Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers SE Radio 695: Dave Thomas on Building eBooks Infrastructure
Nov 19, 2025
Join veteran software developer Dave Thomas, co-founder of the Pragmatic Bookshelf and author of The Pragmatic Programmer, as he delves into the world of eBook infrastructure. He explores the evolution of formats like EPUB and Mobi, the importance of reflowable layouts, and how technology shapes the authoring process. Dave highlights the significance of human involvement in writing and how AI tools can assist post-creation. With insights on author workflows and the interplay of writing and technology, he shares a vision for the future of publishing.
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Use XSLT/FO For Robust Multi-Format Output
- Use XSL-FO to generate high-quality PDFs from structured XML and accept its complexity for better typography.
- Generate EPUB via XSLT to produce XHTML chunks, manifests, and navigation automatically.
Track Source Positions Through Preprocessors
- Instrument preprocessors with comments that record original filenames and line offsets to map errors back to source.
- Propagate markers through the pipeline so build errors report useful source locations to authors.
Single Cross-References Fit Both EPUB And Print
- One markup can target both ebooks (hyperlinks) and print (descriptive cross-references) by generating appropriate outputs per target.
- The build expands cross-references into hyperlinks for EPUB and textual descriptions for printed PDFs.
