Introduction

TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) is an XML markup language widely adopted as the international standard for digitizing humanities texts. It can describe various textual materials — including classical texts, letters, inscriptions, and dictionaries — in a structured format.

However, publishing TEI XML-encoded texts on the web in a readable format requires considerable technical expertise. This article introduces TEI Publisher, a platform that makes it easy to publish TEI XML digital editions.

What is TEI Publisher?

TEI Publisher is a digital edition publishing platform that runs on the eXist-db XML database. It enables publishing TEI XML-encoded texts as customizable, visually appealing web pages.

Developed and maintained by the e-editiones community, it is released as open-source software. It aims to be a one-stop solution for scholarly text publishing.

Key Features

Customizable Display

Based on the ODD (One Document Does it all) specification’s processing model, users can flexibly define how each TEI XML element is displayed. There is no need to write XSLT directly — display rules can be configured through a GUI-based editor.

Facsimile Display

Digital images of original documents (facsimiles) can be displayed alongside text transcriptions. It also supports the IIIF Image API, enabling zoom functionality for high-resolution images. Specific text passages can be linked to corresponding regions in the images.

Full-Text Search

eXist-db’s full-text search engine enables fast searching across entire texts. A Lucene-based index delivers instant results even with large volumes of text. Faceted search and hit highlighting are also supported.

REST API

A REST API is provided for programmatic access to text data and metadata. This facilitates integration with external applications and tools, promoting data reuse.

Responsive Design

Generated web pages feature responsive design, ensuring proper display across PCs, tablets, smartphones, and other devices.

Multi-Language and Multi-Script Support

In addition to Latin script, TEI Publisher supports diverse writing systems including Arabic, Chinese characters, and Devanagari. Right-to-left (RTL) languages are also supported.

Getting Started

TEI Publisher runs on eXist-db. Docker-based deployment is recommended.

docker run -p 8080:8080 existdb/teipublisher:latest

After startup, accessing http://localhost:8080/exist/apps/tei-publisher/ in a browser displays the TEI Publisher interface. Sample texts are included, so you can immediately try out the features.

Use Cases in DH

Critical Edition Publishing

Critical editions created by comparing multiple manuscripts can be published on the web using TEI Publisher. Rich digital editions including apparatus criticus and annotations can be built.

Letter Collection Publishing

Personal letter collections encoded in TEI XML can be published through TEI Publisher, creating a letter database with search capabilities by date, sender/recipient, and full-text search.

Dictionary and Glossary Publishing

Dictionary data encoded using TEI’s dictionary module (TEI Dictionaries) can be published as a searchable web dictionary through TEI Publisher.

Educational Use

When students learn TEI XML encoding, TEI Publisher allows them to immediately see results as web pages, contributing to increased learning motivation.

Technical Architecture

TEI Publisher is built on the following technology stack:

  • eXist-db — native XML database
  • XQuery / XSLT — data processing and transformation
  • Web Components — frontend custom elements
  • ODD — display model definition
  • CETEIcean — in-browser rendering of TEI XML

Conclusion

TEI Publisher is a comprehensive platform for publishing TEI XML digital editions on the web. It provides all the essential features for scholarly text publishing, including customizable display, facsimile integration, full-text search, and REST API. Easy deployment via Docker and GUI-based configuration lower the technical barriers. It is highly recommended for researchers considering the publication of digital editions.