Re: [dita] Can conventions for human understanding be MUSTrequirements?

[Eliot Kimber <ekimber@reallysi.com>]

On 1/12/10 5:43 PM, "Dana Spradley" <dana.spradley@oracle.com> wrote:

> Fine by me Paul - if by simplest you mean not trying to enforce "must"
> language where "should," "may," or merely descriptive (of our "best" practice)
> language would do.
> 
> I objected to "mandatory design patterns" for these in the initial review, and
> spelled out my reasoning along these lines. I'm surprised to see that so
> little has changed by this draft.

Not trying to argue this point at the moment--there's no point, since this
aspect of the spec is not going to change.

But I will observe that, having initially reacted very strongly *against*
the imposed DTD (at the time) coding patterns in DITA, I now recognize them
as one of the most singularly important aspects of DITA's design, part of
what makes DITA much easier to adapt and use than any other standard XML
application I'm aware of.

It is specifically because I *never have to think* about how to structure
the DTDs and because I can be sure that any other DITA-knowledgeable person
can immediately know what to look for in any vocabulary module I create that
makes it orders of magnitude for me to implement, deploy, and maintain
DITA-based client-specific applications. That coupled with the
now-being-realized ability to automate the authoring of the declarations
themselves makes that aspect of DITA completely different. It allows me to
provide task-specific solutions to clients who, two or three years ago
couldn't have even talked to me because the design and implementation cost
would be prohibitively high.

It is one of the bits of genius in the DITA architecture that distinguishes
it from all other standard XML applications.

I am saying this as someone who practically thinks in DTD syntax. I have
embraced the DITA patterns and they have set me free.

Cheers,

E.   

-- 
Eliot Kimber
Senior Solutions Architect
"Bringing Strategy, Content, and Technology Together"
Main: 610.631.6770
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