Language reference: Technical content edition

This section contains a listing of DITA elements.

The base topic elements include elements that make up the core building blocks of the DITA topic, such as topic, body, and related-links, as well as elements like <p> and <ph> that are used in many topic specializations. Some of these elements are also available inside the <topicmeta> map element.

Map elements include the core components of DITA maps, such as <topicref> and <reltable>, as well as general purpose map specializations in the map group domain.

Metadata elements include information that is located within the <topicmeta> element (in maps) or <prolog> element (in topics), as well as indexing elements that can be placed in additional locations within topic content.

General purpose domains are not specific to any type of information, such as the hazard statement domain that provides elements for describing hazardous situations.

Classification elements support managing metadata. Those in the subject scheme map are used to define controlled values and to bind the controlled values to DITA attributes as enumerations. Those declared in the classification domain are used in other maps to classify content according to the scheme.

Several DITA elements exist either for architectural reasons or for support of specialized markup yet to be designed. Although there is little need to use these elements unless you are directed to, some of them, such as <state>, can be used if your content makes use of these semantic distinctions. For example, a discussion of signals on a gate of an integrated logic circuit might use the <state> element to represent either on or off conditions of that gate.

Conversion elements exist primarily to aid in the conversion of content to DITA.

A conditional processing profile (DITAVAL file) is used to identify which values are to be used for conditional processing during a particular output, build, or some other purpose. The profile should have an extension of .ditaval.

DITA concept topics answer "What is..." questions. Use the concept topic to introduce the background or overview information for tasks or reference topics. The concept topic restricts content following a section or example to other sections or examples. For more details on when to use concept and other information types, please refer to the DITA architectural specification.

Task topics answer "How do I?" questions, and have a well-defined structure that describes how to complete a procedure to accomplish a specific goal. Use the task topic to describe the steps of a particular task, or to provide an overview of a higher-level task. The task topic includes sections for describing the context, prerequisites, actual steps, expected results, example, and expected next steps for a task. For more details on when to use task and other information types, please refer to the DITA architectural specification.

Reference topics describe factual material about a subject, such as the commands in a programming language. This format is also suitable for bibliographies, catalogues, the list of ingredients for recipes, and similar collections of structured descriptive prose. For more details on when to use reference and other information types, please refer to the DITA architectural specification.

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Glossary elements include those elements designed to specify terms and their definitions, as well as elements that are designed to group, reference, or otherwise make use of information in the glossentry topic.

Elements in the bookmap section are used to organize DITA content into book form. They include elements for dividing up content, such as chapter and appendix, as well as metadata specific to publishing.

Domains in this section include those generally associated with technical content, such as the programming and software domains.

This section collects commonly used attributes, with common definitions. If an element uses a different definition, or narrows the scope of, an otherwise common attribute, it will be called out in the topic that defines the element.