DITA 1.2 packages [updated yet again]

["Ogden, Jeff" <jogden@ptc.com>]

Here is yet another version of the DITA 1.2 packaging proposal updated based on comments and suggestions received during today’s DITA TC call. Changes from the previous draft are highlighted in blue.

 

Only one packaging question left to resolve on next week’s DITA TC call. I’ll send out a short note about that question later.  This note just summarizes the decisions we’ve made so far.

 

Comments and suggestions by e-mail to the list or directly to me (jogden@ptc.com), Robert (robander@us.ibm.com), and Michael (mpriestlo@ca.ibm.com) are still welcome.

 

Resolved Questions:

 

I.                     Should the Learning and Training topics and ditabase doctype shells include the software, ui, and programming domains?  John thinks they should, but will check with the LTC subcommittee.

 

This issue is settled until we hear back from the LTC subcommittee.  Need to get confirmation back from the sub-committee.

 

II.                   Do we want a Learning and Training map doctype shell that is based on bookmap?  John said yes.

 

This issue is settled, we just need to do the work.

 

III.                  Is it nuts to include so many variations of Ditabase doctype shells? Do we want a ditabase in each package? Should we leave this up to the sub-committees?

 

We agreed to include just one ditabase as part of the Technical Content package. If the Learning and Training Content or the Machine Industry sub-committees want ditabases to be included as part of their packages, they can request that. We’ll assume that we don’t want or need the additional ditabases for these two packages unless someone speaks up.

 

IV.                Should we include the approved Best Practice documents as an informative part of the Base package? Should we combine the existing best practice documents into a single document?

 

We agreed to include the Best Practice documents in the documentation package as individual documents.

 

V.                  Which map document type shells should include the Delayed Resolution domain? Basic map? Technical Content Map? Bookmap? Leaning Map?

 

We agreed to include the Delayed Resolution domain in all map doctype shells unless a sub-committee explicitly asks for the domain to be omitted for map doctype shells included in their package. No explicit requests made yet, but its early.

 

V.                  We have a constrained task doctype shell as part of the Technical Content Package. Do we need to include an unconstrained task?  If so, in which package?  Or is the Machine Industry Task an unconstrained task that can serve this role?

 

The Technical Content package will include a constrained task doctype shell. The Machine Industry package will include a differently constrained task doctype shell. The DITA 1.2 release will not include a completely unconstrained task doctype shell, but individuals and organizations are free to create one if they wish.

 

VII.               Notice that the Delayed Resolution domain is included in the Base package, that it is not included in any doctype shells.  Is this OK?

 

This is OK.

 

VIII.             Notice that the xNAL domain is included in the Base package, but it is only included in the Bookmap doctype shell.

 

We agreed to separate out the documentation for the xNAL package into its own Architecture and Language Reference document, to include this document and other xNAL files in the Base package, and to create separate xNAL directories for DTDs and XSDs within the Base package.

 

[This is where this morning’s DITA TC discussion started.] 

 

IX.                 There was a suggestion that we have an additional package that would contain the combined documentation and none of the DTD, XSD, and related files. This is not included in the above proposal, but could be if members of the TC think it would be useful.

 

We will have a separate combined documentation package and it will be the place that holds the Best Practice documents together with all of the documents from the other packages.

 

X.                   We will include the DITA source, PDF, and chunked HTML output. Do we want to include HTML Help (chm) and unchunked HTML output as well?

 

We will include PDF output for the documents in each of the packages and we will include the DITA source, PDF, unchunked html, chunked html, and HTML Help output in the documentation package. Don will work with Mary on the details of OASIS approval and picking one of the outputs, probably PDF, as the official output type to be approved with the other outputs provided as non-normative conveniences.

 

XI.                 Are seven or eight packages too many (six individual, one combined, and possibly a combined documentation package)?

 

No one objected, in fact there were a few suggestions (not acted upon) for even more packages.

 

XII.                Questions about how to coordinate Robert’s proposed changes to the organization of the DITA Language Reference documents with the packaging proposal were raised during the 8 April DITA TC call.

 

No one else was really sure what the specific issue was or if there was one.  We’ll sort things out as we go if necessary.

 

XIII.              There is a question about the name for what is labeled the “core” package above.  Is “core” OK or would “base”, “common”, or something else be better.

 

Base rather than core it will be.

 

 XIV.             There are questions about the right place to put the xNAL and Hazard Statement domains that we need to sort out.

 

We will put the xNAL and Hazard Statement domains in the Base package with a separate document to describe xNAL. The xNAL domain will be used from the bookmap doctype shell.  The Hazard Statement domain will be used from several doctype shells in several packages.

 

XV.              Is Technical Content a good name for item #2 below?  Would Technical Publications be better? Something else?

 

This is the question that we didn’t fully resolve.  We agreed that “Technical Content” isn’t a particularly good name. We didn’t come up with another name that everyone liked better. We agreed to keep thinking, to post suggestions for better names to the list, and to revisit this question during next weeks call.

 

As part of the same discussion there was a call for creating a new package that would be a lot like this package, but which would omit the software, programming, and UI domains from the various document type shells. There wasn’t agreement to do this. We did agree to keep the discussion open.

 

XVI.             Not sure we have agreement on item xii below.

 

We didn’t deal with this issue. The suggestion was to assume a package organization like the one described below and for Don to work with Mary or others in OASIS to put together a proposal for what exactly would be approved through the formal OASIS process.

 

General comments:

 

1. We will organize the DITA 1.2 specification into a set of eight packages,
   six individual packages, a combined documentation package, and a combined
   package as outlined below.
2. All packages include both DTD and XSD doctype shells and modules.
3. All packages include catalog files (both XML and text).
4. All packages include PDF output for the documentation specific to that package. The
   documentation package includes DITA source, PDF, chunked HTML
   output, and HTML Help (chm) and unchunked HTML output. The combined package
   includes everything.
5. Packages will contain a mix of normative and informative (non-normative) materials.
6. Directories and files will be organized and named so that they can be combined and
   installed into the same directories without conflict.
7. Except for the combined documentation and the combined package, individual packages
   won’t duplicate the content from other packages.
8. The Base Package can be used by itself.
9. Each of the individual non-Base packages requires the Base package and may
   require other packages.
10. The Base Package plus the Technical Content Package (by whatever name we end up
    selecting) gives what is available in DITA 1.1 without bookmap and with the addition of  
    the Hazard Statement domain, the Delayed Resolution domain, and the Basic Topic
    and Basic Map document type shells.
11. The written specifications, references, and guidelines are being divided into
    smaller independent documents to make them more manageable, to allow
    them to be maintained somewhat independently, to allow readers to
    avoid sections that they may not need or may not be interested in, and to make
    it easier to add more structural and domain specializations in the future.
12. The DITA TC and eventually OASIS will be asked to approve something that Don
    sorts out with OASIS. One suggestion was that the TC and OASIS approve the
    specifications, DTDs, XSDs, modules, and related files in the combined package.

 

1)       Base Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Base Architectural Specification (introduction, topic, map, and
metadata markup, processing including delayed resolution,
specialization including constraints).

b)       DITA 1.2 Base Language Reference (map, topic, metadata including
delayed resolution, map group domain).

c)       DITA 1.2 Utility Domain Specializations Architecture and Language
Reference (utilities, highlighting, and hazard statement domains).

c.1) DITA 1.2 xNAL Domain Specializations Architecture and Language Reference.

d)       DITA 1.2 Processing Guidelines and Examples (non-normative).

 

e)       Basic Topic document type shell (topic type, no domains).

f)         Topic type modules.

g)       Topic domain specialization modules for the indexing, utilities,
highlighting, and hazard statement domains.

h)       Basic Map document type shell (only map type plus the map group domain).

i)         Map modules.

j)         Map Group domain specialization modules.

k)       Delayed Resolution domain specialization modules.

l)         xNAL domain specialization modules.

n)       ditaval document type.

 

2)       Technical Content (or more likely some better name that the TC picks) Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Technical Content Architecture and Language
Reference (concept, task, reference, glossary).

b)       DITA 1.2 Software, Programming, and User Interface Domains
Specializations Architecture and Language Reference.

 

c)       Topic document type shell (topic plus Base topic domains plus the
software, programming, and UI domains).

d)       Concept document type shell (concept plus Base topic domains plus
the software, programming, and UI domains).

e)       Glossary document type shell (glossentry plus Base topic domains plus
the software, programming, and UI domains).

f)         Reference document type shell (reference plus Base topic domains plus
the software, programming, and UI domains).

g)       Task document type shell (constrained task plus Base topic domains plus the
software, programming, and UI domains).

h)       concept, glossary, reference, and task specialization modules.

i)         Software, programming, and UI domain specialization modules.

j)         Map document type shell (map plus map group, delayed resolution, and indexing domains).

k)       Technical Content Ditabase doctype shell (topic, concept, glossentry,
reference, constrained task plus the Base topic domains plus the software,
programming, and UI domains).

 

3)       Book Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Book Architecture and Language Reference (bookmap).

 

b)       Bookmap document type shell (bookmap plus map group, indexing,
delayed resolution, and xNAL domains).

c)       Bookmap specialization modules.

 

4)       Learning and Training Content Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Learning and Training Content Architecture and Language Reference.

 

b)       Doctype shells for all of the Learning and Training topic
specializations except learningBase, includes the Base topic, software,
programming, UI, Learning topic, and Learning Metadata domains.

c)       Learning and Training topic, map, and metadata domains.

d)       Learning and Training map doctype shell (map plus the map group, delayed
resolution, Learning Map, Learning Metadata, and Learning topic domains).

e)       Learning and Training bookmap doctype shell (bookmap plus the map
group, delayed resolution, Learning Map and Learning Metadata domains).

f)         Learning and Training map domain specialization modules.

 

5)       Machine Industry Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Machine Industry Architecture and Language Reference.

 

b)       Machine Industry Task doctype shell (constrained task plus the
Base topic and Machine Industry domain specializations).

c)       Machine Industry domain specialization modules.

 

6)       Semantic Linking, Controlled Values, and Taxonomies Package

 

a)       DITA 1.2 Semantic Linking, Controlled Values, and Taxonomies
Architecture and Language Reference.

 

b)       Subject Schema Map document type shell (need details here).

c)       Subject Schema Map modules.

d)       Classification Map document type shell (need details here).

e)       Classification domain specialization modules.

 

7)       Documentation Package

 

a)       The DITA source plus PDF, chunked HTML, unchunked HTML, and
HTML Help output for all of the Architecture, Language Reference,
Guideline, and Example documents from the other packages.

b)   The source and all outputs for all of the approved Best Practice
documents as individual documents.

 

8)       Combined Package

 

a)       All of the above in one combined package.