Displaying & caching PDF files

[Richard Gaskin]

Roger Eller wrote:

 > "The latest phones usually come with a built-in PDF reader."
 >
 > Source:  How To Open PDF Files on Android in under 60 Seconds 
https://joyofandroid.com/open-pdf-android/

While the OS may not directly include a PDF viewer, I've never seen or 
even heard of an Android phone that didn't have a PDF app pre-installed.

Given  the diversity of the Android ecosystem I suppose it's possible 
such a phone exists.  But I would imagine they're very rare.


 > I am sure it's not the experience for everyone, but I very rarely view
 > PDF files on my phone.

Few do, at least enjoyably.

PDFs are great for the narrow subset of cases where preserving 
consistency with printed page sizes makes sense.

In today's world, most PDF documents are read on screen rather than 
printed.  And with more than half of Internet use taking place on 
phones, that means the annoyingly cumbersome process of scrolling 
horizontally as you read every line.

Some day OSes will provide "Print to ePub" like they currently do with 
"Print to PDF".  And when they do they'll join the 21st century, defined 
by a vast range of screen sizes, most of which are simply too narrow to 
accommodate fixed page metrics comfortably.

To help move that along, I've been considering making an ePub library in 
LC, for both reading and writing the format.  It would be non-trivial, 
but quite doable.  The constraint now is time.  I could schedule that 
for late spring/early summer, if I could find funding between now and 
then to cover expenses while I write it.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com