OASIS Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) TC
The Charter for this TC was modified on 4 September 2008 as
balloted at
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/ballot.php?id=1518;
this change was announced at
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/tc-announce/200809/msg00002.html
The original Call For Participation for this TC may be found
at
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/tc-announce/200403/msg00016.html
The charter for this TC is as follows.
Name of the TC:
- OASIS Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
Technical Committee
Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee (TC) is to
define and maintain the Darwin Information Typing Architecture
(DITA) and to promote the use of the architecture for creating
standard information types and domain-specific markup
vocabularies.
DITA is specializable, which allows for the introduction of
specific semantics for specific purposes without increasing
the size of other DTDs, and which allows the inheritance of
shared design and behavior and interchangeability with
unspecialized content.
More specific semantics allow
- Â Â more automatable processes
- Â Â more consistent authoring
- Â Â better retrievability
- Â Â better applicability to specific groups
**functionality for
repurposing content for different contexts
The work of this TC will differ from similar efforts such as
DocBook because of
- Â Â broader scope, inasmuch as DITA applies to more
areas than just technical manuals
- Â Â more specific scope, inasmuch as DITA applies to
topic-oriented information rather than all technical
manuals
** as well as the ability to
reuse stylesheets for specialized content
Scope:
The TC will create specifications,
**as well as Committee Notes,
and occasional white papers
Âfor the Darwin Information Typing Architecture suitable for
submitting for balloting by OASIS membership for OASIS
standard status.
DITA is an XML-based specification for modular and extensible
topic-based information. DITA provides a model for defining
and processing new information types as specializations of
existing types.
88 need to mention maps and the way they allow for aggregating
collections of topics, and the way they can also be reused and
combined in different combinations
DITA populates the model with an extensible hierarchy of
standard types. DITA encourages reuse by reference either of
topics or of fragments of topics. DITA topics
- Â Â can be assembled in different combinations for many
deliverables or output formats
- Â Â are optimized for navigation and search
- Â Â are well suited for concurrent authoring and content
management
**need an comparable section for maps
Through use of a common specification, DITA content owners can
benefit from industry support, interoperability, and reuse of
community contributions. At the same time, through
specialization, content owners can address the specific
requirements of their business or industry.
This committee builds upon the foundation established by the
work of IBM on DITA.
The tasks of the TC include
- Â Â To articulate the principles of the DITA
architecture through formal specifications
- Â Â To assess the relationship of DITA specialization to
emerging XML standards (such as the ontology initiatives
associated with the Semantic Web)
- Â Â To define appropriate enhancements of the
architecture
- Â Â To standardize the information types in the DITA
type hierarchy
** mention of maps as well as
topics here?
- Â Â To encourage interoperability within and between the
various topical domains of potential DITA users. It is
anticipated that, in addition to the common information
elements provided in the
**specific specifications
created and distributed by the TC, i.e. the base and
technical content DITA specs,
specific communities of users may develop additional,
specialized type hierarchies of particular relevance to their
use cases. The TC may choose to recognize new information
types or domain specializations where a new specialization
provides a standard solution for a well-established need, has
broad support, does not conflict with existing types, and
serves as a useful base for additional specialization. For
example, the concept, task, and reference information types do
so for the user assistance community. The TC anticipates
maintaining a set of core information types of general
utility, implemented in schema languages (such as DTD or XML
Schema) selected by the TC. Recognized types may also be
maintained by other groups (including other OASIS TCs).
** we need to remove XML
Schema and note RNG as normative
** do we need to include the fact that the specs contain
some guidance for implementors?
- Â Â To design a generic methodology for specialized
extensions of the base specification by user communities.
This methodology may address issues such as delivery of a
reference implementation, operation of a public registry
for specializations, suggested guidelines for development
of a user community's information types, and so forth.
When the above tasks are completed, the TC may reconsider
further work, which will be defined as allowed by the
OASIS TC Process.
- Â Â Appoint one or more individuals to act as liaisons
between the DITA TC and the DITA Adoption TC who will be
responsible for notifying the DITA Adoption TC of upcoming
internal reviews for DITA TC deliverables; ensure that the
DITA Adoption TC has timely access to these internal
reviews; and ensure that any comments from members of the
DITA Adoption TC are brought to the DITA TC prior to any
vote to release deliverables for public review.
- Â Â Prior to any vote that releases deliverables for
public review, the DITA TC will provide a response to any
comments received from the DITA Adoption TC.
List of Deliverables:
The DITA specification consists of:
- Â Â a formal definition of the rules for creating new
structural and domain specializations through
specialization, and integrating them into document types.
- Â Â ** the RNG schemas
and DTDs for standardized structural and domain
specializations (no more XML Schema).
- Â Â usage and reference information to support the base
DITA elements and their standardized specializations.
**what do we need to say
about profiles like techcontent?
The TC will support the development of specialized extensions
of the DITA specification, including documentation of the
process required to create and validate new specializations
for specific user communities, and review of specializations
contributed to OASIS. The TC may also provide a specification
for a standards-based public registry or repository for such
DITA specializations or a method for creating or federating
such resources.
The TC will consider the creation of subcommittees where there
is an immediate interest in developing specialized extensions,
but it is also anticipated that such extensions could be
adopted locally and informally within specific information
exchange communities.
Anticipated Audience:
- Â Â Writers of other specifications that could benefit
from DITAs specialization model or other aspects of its
architecture;
- Â Â Vendors offering XML authoring or development
products;
- Â Â XML architects and developers who design and write
XML applications;
- Â Â Information developers and information architects
Language: