List of elements requiring styling

["Su-Laine Yeo" <su-laine.yeo@justsystems.com>]

Title: List of elements requiring styling

Hi everyone,

I've done some thinking about how to move forward on this perpetual item:

ITEM: DITA 1.2 elements needing styling and translatable strings (Yeo)

·       http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/dita-adoption/email/archives/201008/msg00016.html

There are a few challenges in getting out an official document that lists all the elements needing styling:

1) There is a need for a list like this for the 1.1  elements, as well as for the new elements.

2) Most elements that are visible in output should be styled distinctively from other types of elements, or we wouldn't have invented them.

3) Reviewers would need a thorough knowledge of all parts of the DITA vocabulary in order to properly review a full list of which elements should be styled distinctively.

I did some work on the draft page here: http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA%201.2%20Elements%20which%20Need%20Styling#preview  . It occurred to me when writing it that the main issue that needs inter-organization consensus is the question of whether authors should write something to indicate the element semantic, or whether the stylesheet should make the semantic obvious enough that the author doesn't have to write anything to convey the semantic. E.g. if stylesheets don't style task <prereq> sections distinctively, then authors feels they must write "Prerequisites: " at the beginning of the element.

Question 1:

I think it would be reasonable for the Adoption TC to publish a short document covering this question as a general guideline for stylesheet developers. DITA TC subcommittees that deal with domain specific vocabulary sets could then, if and when they choose, create their own documents interpreting the guidelines for their own vocabulary sets. Does this sound reasonable?

Question 2:

As a proposal to get the discussion going, I suggest that our guidelines say that all elements should be styled distinctively-enough that the author does not have to write anything to convey the semantic. E.g. for the <prereq> element, stylesheets could insert generated text such as "Prerequisites." A set of stylesheets that styles <prereq> elements as if they are ordinary sections would not be in conformance with this guideline.

Thoughts?

Su-Laine

Su-Laine Yeo
Solutions Consultant

JustSystems Canada, Inc.
Office: 1 (778) 327-6356
syeo@justsystems.com

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