dl

A definition list (<dl>) is a list of terms and corresponding definitions. The term (<dt>) is usually flush left. The description or definition (<dd>) is usually either indented and on the next line, or on the same line to the right of the term. However, actual rendering is up to the rendering engine.

You can also provide an optional heading for the terms and definitions, using the <dlhead> element, which contains header elements for those columns. The default formatting for the <dlhead> generally looks like a table with a heading row, but this is also up to the rendering engine.

Contains

note

These models represent only the default document types distributed by OASIS. Actual content models will differ with each new document type.

Doctype	Content model
topic, map, concept, ditabase, glossary, glossentry, glossgroup, reference, task, bookmap, classifyMap, subjectScheme, machineryTask, learningAssessment, learningBookmap, learningContent, learningMap, learningOverview, learningPlan, learningSummary	( (dlhead) (optional) then (dlentry) (one or more) )

Contained by

Doctype	Content model
topic (base)	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo
map (base), classifyMap, subjectScheme, learningBookmap, learningMap	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry
topic (technical content)	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, pd
map (technical content), bookmap	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, pd
concept	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, conbody, pd
ditabase	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, conbody, prereq, context, steps-informal, stepsection, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, refsyn, proptypehd, propvaluehd, propdeschd, propdesc, glossdef, glossUsage, glossScopeNote, pd
glossary, glossentry, glossgroup	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, conbody, glossdef, glossUsage, glossScopeNote, pd
reference	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, refsyn, proptypehd, propvaluehd, propdeschd, propdesc, pd
task (strict), task (general)	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, prereq, context, steps-informal, stepsection, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, pd
machineryTask	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, prereq, context, steps-informal, stepsection, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, reqcond, reqcontp, personnel, perscat, perskill, esttime, supequi, supply, spare, safecond
learningAssessment, learningOverview, learningSummary	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, lcIntro, lcAudience, lcPrereqs, lcSummary, lcNextSteps, lcReview, lcResources, lcChallenge, lcInstruction, lcInteractionBase, lcInstructornote
learningContent	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, lcIntro, lcAudience, lcPrereqs, lcSummary, lcNextSteps, lcReview, lcResources, lcChallenge, lcInstruction, prereq, context, steps-informal, stepsection, info, tutorialinfo, stepxmp, choice, choptionhd, chdeschd, choption, chdesc, stepresult, result, postreq, conbody, refsyn, proptypehd, propvaluehd, propdeschd, propdesc, lcInteractionBase, lcInstructornote
learningPlan	desc, p, note, lq, li, itemgroup, dd, fig, figgroup, stentry, draft-comment, fn, entry, abstract, body, bodydiv, section, sectiondiv, example, linkinfo, lcIntro, lcAudience, lcPrereqs, lcSummary, lcNextSteps, lcReview, lcResources, lcChallenge, lcInstruction, lcClient, lcPlanTitle, lcCIN, lcModDate, lcDelivDate, lcPlanSubject, lcPlanDescrip, lcPlanPrereqs, lcGeneralDescription, lcGoals, lcNeeds, lcValues, lcOrgConstraints, lcEdLevel, lcAge, lcBackground, lcSkills, lcKnowledge, lcMotivation, lcSpecChars, lcWorkEnvDescription, lcPlanResources, lcProcesses, lcTaskItem, lcAttitude, lcPlanObjective, lcJtaItem, lcGapItemDelta, lcLearnStrat, lcAssessment, lcDelivery, lcLMS, lcNoLMS, lcHandouts, lcClassroom, lcOJT, lcConstraints, lcW3C, lcPlayers, lcGraphics, lcViewers, lcResolution, lcFileSizeLimitations, lcDownloadTime, lcSecurity, lcInteractionBase, lcInstructornote

Inheritance

- topic/dl

Examples

Simple definition list example

<dl>
<dlentry>
<dt>Bytes returned</dt>
<dd>The number of bytes of data returned.</dd>
</dlentry>
<dlentry>
<dt>Bytes available</dt>
<dd>The number of bytes of data available to be returned.</dd>
</dlentry>
<dlentry><dt>Handle</dt>
<dd>The returned handle value</dd>
</dlentry>
</dl>

Definition list with a heading

<dl>
 <dlhead>
  <dthd>Image File View Selection</dthd>
  <ddhd>Resulting Information</ddhd>
 </dlhead>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>File Type</dt>
  <dd>Image's file extension</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Image Class</dt>
  <dd>Image is raster, vector, metafile or 3D</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Number of pages</dt>
  <dd>Number of pages in the image</dd>
 </dlentry>
 <dlentry>
  <dt>Fonts</dt>
  <dd>Names of the fonts contained within a vector image</dd>
 </dlentry>
</dl>

Rendering of definition lists will vary by application and by display format. The second example may, but need not, be rendered as follows.

Image File View Selection	Resulting Information
File Type	Image's file extension
Image Class	Image is raster, vector, metafile or 3D
Number of pages	Number of pages in the image
Fonts	Names of the fonts contained within a vector image

Attributes

Name	Description	Data Type	Default Value	Required?
compact	Indicates close vertical spacing between the list items. Expanded spacing is the default value. The output result of compact spacing depends on the processor or browser. Allowed values are: yes Indicates compact spacing. no Indicates expanded spacing. -dita-use-conref-target See Using the -dita-use-conref-target value for more information.	(yes \| no \| -dita-use-conref-target)	#IMPLIED	No
spectitle	The specialized title attribute allows architects of specialized types to define a fixed or default title for a specialized element. Not intended for direct use by authors.	CDATA	#IMPLIED	No
univ-atts attribute group (includes select-atts, id-atts, and localization-atts groups)	A set of related attributes, described in univ-atts attribute group
global-atts attribute group (xtrf, xtrc)	A set of related attributes, described in global-atts attribute group
class, outputclass	Common attributes described in Other common DITA attributes