EPWING - Revision history

Anonymoususer852: /* Identification / Correction on GAI files and provided more clarification in general.

2025-09-05T14:35:05Z

‎Identification: Correction on GAI* files and provided more clarification in general.

Anonymoususer852: /* Identification */ Added section. You should not use this as a source of reference, as it could be disputed!

2025-09-05T14:13:23Z

‎Identification: Added section. You should not use this as a source of reference, as it could be disputed!

Anonymoususer852: /* Modern use and alternatives */ Typo fixes and more documentation on the successor of EPWING.

2025-09-05T13:29:57Z

‎Modern use and alternatives: Typo fixes and more documentation on the successor of EPWING.

Anonymoususer852: /* Software */ Added links to Wikipedia.

2025-09-05T13:06:43Z

‎Software: Added links to Wikipedia.

Anonymoususer852: Wording corrections and topic expansion in Modern use and alternatives section. Added more references.

2025-09-05T12:35:36Z

Wording corrections and topic expansion in Modern use and alternatives section. Added more references.

Anonymoususer852: /* Modern use and alternatives */ Typo fixes for FreeUWING reference.

2025-09-02T18:48:36Z

‎Modern use and alternatives: Typo fixes for FreeUWING reference.

Anonymoususer852: Created page as a split from EBZip as the two are mutually distinct.

2025-09-02T18:18:30Z

Created page as a split from EBZip as the two are mutually distinct.

New page

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Electronic Publishing formats
|extensions={{noext}}
|wikidata={{wikidata|Q11197749}}
|compression=none
|released=1987<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19980214200328/http://www.epwing.or.jp/epwing/admission/index.html#history EP_入会について - 略歴 - EP_About admission - brief history - Internet Archive]</ref>
}}
{{notice|1=Majority of the links/citations are in Japanese.}}

'''E'''lectronic '''P'''ublishing-WING or EPWING, is a standardized format for electronic reference materials, typically dictionaries that were distributed on CD-ROM for PCs. [[wikipedia:electronic dictionaries|Electronic dictionaries]] in general were also popular in East Asia.

The format itself is largely uncompressed, taking advantage of larger storage capacities CD-ROMs offered over hard disks, and what was the largely unjustifiable cost of storing duplicate data, as well as older PC hardware that have other resource limitations such as slower CPU or less RAM/memory capacities.

== Content structure ==
EPWING files generally do not have any extensions, with the exception of when they are compressed using the likes of [[EBZip]]. Below is a rough outline describing what it would look like:
├── (top directory)
│   ├── Catalogs
│   └── (e-book name)
│   ├── DATA
│   │   └── HONMON
│   ├── GAIJI
│   │   ├── GAI16F
│   │   ├── GAI16H
│   │   ├── GAI24F
│   │   └── GAI24H
│   └── MOVIE
│   ├── 0000115
There are many exceptions to this layout, for instance, the,
* File named "Catalogs" may be in all caps or all lower-case,
* "HONMON" may include one or more of similar names, like "HONMON2" or "HONMONG", etc,
* "MOVIE" path may or may not exist, depending on the digitized referencing material, subsequently the filenames may also vary.

== History ==
EPWING was a consortium of five members; Iwanami Shoten, Dai Nippon Printing, Toppan Printing, Fujitsu and Sony, produced the Electronic Book (EB) extension based on WING standard in circa 1991, with the aim to promote electronic publications in a common format, and to standardize WING onto ISO 9660 (the logical format for CD-ROMs), establishing the first edition (V1) of the EPWING convention.<ref>[[Wikipedia:ja:EPWING#成立の経緯]]</ref>

== Modern use and alternatives ==
The format is still in use by users who have been accustomed to the software, however it is considered to be a niche crowd when compared to [[StarDict]]. It might be better known through the use of EB library's [[EBZip]] utility, which offers lossless, "transparent-like" compression that seamlessly works with modern EPWING reader software, without the need to decompress first before using the data.

As the format was intended for digitized hardcopies of published books, it is possible to create your own electronic referencing materials in EPWING format. A common example is Wikipedia where the user runs either a pre-made FreePWING<ref>[http://ikazuhiro.s206.xrea.com/staticpages/index.php/wikipedia-fpw wikipedia-fpw Kazuhiro's blog]</ref><ref>[https://msakamoto-sf.github.io/oldwebarchive/glamenv-septzen/view-609.html 日記/2010/03/08/FreePWING, wikipedia-fpwでWikipedia-jaのデータを変換 - Glamenv-Septzen(ぐらめぬ・ぜぷつぇん)(archive)]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw: Wik* (Wiktionary etc) FreePWING converters. Base wikipedia-fpw.]</ref> or FreeUWING<http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/files/wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz - Index of /~ikazuhir/dic/files - green.ribbon.to]</ref>, the latter FreeUWING, being a variant that uses UTF-8 extensions which the FreePWING lacked, as Unicode format wasn't standardized nor widespread.

The format is also seen its use as a conversion to [https://github.com/yomidevs/yomitan yomitan]/[https://github.com/FooSoft/yomichan yomichan] web browser extension/add-on, notably via FooSoft's [https://github.com/FooSoft/zero-epwing zero-epwing] that aims to convert specific electronic EPWING formatted dictionaries into a JSON format suitable for on-screen pop-up translation. Aedict also supports [https://mvysny.github.io/aedict-blog/EPWING-Support/ one very specific EPWING dictionary, Daijirin] with the developer citing the same niche format issues.

Despite its flaws, EPWING format is still regarded as a trusted source owing to its traditional use, over the more modern crowd-sourced citations.

== Software ==
* [https://ebstudio.info/manual/EBStudio2/EBStudio2.html EBStudio] - (Windows) Used to create EPWING electronic reference materials.
* [ftp://ftp.sra.co.jp/pub/misc/freepwing freepwing on SRA's FTP server] - (Unix-like) Used to create EPWING electronic reference materials, mainly through scripting.
* [http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/freeuwing.html FreeUWING - FreePWING with JIS X 4081 UTF-8 extension] - (Unix-like) same as FreePWING but with UTF-8 extensions.

== References ==
<references/>

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 == Identification ==
-These identification are provided as a rough indication. By no means should you use these as reference.
+These identification are provided as a rough indication for the uncompressed EPWING format. Compressed EPWING format using the likes of [[EBZip|EBZip or EBUZip]] may differ. By no means should you otherwise use these as reference.
-* <code>CATALOGS</code> (case-insensitive) begins with {{magic|00 00}} at offset 0x60 followed by the name of e-book, which usually consists of up to 8 alphanumeric characters in hexadecimal format.
+* <code>CATALOGS</code> (case-insensitive) begins with {{magic|00 00}} at offset 0x60 followed by the name of e-book, which usually consists of up to 8 or 9 alphanumeric characters in hexadecimal format.
 * <code>HONMON</code> contains a series of {{magic|00}} at offset 0x05 up to 0x0f.
-* <code>GAI[1,2,3,4][0,4,6,8][F,H]00</code> has a series of {{magic|00}} at offset 0x01 till 0x07 and contains {{magic|21}} at offset 0x0b.
+* <code>GAI[1,2,3,4][0,4,6,8][F,H]*</code> has a series of {{magic|00}} at offset 0x01 till 0x07 and contains {{magic|21}} (ASCII: "<code>!</code>") at offset 0x0b.
 == History ==

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 The format is still in use by users who have been accustomed to its software, however it is considered to be a niche crowd when compared to [[StarDict]]. It might be better known through the use of EB library's [[EBZip]] utility, which offers lossless, "transparent-like" compression that seamlessly works with modern EPWING reader software, without the need to decompress first before using the data.
-As the format was intended for digitized hardcopies of published books<ref>[https://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/313/313351/ ASCII.jp：岩波書店、『広辞苑 第五版 CD-ROM』を発売 - ASCII.jp: Iwanami shouten, Kojien 5th edition CD-ROM release]</ref><ref>[https://ccfrancais.net/royal-cd-app/ ロワイヤル仏和中辞典のCD-ROMを辞書アプリ化する方法 | 三十歳からのフランス語 - Using Royal French-Japanese-Chinese CD-ROM dictionary app | French (language) from 30 years old]</ref>, it is possible to create your own electronic referencing materials in EPWING format. A common example is Wikipedia where the user runs either a pre-made FreePWING<ref>[http://ikazuhiro.s206.xrea.com/staticpages/index.php/wikipedia-fpw wikipedia-fpw Kazuhiro's blog]</ref><ref>[https://msakamoto-sf.github.io/oldwebarchive/glamenv-septzen/view-609.html 日記/2010/03/08/FreePWING, wikipedia-fpwでWikipedia-jaのデータを変換 - Glamenv-Septzen(ぐらめぬ・ぜぷつぇん)(archive)]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw: Wik* (Wiktionary etc) FreePWING converters. Base wikipedia-fpw.]</ref> or FreeUWING<ref>[http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/files/wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz - Index of /~ikazuhir/dic/files - green.ribbon.to]</ref> generators, the latter FreeUWING, being a variant that uses UTF-8 extensions which the FreePWING lacked, as Unicode format wasn't standardized nor widespread.
+As the format was intended for digitized hardcopies of published books<ref>[https://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/313/313351/ ASCII.jp：岩波書店、『広辞苑 第五版 CD-ROM』を発売 - ASCII.jp: Iwanami shouten, Kojien 5th edition CD-ROM release]</ref><ref>[https://ccfrancais.net/royal-cd-app/ ロワイヤル仏和中辞典のCD-ROMを辞書アプリ化する方法 | 三十歳からのフランス語 - Using Royal French-Japanese-Chinese CD-ROM dictionary app | French (language) from 30 years old]</ref>, it is possible to create your own electronic referencing materials in EPWING format. A common example is Wikipedia where the user runs either pre-made FreePWING<ref>[http://ikazuhiro.s206.xrea.com/staticpages/index.php/wikipedia-fpw wikipedia-fpw Kazuhiro's blog]</ref><ref>[https://msakamoto-sf.github.io/oldwebarchive/glamenv-septzen/view-609.html 日記/2010/03/08/FreePWING, wikipedia-fpwでWikipedia-jaのデータを変換 - Glamenv-Septzen(ぐらめぬ・ぜぷつぇん)(archive)]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw: Wik* (Wiktionary etc) FreePWING converters. Base wikipedia-fpw.]</ref> or FreeUWING<ref>[http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/files/wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz - Index of /~ikazuhir/dic/files - green.ribbon.to]</ref> generators, the latter FreeUWING, being a variant that uses UTF-8 extensions which the FreePWING lacked, as Unicode format wasn't standardized nor widespread.
 The format has also seen its use as a conversion to [https://github.com/yomidevs/yomitan yomitan]/[https://github.com/FooSoft/yomichan yomichan] web browser extension/add-on, notably via FooSoft's [https://github.com/FooSoft/zero-epwing zero-epwing] that aims to convert specific electronic EPWING formatted dictionaries into a JSON format suitable for on-screen pop-up translation. Aedict also supports [https://mvysny.github.io/aedict-blog/EPWING-Support/ one very specific EPWING dictionary, Daijirin] with the developer citing the same niche format issues.
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Japanese dictionaries in general, has also witnessed its role in assisting Input Method Editor (IME) software, whereby converting the electronic dictionary format into a format that IME tool can use, enables fast and accurate word lookups.<ref>[https://www.igaku-shoin.co.jp/em/cdrom/henkanji/IME2K.htm 医学書院／書籍・電子メディア／医学書院　医学看護変換辞書／「MS-IME2000用変換辞書」作成・登録マニュアル]</ref>
-Despite its flaws, EPWING format is still regarded as a trusted source owing to its traditional use, over the more modern crowd-sourced citations.
+Despite its flaws, EPWING format is still regarded as a trusted source owing to its traditional use, over the more modern crowd-sourced citations. While it was succeeded by the ONESWING format, which adds compression functionality among other features that were missing in EPWING, ONESWING format is more popular for smartphones.<ref>[[wikipedia:ja:EPWING#%E5%BE%8C%E7%B6%99%E3%83%BB%E6%B4%BE%E7%94%9F%E8%A6%8F%E6%A0%BC|後継・派生規格 - Wikipedia (JP)]]</ref>
 == Software ==

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 * "HONMON" may include one or more of similar names, like "HONMON2" or "HONMONG", etc,
 * "MOVIE" path may or may not exist, depending on the digitized referencing material, subsequently the filenames may also vary.
 == History ==

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 == Software ==
 * [https://ebstudio.info/manual/EBStudio2/EBStudio2.html EBStudio] - (Windows) Used to create EPWING electronic reference materials.
 * [ftp://ftp.sra.co.jp/pub/misc/freepwing freepwing on SRA's FTP server] - (Unix-like) Used to create EPWING electronic reference materials, mainly through scripting.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 {{notice|1=Majority of the links/citations are in Japanese.}}
-'''E'''lectronic '''P'''ublishing-WING or EPWING, is a standardized format for electronic reference materials, typically dictionaries that were distributed on CD-ROM for PCs. [[wikipedia:electronic dictionaries|Electronic dictionaries]] in general were also popular in East Asia.
+'''E'''lectronic '''P'''ublishing-WING or EPWING, is a standardized format for electronic reference materials, typically dictionaries that were distributed on CD-ROM for PCs. [[wikipedia:electronic dictionaries|Electronic dictionaries]] in general were also popular in East Asia.<ref>[https://www.igaku-shoin.co.jp/digital/detail/89680 看護医学電子辞書10 | 電子商品詳細 | 電子商品（個人向け） | 医学書院]</ref>
 The format itself is largely uncompressed, taking advantage of larger storage capacities CD-ROMs offered over hard disks, and what was the largely unjustifiable cost of storing duplicate data, as well as older PC hardware that have other resource limitations such as slower CPU or less RAM/memory capacities.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 == Modern use and alternatives ==
-The format is still in use by users who have been accustomed to the software, however it is considered to be a niche crowd when compared to [[StarDict]]. It might be better known through the use of EB library's [[EBZip]] utility, which offers lossless, "transparent-like" compression that seamlessly works with modern EPWING reader software, without the need to decompress first before using the data.
+The format is still in use by users who have been accustomed to its software, however it is considered to be a niche crowd when compared to [[StarDict]]. It might be better known through the use of EB library's [[EBZip]] utility, which offers lossless, "transparent-like" compression that seamlessly works with modern EPWING reader software, without the need to decompress first before using the data.
-As the format was intended for digitized hardcopies of published books, it is possible to create your own electronic referencing materials in EPWING format. A common example is Wikipedia where the user runs either a pre-made FreePWING<ref>[http://ikazuhiro.s206.xrea.com/staticpages/index.php/wikipedia-fpw wikipedia-fpw Kazuhiro's blog]</ref><ref>[https://msakamoto-sf.github.io/oldwebarchive/glamenv-septzen/view-609.html 日記/2010/03/08/FreePWING, wikipedia-fpwでWikipedia-jaのデータを変換 - Glamenv-Septzen(ぐらめぬ・ぜぷつぇん)(archive)]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw: Wik* (Wiktionary etc) FreePWING converters. Base wikipedia-fpw.]</ref> or FreeUWING<ref>[http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/files/wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz - Index of /~ikazuhir/dic/files - green.ribbon.to]</ref>, the latter FreeUWING, being a variant that uses UTF-8 extensions which the FreePWING lacked, as Unicode format wasn't standardized nor widespread.
+As the format was intended for digitized hardcopies of published books<ref>[https://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/313/313351/ ASCII.jp：岩波書店、『広辞苑 第五版 CD-ROM』を発売 - ASCII.jp: Iwanami shouten, Kojien 5th edition CD-ROM release]</ref><ref>[https://ccfrancais.net/royal-cd-app/ ロワイヤル仏和中辞典のCD-ROMを辞書アプリ化する方法 | 三十歳からのフランス語 - Using Royal French-Japanese-Chinese CD-ROM dictionary app | French (language) from 30 years old]</ref>, it is possible to create your own electronic referencing materials in EPWING format. A common example is Wikipedia where the user runs either a pre-made FreePWING<ref>[http://ikazuhiro.s206.xrea.com/staticpages/index.php/wikipedia-fpw wikipedia-fpw Kazuhiro's blog]</ref><ref>[https://msakamoto-sf.github.io/oldwebarchive/glamenv-septzen/view-609.html 日記/2010/03/08/FreePWING, wikipedia-fpwでWikipedia-jaのデータを変換 - Glamenv-Septzen(ぐらめぬ・ぜぷつぇん)(archive)]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw botesan/wik-asterisk-fpw: Wik* (Wiktionary etc) FreePWING converters. Base wikipedia-fpw.]</ref> or FreeUWING<ref>[http://green.ribbon.to/~ikazuhiro/dic/files/wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz wikipedia-fuw-20091202-src.tar.gz - Index of /~ikazuhir/dic/files - green.ribbon.to]</ref> generators, the latter FreeUWING, being a variant that uses UTF-8 extensions which the FreePWING lacked, as Unicode format wasn't standardized nor widespread.
-The format is also seen its use as a conversion to [https://github.com/yomidevs/yomitan yomitan]/[https://github.com/FooSoft/yomichan yomichan] web browser extension/add-on, notably via FooSoft's [https://github.com/FooSoft/zero-epwing zero-epwing] that aims to convert specific electronic EPWING formatted dictionaries into a JSON format suitable for on-screen pop-up translation. Aedict also supports [https://mvysny.github.io/aedict-blog/EPWING-Support/ one very specific EPWING dictionary, Daijirin] with the developer citing the same niche format issues.
+The format has also seen its use as a conversion to [https://github.com/yomidevs/yomitan yomitan]/[https://github.com/FooSoft/yomichan yomichan] web browser extension/add-on, notably via FooSoft's [https://github.com/FooSoft/zero-epwing zero-epwing] that aims to convert specific electronic EPWING formatted dictionaries into a JSON format suitable for on-screen pop-up translation. Aedict also supports [https://mvysny.github.io/aedict-blog/EPWING-Support/ one very specific EPWING dictionary, Daijirin] with the developer citing the same niche format issues.
 Despite its flaws, EPWING format is still regarded as a trusted source owing to its traditional use, over the more modern crowd-sourced citations.