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Lesson 1: What is DITA

Markup languages​

DITA is built on the XML markup language (similar to HTML). They both use < and > to identify the markup tags (for example, <title> and </title>).

Besides, tags can also have attributes in the form of attribute="value".

Comparing HTML and XML:

  • HTML can be quite forgiving when you forget to close tags or put quotation marks around attribute values; XML is strict in requiring them.
  • HTML uses a predefined set of tags (<body>, <p>, <span>, and so on). In XML, the tags are defined in a separate file and can be changed and added to.
  • In HTML, the “root” tag is <html>. In DITA, the name of the root tag depends on the type of topic you’re creating, such as <concept>, <task>, or <reference>.

DITA is structured authoring​

Structured authoring is a publishing workflow that lets you define and enforce consistent organization of information in documents.

The elements defined in DITA have a very specific hierarchy and relationships.

What is DITA topic?​

A DITA topic is the basic unit of authoring and reuse. Each topic can address a single idea or answers a single question. These topics can then be reused in any order you want.

All DITA topics must have at least a title element and an id attribute for the root topic. A valid DITA topic looks like this:

<topic id="sample">

   <title>Topic title goes here</title>

</topic>

To make your topics reusable:

  • A topic should address a single idea or answer a single question.
  • A topic should contain enough information to stand on its own.
  • A topic should not assume any context. You should not make assumptions about what comes before or after the topic.
  • A single file should contain a single topic.