FB2 file format
| Extension | .fb2 |
| Category | books |
| Programs | Calibre Cool Viewer Apple iBooks Calibre |
| Main program | FBReader |
| Description | FictionBook 2.0 was developed by Dmitry Gribov and was first released in 2004 as an eBook format. Native to Russia, this format ranks high on popularity polls of eBook formats in the country. Though XML-based, like several other eBook formats, FB2 files are peculiar because they contain just one XML relative to multiples found in other eBook formats. Since the FB2 format is open-source, and due to the absence of any digital rights management, it is favored by the reader's communities on online electronic libraries. Most importantly, FictionBook is supported by popular eBook readers; this is mainly because FB2 files can be easily converted to other types. |
| Technical details | While many eBook formats support plain text alone, FB2 files can contain epigraphs, formatted verses, quotations, and other unique tags that are the quintessence of fictional works. In a bid to maintain the text-only protocol, average eBook formats leave essential information like author name and biography, book title, and publisher on the image file that serves as the eBook cover. FB2 structure permits the data mentioned above to be rendered as part of the book file, giving the experience of reading an actual book. FB2 supports the vast character types found on popular word-processing applications. Due to the special inline formatting like bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, sub- and superscript supported by FictionBooks, the file structure includes a Stylesheet that contains data to this effect. FB2 files are structured such that the actual text content comes first, given readers something to nibble on while the rest of the book loads. |
| MIME type | text/xml application/octet-stream |