How can I convert a whole XML dump from Wikia to Kindle?

18
2013-11
  • d33tah

    I'd like to convert an XML dump of whole Deus Ex Wikia to my Kindle. How can I do that?

    Here's the compressed XML file if anyone wants to try their solutions before posting an answer: http://dumps.wikia.net/e/en/endeusex/pages_current.xml.gz

    • Answers
  • joshcody

    It looks like you can do this with Mobipocket.

    Building from XML

  • harrymc

    I don't know your Wiki system, but if it can export to PDF instead of XML, then calibre is one tool that can convert pdf to almost any ebook format.

  • d33tah

    I figured out a way to do it without too much effort. I've set up my own Mediawiki installation and imported the XML (I needed to increase the limits in PHP configuration - the ones concering the maximum execution time and uploaded file size). It took quite a lot of time on my netbook. On the result page, I could copy the list of the pages, then use egrep -v to filter out non-content pages, such as user profiles, discussions, templates etc.

    Then I installed EPubExport. I visited Special:EpubPrintpage and copied the filtered-out list of pages there. Generating the ebook took ages and then converting the EPUB to .mobi was another two hours. The output file is suspiciously long (I doubt that users wrote as much content as Mitchell did in "Cloud Atlas" book), but judging from the preview, it looks legit. It lacks images because they weren't in the XML, though. I'll read it once I'll have some more spare time and let you know how it worked in the long run. If you want to read the ebook by yourself, it can be found here. You'll need to jump to the "Deus Ex" article, because I forgot to cut the index page from the output file.


    • Related Question

    How to preview an HTML file in Kindle for PC?
  • JL.

    I have the task of preparing an HTML file that will be used in a Kindle ebook. I would like to preview this HTML file in Kindle to see how it translates fonts and images.

    Is this possible using Amazon Kindle for PC? Or are there other emulators out there?

    The Kindle emulator Amazon provide in Amazon DTP actually looks terrible. I hope Kindles don't really interpret HTML like the Amazon provided emulator.


    • Related Answers
  • KronoS

    From what I've been able to gather it appears that Kindle for PC is your best (or unfortunately for you worst) case of an emulator out there. There is a Kindle Developer's Kit (KDK) that you can sign up and request to be a part of. From their site:

    To become a part of the KDK limited beta, request to become a beta developer. Accepted beta participants will be able to download the Kindle Development Kit, access developer support, test content on Kindle, and submit finished content. Those wait-listed will be invited to participate at a later date as space becomes available. The Kindle Development Kit includes sample code, documentation, and the Kindle Simulator, which helps developers build and test their content by simulating the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX device on Mac, PC, and Linux desktops. Content submission is free during limited beta.