two chapters, cover images, styling and a cover/title page. Included in the tutorial is all of the code you'll need to make your own "ePub builder" tool and a suggestion of a tool to check the end result.

Still, even though PDF was a less popular format in 2002 than it has become today, it was a much easier choice for us when the only way to read an electronic publication was to sit in front of a computer. The advent of portable e-book readers demanded that we consider other formats; as a result, about six months ago we started a skunkworks program, spearheaded by our very own Keith Casey, to create ePub and MOBI versions of our magazine.

Thanks to an ePUB document generator, the magazine can now be dynamically generated into three formats - the usual PDF file, an ePUB edition and a MOBI edition for the Kindle fans out there. All subscribers have been upgraded to this plan - the Premium subscription - and are able to start pulling down these editions today.

The 2 biggest complaints about Solar have been it being in "beta" and lack of good docs.. Well its been out of beta and in release for a few months now so that should no longer be a concern. As for docs you can find the new and improved manual here.

The documentation isn't 100% complete but its head and shoulders above some of the automatically generated manual pages the project has had before. They're also looking for interested parties on writing a book (collaboration anyone?) about the framework to help developers get started. You can find out how to get involved in his post.