DITA is Darwin Information Typing Architecture -

• Darwin because its topics can be specialized to inherit properties of basic topics.

• Three basic Information Types are Concept, Task, and Reference topics.

• The Architecture is an XML standard, with Schemas and DTDs (document type definitions) maintained by OASIS.

• Topics can include other topics and sub-topics for flexible content reuse.

• Topics have strong metadata for retrieval and conditional processing.

• DITA Maps assemble topics in hierarchies for publishing various document types.

• Map assembly can depend on audience type and many other properties.

• DITA is an end-to-end architecture, with rules for publishing to XHTML, Help, PDF, and other formats.

• The DITA Open Toolkit is a reference implementation of an end-to-end component publishing system.

DITA has many features, culled from decades of research in methods for technical documentation - modularity, structured writing, information typing, minimalism, inheritance, specialization, simplified XML, single-source, topic-based, conditional processing, component publishing, task-orientation, content reuse, multiple output formats, multi-channel delivery, translation-friendly.

If you don't understand all these features, you may not have analyzed the DITA Business Case properly - for your organization, or for yourself if you are a professional writer.

You don't have to know how to do all these things to use DITA, but if there is no one in your organization who knows why you should use them, you may have a problem.

Discussion of the following DITA features is for members only.

• Modularity
• Structured Writing
• Information Typing
• Minimalism
• Inheritance
• Specialization
• Simplified XML
• Single-source
• Topic-based
• Conditional Processing
• Component Publishing
• Task orientation
• Content Reuse
• Multiple Output Formats
• Multi-channel Delivery
• Writing for translation

Introduction to DITA, by Jennifer Linton and Kylene Bruski (Comtech Services), 2006).

DITA Pocket Guide, by SiberLogic, 2006.

Developing Quality Technological Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors (2nd Edition) , by Gretchen Hargis, Michelle Carey, Ann Kilty Hernandez, Polly Hughes, Deirdre Longo, Shannon Rouiller, Elizabeth Wilde (IBM Press, Information Management Series, 2004).

Information Development: Managing Your Documentation Projects, Portfolio, and People, by JoAnn Hackos (Wiley, 2006).