What is metadata?

Metadata is semantic information about the information in a DITA document, for example the name of the document's author, the date the document was created, the name of the product the information is describing, the target audience, and copyright information.

The < prolong > section of the section of the source file contains the metadata.

What are DITA maps?

DITA maps are documents that collect and organize references to DITA topics to indicate the relationships among the topics. They can also serve as outlines or tables of contents for DITA deliverables and as build manifests for DITA projects.

DITA maps represent the architecture of an information set – what topics are needed, in what order or relationships, to support a particular set of user goals or other requirements.

What is a DITA reference?

Reference topics describe regular features of a subject or product, such as commands in a programming language.
In technical information, reference topics are often used to cover subjects such as the commands in a programming language. Reference topics can hold anything that has regular content, such as ingredients for food recipes, bibliographic lists, catalogues, and the like. Reference topics provide quick access to facts. Information needed for deeper understanding of a reference topic or to perform related procedures should be provided in a concept or task topic.

Reference structure

The < reference > element is the top-level element for a reference topic. Every reference topic contains a < title > and a < refbody > and optional < titlealts >, < shortdesc > or < abstract >, < prolog >, < related-links >, and nested topics.

The < refbody > element holds the main content of the reference topic. Reference topics limit the body structure to tables (both simple and standard), property lists, syntax sections, and generic sections and examples.

All of the elements of < refbody > are optional and may appear in any sequence and number.
< section >
Represents an organizational division in a reference topic. Sections organize subsets of information within a larger topic. You can only include a simple list of peer sections in a topic; sections cannot be nested. A section may have an optional title.
< refsyn >
Contains syntax or signature content (for example, a command-line utility's calling syntax, or an API's signature). The < refsyn > contains a brief, possibly diagrammatic description of the subject's interface or high-level structure.
< example >
Provides containing examples that illustrate or support the current topic. The < example > element has the same content model as < section >.
< table >
Organizes information according into a tabular rows and columns structure. Table markup also allows for more complex structures, including spanning rows and columns, as well as table captions.
< simpletable >
Holds information in regular rows and columns and does not allow for a caption.
< properties >
Lists properties and their types, values, and descriptions.

What is a DITA task?

Task topics answer "How do I?" questions

Tasks are the essential building blocks for providing procedure information. A task topic answers the "How do I?" question by providing precise step-by-step instructions detailing what to do and the order in which to do it. The task topic includes sections for describing the context, prerequisites, expected results, and other aspects of a task.

Task structure

 

The < task > element is the top-level element for a task topic. Every task topic contains a < title > and a < taskbody > and optional < titlealts >, < shortdesc > or < abstract >, < prolog >, < related-links >, and nested topics.

The < taskbody > element is the main body-level element inside a task topic. A task body has a very specific structure, with the following elements in this order: < prereq >, < context >, < steps >, < result >, < example > and < postreq >. Each of the body sections is optional.

< prereq >

Describes information needed before starting the current task.

< context >

Provides background information for the task. This information helps the user understand what the purpose of the task is and what they will gain by completing the task. This section should be brief and does not replace or recreate a concept topic on the same subject, although the context section may include some conceptual information.

< steps >

Provides the main content of the task topic. A task consists of a series of steps that accomplish the task. The section must have one or more < step > elements, which provide the specifics about each step in in the task.

The element represents an action that a user must follow to accomplish a task. Each step in a task must contain a command < cmd > element which describes the particular action the user must do to accomplish the overall task. The step element can also contain information < info >, substeps < substeps >, tutorial information < tutorialinfo >, a step example < stepxmp >, choices < choices > or a stepresult < stepresult >, although these are optional.

< result >

Describes the expected outcome for the task as a whole.

< example >

Provides an example that illustrates or supports the task.

< postreq >

Describes steps or tasks that the user should do after the successful completion of the current task. It is often supported by links to the next task or tasks in the section.

What is a DITA concept?

DITA concept topics answer "What is..." questions. 

Concepts provide background that helps readers understand essential information about a product, interface, or task. Often, a concept is an extended definition of a major abstraction such as a process or function. Conceptual information may explain a product and how it fits into its category of products. Conceptual information helps users to map their existing knowledge to tasks and other essential information about a product or system.

Concept structure

The < concept > element is the top-level element for a DITA concept topic. Every concept contains a < title > and a < conbody > and optional < titlealts >, < shortdesc > or < abstract >, < prolog >, < related-links >, and nested topics.

What are DITA Topics?

DITA topics are the basic units of DITA content.  DITA specifies three basic topic types: Task, Concept and Reference. Each of the three basic 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. A Task topic lists a series of steps that users follow to produce an intended outcome.
• 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.

Which tools support DITA authoring?

Below is some of the list of tools that support authoring

• Oxygen XML editor
• Arbotext
• XMetal
• Quark XML Author

Who gets the benefit from DITA?

Today, documentation standards is the requirement of any technology based industry. Whether it  is for the telecom industry or the railways, standards foster efficiencies and synergies.

Thus adopting a standard increases productivity, reduce risk, effective documentation etc.

What is OASIS?

OASIS stands for Organization for the Advancement of Standard Information Standards. It is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards

See http://www.oasis-open.org/org

What is DITA

DITA is an acronym for Darwin Information Typing Architecture. DITA is a method of structured authoring. The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is a comprehensive framework for authoring, managing, and distributing topic-oriented information in XML..

DITA is an OASIS standard XML data model for authoring and publishing.