Digital eBook

Numerous eBook formats emerged and proliferated, some supported by major software companies such as Adobe with its PDF format, and others supported by independent and open-source programmers. Multiple readers followed multiple formats, most of them specializing in only one format, and thereby fragmenting the eBook market even more.

Writers and publishers have many formats to choose from when publishing eBooks. Each format has advantages and disadvantages. The most popular eBook readers and their natively supported formats are shown below.