OASIS DITA Technical Committee Forms to Advance XML Standard for Authoring Reusable Content in Documents.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2004 International standards consortium, OASIS, announced plans to advance the Darwin Information Typing Architecture The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is an XML-based architecture for authoring, producing, and delivering technical information. The name of the architecture can be explained as follows:
in full Extensible Markup Language. Markup language developed to be a simplified and more structural version of SGML. It incorporates features of HTML (e.g., hypertext linking), but is designed to overcome some of HTML's limitations. architecture defined by the new OASIS DITA Technical Committee will be used to design, write, manage, and publish technical documentation in print and on the Web. "DITA embodies several interesting information architecture concepts related to XML-based authoring and content management, including a clever transclusion mechanism that supports document component reuse," said Robin Cover, editor of the Cover Pages, a reference site for markup languages
A very desired object or outcome that borders on a sacred quest. There are several Holy Grails in the computer business. of semantically constrained content reuse, DITA represents a unique contribution; the architecture deserves the attention of a wider group of reviewers and developers." Focusing on the 'topic' as a conceptual unit of authoring, DITA will extend existing content markup (text) markup - In computerised document preparation, a method of adding information to the text indicating the logical components of a document, or instructions for layout of the text on the page or other information which can be interpreted by some automatic system. to represent domains of specialized markup common across sets of topics, e.g., hardware vs. software. Larger documents can be created by aggregating topic units. Content referencing combines several topics into a single document or allows content to be shared among topics. "With DITA, the distinction between reusable content and reusing content disappears," said Dave Schell, convener of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee. "That's because DITA's strength lies in a unified content reuse mechanism that enables an element to replace itself with the content of a like element elsewhere, either in the current topic or in a separate topic that shares the same content models." Don Day of IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , proposed chair of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee, added, "DITA goes beyond standard entity reuse to allow reused content to exist in a valid XML file with a DTD (Document Type Definition) A language that describes the contents of an SGML document. The DTD is also used with XML, and the DTD definitions may be embedded within an XML document or in a separate file. . The net result is that reused content gets validated at authoring time, rather than at reuse time, catching problems at their source." By enabling definitive semantics, DITA will allow more automatable processes, consistent authoring and better retrievability and applicability to specific industries. Through the use of a common specification, DITA content owners will benefit from industry support, interoperability, and reuse of community contributions. At the same time, through specialization, content owners will be able to address the specific requirements of their business or industry. OASIS DITA Technical Committee members include representatives of Arbortext, Innodata Isogen Innodata Isogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: INOD) specializes in knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and content-related IT services. Founded in 1988, Innodata Isogen employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. , IBM, and others. The group brings together XML tools vendors, consultants on Information Architectures and Content Management Systems (CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. ), and users of the DITA Document Type Definitions (DTD) and Schemas. Participation remains open to all organizations and individuals; OASIS will host a mail list for public comment. Industry Support for DITA Arbortext "DITA presents an innovative solution to several thorny problems of developing XML applications, especially in the publishing arena, and we at Arbortext enthusiastically support the new OASIS DITA Technical Committee," said Paul Grosso, VP Research for Arbortext. IBM "DITA establishes a platform for information development that lays the foundation for content collaboration. DITA is an XML-based architecture with a modular design In the context of systems engineering, modular design — or "modularity in design" — is an approach aiming to subdivide a system into smaller parts (modules) that can be independently created and then used in different systems to drive multiple functionalities. and built-in extension mechanisms that usher in Verb 1. usher in - be a precursor of; "The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in the post-Cold War period" inaugurate, introduce commence, lead off, start, begin - set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. a new era of collaboration for the design, reuse, and processing of content," said Dave A. Schell, chief strategist for IBM's information development community, commenting on IBM's recent donation of DITA to OASIS and the formation of an OASIS Technical Committee for DITA. Innodata Isogen "Innodata Isogen finds that the DITA architecture fits very well with the technical approaches we've used for many years in addressing our clients' requirements for managing complex systems of modular information. We see DITA-based solutions as a key component of robust, large-scale XML-based information management systems - especially in global enterprises or vertical industries where interoperability and re-use among different groups is a requirement," said Eliot Kimber, Senior Systems Analyst, Innodata Isogen. About OASIS OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) is a not-for-profit, global consortium that drives the development, convergence, and adoption of e-business standards. Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts. OASIS produces worldwide standards for security, Web services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. , conformance, business transactions, electronic publishing An umbrella term for non-paper publishing, which includes publishing online or on media such as CDs and DVDs. , topic maps Topic Maps is an ISO standard for the representation and interchange of knowledge, with an emphasis on the findability of information. The standard is formally known as ISO/IEC 13250:2003. and interoperability within and between marketplaces. Founded in 1993, OASIS has more than 2,500 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries. http://www.oasis-open.org Additional information: OASIS DITA Technical Committee http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/dita Cover Pages Technology Report: http://xml.coverpages.org/ni2004-03-29-b.html |
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