Content reuse Topics are the foundation for content reuse, and can be reused across multiple publications. Fragments of content within topics can be reused through the use of content references (
conref or
conkeyref), a
transclusion mechanism.
Information typing The latest version of DITA (DITA 1.3) includes five specialized topic types:
Task,
Concept,
Reference,
Glossary Entry, and
Troubleshooting. Each of these five topic types is a specialization of a generic
Topic type, which contains a title element, a prolog element for metadata, and a body element. The body element contains paragraph, table, and list elements, similar to
HTML. • A
Task topic is intended for a procedure that describes how to accomplish a task. It lists a series of steps that users follow to produce an intended outcome. The steps are contained in a taskbody element, which is a specialization of the generic body element. The steps element is a specialization of an ordered list element. •
Concept information is more objective, containing definitions, rules, and guidelines. • A
Reference topic is for topics that describe command syntax, programming instructions, and other reference material, and usually contains detailed, factual material. • A
Glossary Entry topic is used for defining a single sense of a given term. In addition to identifying the term and providing a definition, this topic type might also have basic terminology information, along with any acronyms or acronym expansions that may apply to the term. • The
Troubleshooting topic describes a condition that the reader may want to correct, followed by one or more descriptions of its cause and suggested remedies.
Maps A DITA map is a container for topics used to transform a collection of content into a publication. It gives the topics sequence and structure. A map can include relationship tables (reltables) that define hyperlinks between topics. Maps can be nested: they can reference topics or other maps, and can contain a variety of content types and metadata.
Metadata DITA includes extensive
metadata elements and attributes, both at topic level and within elements.
Conditional text allows filtering or styling content based on attributes for audience, platform, product, and other properties. The conditional processing profile ( file) is used to identify which values are to be used for conditional processing.
Specialization DITA allows adding new elements and attributes through specialization of base DITA elements and attributes. Through specialization, DITA can accommodate new topic types, element types, and attributes as needed for specific industries or companies. Specializations of DITA for specific industries, such as the
semiconductor industry, are standardized through
OASIS technical committees or subcommittees. Many organizations using DITA also develop their own specializations. The extensibility of DITA permits organizations to specialize DITA by defining specific information structures and still use standard tools to work with them. The ability to define company-specific information architectures enables companies to use DITA to enrich content with metadata that is meaningful to them, and to enforce company-specific rules on document structure. Content should be structured to resemble the file structure in which it is contained. ==Creating content in DITA==