[Date Prev] | [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Date Next] -- [Date Index] | [Thread Index] | [List Home]
Subject: DITA 1.3 Issue: Element-to-Element Relationship Tables (ExternalLinks)
The purpose of this note is to register an issue for discussion in DITA 1.3. At the DITA NA conference Seth Park's talk about using reltables to link DITA content to non-DITA content at the element level revealed the problem that DITA 1.2 provides no standard-defined way to create the equivalent of relationship tables for element-to-element links. This is because <topicref> and <link> can only point to whole topics. This is a core architectural design feature that we would revisit at our peril. However, Michael Priestly pointed out that one could easily specialize simple-table to define the equivalent of reltable, using <xref> in place of <topicref>. This can be done today by anyone who wants to. Note that these element-to-element relationships are fundamentally different from conref push, although the desired presentation effect may often be the same. For example, you might want to impose commentary or other value-add information onto content provided by a third party, where the constraints of conref do not allow you to push your elements onto the source (for example, because the source is more specialized than your source and in a way that would be impossible or inappropriate to use as a local specialization base). In the case of my client at the moment, they want to annotate individual paragraphs within the DITA-based Codified GAAP accounting standards they license from the FASB. A reltable-type approach would satisfy the requirement by allowing the element-level association without imposing conref's compatibility constraints. I don't think it's necessary, or probably even appropriate, for these sorts of links to be in a map--MP's point that maps should not know about sub-topic elements is an important principle and I see no reason to violate it here. With keyref, a table of links within a topic can still be manageable. As the 1.3 process progresses I will take the action to coordinate development of a more formal proposal for this. Cheers, E. ---- Eliot Kimber | Senior Solutions Architect | Really Strategies, Inc. email: ekimber@reallysi.com <mailto:ekimber@reallysi.com> office: 610.631.6770 | cell: 512.554.9368 2570 Boulevard of the Generals | Suite 213 | Audubon, PA 19403 www.reallysi.com <http://www.reallysi.com> | http://blog.reallysi.com <http://blog.reallysi.com> | www.rsuitecms.com <http://www.rsuitecms.com>
[Date Prev] | [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Date Next] -- [Date Index] | [Thread Index] | [List Home]