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OPDS stands for Open Publication Distribution System. This protocol is based on the ATOM syndication standard and is used to communicate via the world wide web a catalog of books and their related metadata resources. An OPDS server is simply an application server or a file server that hosts and publishes an XML document that conforms to the OPDS protocol. Client applications like RSS readers or the SimplyE applications interpret these documents to display catalogs of content, transact with resource providers and download books. This creates a highly scalable highly interoperable ecosystem from content distribution.
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Do I Get My Books into SimplyE?
The basic answer is: "set up an OPDS server that gives access to your catalog". But you'll need to answer two questions to figure out what features the OPDS document server needs to have and what design you should use.
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We also support a wrapper around OAuth's authorization code grant. For a working example, see Clever login in the Open Ebooks app. However, the situation there is so unusual that we don't want to give general advice. If you authenticate your users with an OAuth authorization code grant, contact us and we'll figure out how to work you into this strategy.
Collection metadata extensions (e.g. Library Registry) The library registry and the SimplyE mobile client also recognize a large number of extensions to Authentication For OPDS which let you specify detailed information about your collection: things like a description, the audiences and geographic locations you serve, the estimated number of titles you have in various languages, and even the color scheme to use when displaying your collection.
The automatic library registration process (not yet designed) takes your Authentication For OPDS document as its input. These extensions contain the information it needs-needs–description, geographic locations, and so on-to on–to put your OPDS server in the library registry and help people find it.
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Even if your OPDS server allows anonymous access, you can't join the SimplyE library registry without an Authentication For OPDS document. There are two reasons for this. First, you need to explicitly state that your OPDS server allows anonymous access, and the Authentication For OPDS document is the place to do that. Second, the library registry needs all that extension information-information–your colleciton's description, audiences and languages, and so on-on–and that stuff goes in the Authentication for OPDS document.
Static generation In most cases the Authentication For OPDS document can be a static document. You only need to regenerate it if something about your server's code or configuration changes.
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You advertise your search service by linking to the OpenSearch document from your OPDS feeds. Here's an example from The SimplyE collection:
<link href="https://instantclassics.librarysimplified.org/search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" rel="search"/>
Fetch that document and you'll see that it explains how to construct a URL that performs a search:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <OpenSearchDescription xmlns="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/"> <ShortName>Search</ShortName> <Description>Search</Description> <Tags></Tags> <Url type="application/atom+xml;profile=opds-catalog" template="https://instantclassics.librarysimplified.org/search?q={searchTerms}"/> </OpenSearchDescription>
Build a search URL, send a GET request to it, and you'll get an OPDS Feed of search results.
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