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The Most Important Questions About DITA
DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) is an XML-based information architecture. DITA doesn’t reinvent the wheel – rather, it sets standards for known structuring requirements. One very attractive aspect of this architecture is its clear alignment to a structuring method that has proved itself for years in online documentation.
The basis of this method is the division of the content into modules called TOPICS. Today, this structuring method is considered the ideal approach for the organisation of comprehensive contents. As with everything new, there are many questions about DITA.
How did DITA come about?
DITA was developed by IBM and is available today as open source architecture. In May 2005, DITA V1.0 was approved as OASIS standard (Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards).
Meanwhile, a large DITA community has grown up. More and more manufacturers of documentation tools support DITA. Some companies, including Adobe, Boeing, IBM and Nokia, are already using DITA.
What is special about DITA?
The topic-oriented approach and the flexible specialisation options distinguish DITA from comparable architectures such as DocBook.
What is a topic?
Topics are self-contained content blocks that are as context-independent as possible. A simple example of a topic is a term definition. If it is organised as a separate topic, it can be (re)used in all places where the term concerned occurs.
The idea of dividing contents into topics is realised in the online-help world for many years. Topics should be small enough to be used flexibly. On the other hand, they must not be so small that the quality and author’s efficiency suffer.
What does a DITA topic look like?
DITA Topics have a title (title) and contents (body) and usually consist of one special type of information.
What does classification mean?
Classification means defining different categories according to particular criteria. For example, you can differentiate between explanations and tasks. Finding suitable information types is not a simple task. One method, in use for over 15 years, is the class concept method developed by Prof. Sissi Closs, with which a class concept can be systematically and efficiently developed including topic types, link types and collection types.
For the most common content categories in online help, such as step-by-step instructions, descriptions, glossary entries and field help, suitable topic types have been established over the years. DITA picks these up and offers the basic types concept, reference and task in addition to the generic topic.
What does topic-oriented structuring have to offer?
Compared with a rigid chapter structure, the topic structure is better suited for reuse, provided the topic classification is done correctly.
What are the advantages of classification?
Instead of planning each topic individually, it is sufficient to work out a concept for each information type. This is then implemented consistently for each topic of that type. In this way, the author’s work is systematically organised and the user can find his or her way around more easily, thanks to the consistency.
How can coherent contents be created from topics?
DITA offers several ways of assembling contents from topics.
In a DITA map, topics are organised as in a table of contents. Whereas the traditional table of contents is usually generated from the document titles after the document is created, the DITA map is used for generating the document.
Topics can also be nested to form larger interconnected content blocks. In order not to impair the reuse of the topic content, the nesting must be done outside the body area. The nesting defines the order and hierarchy of participating topics.
Another way of combining contents is the conref mechanism, already known to SGML.
An element can be replaced by the contents of another element either in the same topic or in a separate topic. Every element with an ID can be reused by means of the conref mechanism. However, only an equivalent content can be inserted. If the element types do not match, the substitution is not made.
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03/2007, Prof. Sissi Closs
| | Prof. Sissi Closs is one of the leading experts in online documentation and XML in Germany. She is co-partner and CEO of Comet Computer and Comet Communication.
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