The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) has seen rapid adoption and implementation. This is especially true when you compare the adoption of DITA with other standards-based approaches to content creation and distribution. Here we are less than a year after DITA 1.0 has been approved and major companies are shipping large multi-language documentation and Help sets that have been created using DITA. We can also point to DITA-specific user groups and conferences, and a myriad of vendors who are now touting DITA support in their products.

Michael Priestley, one of IBM's DITA Architects, provides an introduction to DITA, followed by an introduction to some authoring best practices with DITA, and finishing with an end-to-end example of task-based information architecture using DITA maps.

The DITA Pocket Guide is a clear and concise overview of DITA basics in a compact 50-page format.  From topics to maps, from elements and attributes to specialization, it's an indispensable quick reference for beginner and practitioner alike.  The DITA Pocket Guide is packed with valuable information and available free of charge.