Page objects know content, formatting and behavior

• database data (DDL, data description language, and/or SQL, Structured Query Language)
• conventional DTP - desk top publishing software
• and of the behavior attributes as inherent to Web, CDF (Catalog Data Format) or other PC based applications!

Three worlds in one object
Each visualization object in ElePub (frame, container, table etc.) is represented by one object of different classes, which knows and owns all attributes and features of its three mutually related aspects: content, format and behavior.

Content: Each object has autonomous authority about its link into the database similar to a full DDL (Data Description Language as used by databases) and/or it can have a user-defined SQL statement, which is used to load the object's content value from an external database. In frozen state, the object also holds its entire data value internally so that accessing the database upon loading a page can be temporarily and voluntarily bypassed.

Formatting: Each object has a full set of DTP attributes as used by major DTP software. For example, ElePub can read, store and re-write entire QuarkXpress documents with all included attributes most of which can be changed inside ElePub if needed. QuarkXpress is fully supported with InDesign and Framemaker soon to follow! Each ElePub object holds all attributes imported from the DTP software and/or can create frames and pages in this DTP software and populate its attributes from own or formerly imported values. Insofar ElePub objects fully wrap DTP frames and structures and even entire DTP documents by creating meta-objects from it, which can also be used to restore later the original DTP format, whether changed or unchanged, if needed (see chapter about XML).

Behavior: Each object can have a set of rules and data values, which are used for many different purposes by the target application: at the minimum to generate many different types of links (far beyond simple HTML hyperlinks), to define actions and/or to influence the behavior of the application software using the generated electronic pages.

ElePub supports publishing for applications
The behavior part is especially valuable for influencing the later behavior of the distribution and reader software for e-paper catalogs, for which ElePub generates catalog pages.

In CDF (Catalog Data Format) based application software, such as EleCat, these behavior definitions are interpreted by the catalog reader software. The actions (or non-actions!) of this software are specified once and at the earliest stage possible: in the creation of the original visualization object in the ElePub repository and they are inherited by all its children objects!