Rss2Book - Page 9

geekraver · 02-09-2007, 03:29 PM

Just an update on what I've been doing, as I did say I was going to release v21 about a week back. I've been really busy with what has almost turned into a rewrite of the app, as I wanted to support pluggable sources. I expect to be done by the end of this weekend. Currently I have plugins for RSS, web pages (including recursive fetches), Wikipedia entries (also with recursive fetches), and FictionBook.ru books (for those that want to go there). Hopefully by the time I release I'll also have Gutenberg books, and sites that have X-Word.com crosswords. And of course it seems I may have to test against the updated Sony software. Watch this space.

Bob Russell · 02-09-2007, 03:40 PM

Wow!

What else can be said, but "wow!"!???
Talk about adding nice functionality to the Sony Reader... this sure does it!

If possible, don't forget a map and/or driving directions plugin!
Heck, this could probably even lead to Outlook task list or address book plugins, recipe site plugins, and all kinds of neat stuff!

Wow!

Bob Russell · 02-09-2007, 03:43 PM

One more thought that maybe our Treo readers can help us with... there's a program for the Treo that grabs info from a lot of different web sites in convenient smartphone form, and it's based on user-creatable plugins.

Even though that program is probably a bit more interactive in nature, I bet it could be a really good source of additional ideas for potential plugin development if it catches on.

Now if I could only remember the program's name.

geekraver · 02-10-2007, 12:31 AM

Are you thinking of AvantGo?

Also, those are good ideas for sources. I had been thinking in a web-centric way in which each source had an URL, but clearly for an Outlook address book that wouldn't apply - so I should be even more general.

Bob Russell · 02-10-2007, 02:10 AM

Nope, not AvantGo, but that's an interesting thought for ideas also.

Here's the program I was thinking of - Genius!
http://www.hobbyistsoftware.com/genius-plugins.php

bugsbunny14 · 02-13-2007, 05:46 AM

hi geekraver ,

when will v21 be released ?

geekraver · 02-14-2007, 01:10 AM

I'm very busy with it - it has taken much longer than expected but the code is now much cleaner and I think it will be worth the wait. Right now I'm mostly just bug fixing and testing, and finishing up the new plugins for books and web pages. I'd say it should be at most one more week, hopefully less.

bugsbunny14 · 02-14-2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekraver

I'm very busy with it - it has taken much longer than expected but the code is now much cleaner and I think it will be worth the wait. Right now I'm mostly just bug fixing and testing, and finishing up the new plugins for books and web pages. I'd say it should be at most one more week, hopefully less.

thanks .

lhilden · 02-14-2007, 12:23 PM

GeekRaver,

Any idea why I'm getting these strange "Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:24:48 EDT is out of range" errors for the attached feed? I had this working and now its busted

.

Thanks,
Lou

Fubrite · 02-23-2007, 03:29 PM

Hi,

I'm using ver 21 of this software, and am having a few problems - either the log shows 'processing....' indefinitely and nothing seems to happen, (Google news and Dilbert) or I get the following error

System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The system cannot find the file specified
at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithCreateProcess( ProcessStartInfo startInfo)
at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()
at web2book.Utils.RunExternalCommand(String cmd, String args, String workdir, Boolean useShell, Int32 timeout, String& output)
at web2book.MainForm.ConvertHtml(StringBuilder htm, String fname, ContentSource cs)
at web2book.MainForm.AddSource(ContentSourceList sourceClass, ContentSource source)

The html files are produced and I can run them manually through HTML2DOC and they come out perfectly, but rss2book doesn't seem to get that far. (This happens with BBC News, NYT and Engadget.)

The other thing is, I noticed that the name of the install file at the top of this thread is the same as that in the Alpha version thread, and also the installed program is called Web2book rather than rss2book. If I'm right in thinking I'm running the Alpha version, can you tell me where to get a copy of an older version of rss2book to try?

Thanks

geekraver · 02-23-2007, 09:49 PM

Fubrite, the "alpha" version is no longer alpha, it is the most stable version.

The Dilbert problem is simple; RSS feeds are now separate from web pages. Delete the entry you have for Dilbert, then go to the Web Pages tab, and do a "File - Subscribe" and add the new Dilbert entry.

Something similar goes for the Google News page, although that is hitting a different bug in the app due to the page having empty HREFs. That bugfix will be in the next update in a day or two (hopefully by that point I'll also have auto-updating in place).

The exceptions you are getting are weird. HTMLDOC output works fine for me. The app does check the path to htmldoc.exe and should report an error rather than throwing an exception if you haven't configured it right. But I would suggest checking the HTMLDoc path setting in your options anyway to make sure it is right.

Fubrite · 02-24-2007, 05:42 AM

Thanks for your quick reply, Geekraver!

I did check the path to HTML2DOC, thinking it might have been that, but it's fine....

Oh well, I'll just have to use basic PDF's for now. The other question I have is where would I get the Librie .dll's to generate an .lrf file?

Cheers

Edit: Just discovered that the exception happens for basic PDF and HTML too...

geekraver · 02-24-2007, 02:47 PM

Do you by any chance have something specified in the HTMLTidy path option? Try removing that. It should be set to the full path of the directory containing tidyhtml.exe, or blank. Anything else will cause this error (I need to make this more robust, I admit). You may have an installation where the .exe is named "tidy.exe"; in this case rename it or copy it to "tidyhtml.exe". I will change the code so the next version lets you specify the path of the executable rather than the directory.

The Librie DLLs are bundled in the installer. Be warned though that they seem to be very fragile; in many cases they just blow up when you feed them HTML. They work for simple stuff only. In the future I'll probably run the HTML through the internal PDF/RTF converter but just to simplify the HTML first, so it contains just basic tags. That should help.

adinb · 02-25-2007, 03:02 AM

I know you just got V21 out, and that there are a *lot* more options to a standard entry than is contained in an OPML, but an OPML import with defaults filled in would be *really* nice.

Fubrite · 02-26-2007, 03:58 AM

Geekraver, I did have something in the HTMLTIDY box, that sorted it, thank you!

However, I do have another issue (tell me to go away if you like!) The HTMLDOC PDF's get generated fine - but without the table of contents. When I output in HTML and run it through HTMLDOC manually, I do get a TOC... It may be that (knowing me!) I've changed/deleted something in the HTMLDOC options box - what's the default supposed to be?

Many thanks for your help

Fubrite

02-10-2007, 12:31 AM	#124
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	Are you thinking of AvantGo? Also, those are good ideas for sources. I had been thinking in a web-centric way in which each source had an URL, but clearly for an Outlook address book that wouldn't apply - so I should be even more general. Last edited by geekraver; 02-10-2007 at 01:47 AM.

02-23-2007, 03:29 PM	#130
Fubrite Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Problem with Web2book Hi, I'm using ver 21 of this software, and am having a few problems - either the log shows 'processing....' indefinitely and nothing seems to happen, (Google news and Dilbert) or I get the following error System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The system cannot find the file specified at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithCreateProcess( ProcessStartInfo startInfo) at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start() at web2book.Utils.RunExternalCommand(String cmd, String args, String workdir, Boolean useShell, Int32 timeout, String& output) at web2book.MainForm.ConvertHtml(StringBuilder htm, String fname, ContentSource cs) at web2book.MainForm.AddSource(ContentSourceList sourceClass, ContentSource source) The html files are produced and I can run them manually through HTML2DOC and they come out perfectly, but rss2book doesn't seem to get that far. (This happens with BBC News, NYT and Engadget.) The other thing is, I noticed that the name of the install file at the top of this thread is the same as that in the Alpha version thread, and also the installed program is called Web2book rather than rss2book. If I'm right in thinking I'm running the Alpha version, can you tell me where to get a copy of an older version of rss2book to try? Thanks

02-24-2007, 05:42 AM	#132
Fubrite Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Thanks for your quick reply, Geekraver! I did check the path to HTML2DOC, thinking it might have been that, but it's fine.... Oh well, I'll just have to use basic PDF's for now. The other question I have is where would I get the Librie .dll's to generate an .lrf file? Cheers Edit: Just discovered that the exception happens for basic PDF and HTML too... Last edited by Fubrite; 02-24-2007 at 06:30 AM.

02-25-2007, 03:02 AM	#134
adinb RSS &amp; Gadget Addict! Posts: 82 Karma: 67 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Albuquerque, NM Device: Sony PRS-500, iPod Touch, iPhone	OPML import? I know you just got V21 out, and that there are a lot more options to a standard entry than is contained in an OPML, but an OPML import with defaults filled in would be really nice.

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02-09-2007, 03:29 PM	#121
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	Just an update on what I've been doing, as I did say I was going to release v21 about a week back. I've been really busy with what has almost turned into a rewrite of the app, as I wanted to support pluggable sources. I expect to be done by the end of this weekend. Currently I have plugins for RSS, web pages (including recursive fetches), Wikipedia entries (also with recursive fetches), and FictionBook.ru books (for those that want to go there). Hopefully by the time I release I'll also have Gutenberg books, and sites that have X-Word.com crosswords. And of course it seems I may have to test against the updated Sony software. Watch this space.

02-09-2007, 03:40 PM	#122
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Wow! What else can be said, but "wow!"!??? Talk about adding nice functionality to the Sony Reader... this sure does it! If possible, don't forget a map and/or driving directions plugin! Heck, this could probably even lead to Outlook task list or address book plugins, recipe site plugins, and all kinds of neat stuff! Wow!

02-09-2007, 03:43 PM	#123
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	One more thought that maybe our Treo readers can help us with... there's a program for the Treo that grabs info from a lot of different web sites in convenient smartphone form, and it's based on user-creatable plugins. Even though that program is probably a bit more interactive in nature, I bet it could be a really good source of additional ideas for potential plugin development if it catches on. Now if I could only remember the program's name.

02-10-2007, 02:10 AM	#125
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Nope, not AvantGo, but that's an interesting thought for ideas also. Here's the program I was thinking of - Genius! http://www.hobbyistsoftware.com/genius-plugins.php

02-13-2007, 05:46 AM	#126
bugsbunny14 Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2006	hi geekraver , when will v21 be released ?

02-14-2007, 01:10 AM	#127
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	I'm very busy with it - it has taken much longer than expected but the code is now much cleaner and I think it will be worth the wait. Right now I'm mostly just bug fixing and testing, and finishing up the new plugins for books and web pages. I'd say it should be at most one more week, hopefully less.

02-23-2007, 09:49 PM	#131
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	Fubrite, the "alpha" version is no longer alpha, it is the most stable version. The Dilbert problem is simple; RSS feeds are now separate from web pages. Delete the entry you have for Dilbert, then go to the Web Pages tab, and do a "File - Subscribe" and add the new Dilbert entry. Something similar goes for the Google News page, although that is hitting a different bug in the app due to the page having empty HREFs. That bugfix will be in the next update in a day or two (hopefully by that point I'll also have auto-updating in place). The exceptions you are getting are weird. HTMLDOC output works fine for me. The app does check the path to htmldoc.exe and should report an error rather than throwing an exception if you haven't configured it right. But I would suggest checking the HTMLDoc path setting in your options anyway to make sure it is right.

02-24-2007, 02:47 PM	#133
geekraver Addict Posts: 364 Karma: 1035291 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Redmond, WA Device: iPad Mini,Kindle Paperwhite	Do you by any chance have something specified in the HTMLTidy path option? Try removing that. It should be set to the full path of the directory containing tidyhtml.exe, or blank. Anything else will cause this error (I need to make this more robust, I admit). You may have an installation where the .exe is named "tidy.exe"; in this case rename it or copy it to "tidyhtml.exe". I will change the code so the next version lets you specify the path of the executable rather than the directory. The Librie DLLs are bundled in the installer. Be warned though that they seem to be very fragile; in many cases they just blow up when you feed them HTML. They work for simple stuff only. In the future I'll probably run the HTML through the internal PDF/RTF converter but just to simplify the HTML first, so it contains just basic tags. That should help.

02-26-2007, 03:58 AM	#135
Fubrite Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Geekraver, I did have something in the HTMLTIDY box, that sorted it, thank you! However, I do have another issue (tell me to go away if you like!) The HTMLDOC PDF's get generated fine - but without the table of contents. When I output in HTML and run it through HTMLDOC manually, I do get a TOC... It may be that (knowing me!) I've changed/deleted something in the HTMLDOC options box - what's the default supposed to be? Many thanks for your help Fubrite

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