Suggestion: explicit define extension OCF/zip like epub

[webysther]

In the page, there's a implicity suggestion of audiopub file as extension (https://www.w3.org/2018/audiobook_examples/flatland.audiopub)

When consider a extension, maybe use OCF/zip like epub as a container.

Using one of this wpub, like .aub (audiobook format), not .audiopub, only for audio, sound better. Is important to put this container format works like Adobe does with zxp (https://wwwimages2.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/devnet/creativesuite/pdfs/SigningTechNote_CC.pdf) in the audiobook specs (https://w3c.github.io/audiobooks/)

[webysther]

The actual .lpf in the specs (https://www.w3.org/TR/audiobooks/#audio-packaging), keep open if will use audio.lpf or is required to read the metadata, my suggestion is avoid requirement of I/O. Using .audiopub is much better, .aub for my suggestion as a short term.

[wareid]

Thanks @webysther! We'll discuss this in an upcoming meeting.

In general, *.lpf is the packaged standard extension, and we've not declared an official extension specifically for audiobooks, but this recommendation is a good one.

To help with the discussion, is there a specific need having an extension for audiobooks would aid with? Or any information you can share on how this impacts any implementation work you are doing would be helpful!

[webysther]

I have closely followed the development of calibre-web, an e-book manager, most users who have an audiobook or merge the files into just 1 (mp3/m4a) or put them in a zip to download and put in the audiobook player on mobile https://github.com/janeczku/calibre-web/issues/480.

For many years I worked creating extensions for adobe and I knew the zxp format and which is a zip container with a manifest, basically the same thing as epub, however, creating an explicit extension has practical benefits that adobe has always made clear in its implementation of API for creating and managing your proprietary extensions which are the same thing as epub. Having an extension will finally create a consolation of readers, some support .zip being an imitation of CBR and CBZ (without the comic.xml metadata) and others only support it through tags and creating series, as in calibre/calibre-web do.

[webysther]

The epub is heavilly used for e-book, is important to create a official for audiobooks (https://bookmachine.org/2020/06/26/listen-up-audiobooks-finally-get-a-standard) as soon as possible.

[LFriedenthal]

I would really like to see .audiopub used. Whatever you choose is going to be the de facto name of the standard. LPF is seemingly random and has nothing to do with what this standard is for.

Mostly the extension matters because as a recipient our systems look for specific extensions and do or don't do particular things with them. Right now, our system doesn't know what an .lpf is so it doesn't try to unzip it. If I rename it to a .zip, it will try to unzip it and processes the audio files (though nothing else) from inside it.

Coresource is already creating and delivering .lpf so if you're going to change it, change it soon. (I say on a year old post.)