electronic publishing

An example of an SGML source file. No on-screen formatting is used; headings and paragraphs are tagged as such and only appear in a different typeface in the final display.

Distribution of information using computer-based media such as multimedia and hypertext in the creation of electronic ‘books’. Critical technologies in the development of electronic publishing were CD-ROM, with its massive yet compact storage capabilities, and the advent of computer networking with its ability to deliver information instantaneously anywhere in the world.

By 2006, many publishers had purchased electronic publishing equipment to enable them to print books on demand, avoiding the need to keep stocks of books which might sell only a small number of copies over several years, and would otherwise go out of print. In addition, global hotel chains were purchasing similar equipment to print international business newspapers on demand via the Internet.