Frequently Asked Questions

Can topics be nested?

Topics can be nested to create larger document structures. However, the nesting always occurs outside the content boundary, so that child and parent topics can be easily separated and reused in different contexts. Here is a sample nesting structure: <topic>
<title>A general topic</title>
<shortdesc>This general topic is pretty general.</shortdesc>
<body><p>General topics are not very specific. They are useful for
the big picture, but they don't get into details in the same way as

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What is "progressive disclosure" in a topic?

Because each topic has a title and short description in addition to its full content, applications can provide progressive disclosure. For example, a user can hover over a link to see its short description and then decide whether to follow the link for the rest of the topic. Progressive disclosure also allows topics to be meaningfully browsed in a variety of viewing contexts, whether full-screen browsers, integrated help panes, infopops, or PDA screens.

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What do "info-typed" DITA topic examples look like?


A small concept example:
A minimal topic for field description in a dialog might look like this: <concept id="username">
<title><var>username>/var> input field</title>
<shortdesc>Enter your name or the name of the user for whom you are creating a record.</shortdesc>
</concept>

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What is the topic structure in the architecture?

The topic structure has the following major parts:

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What are the key principles of the DITA architecture?

  • Topic orientation: Information covering one subject with a specific intent
  • Topic granularity: Discrete, self-contained units accessed independently
  • Topic sets: Deliverables assembled from a pool of available topics
  • Strong typing: Required structures with well-defined semantics for each kind of information — such as a Task with steps
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