DITA Readme

This document describes the package content, change history, and some release notes for the package called "dita10.zip" on developerWorks.

 

Installing DITA

Please read and understand the IBM Darwin Information Typing Architecture Specification Agreement.

The DITA package has the following directory structure:

dita
  css
  docs
    images
  dtd
  xsl

Use an unzip tool to extract the package into a location of your choice.

 

Using DITA stylesheets

These are examples of command-line invocations of popular XSLT engines to produce this particular document (DITA-readme.xml) as an HTML result:
 

Changes for this release

Following the initial public distribution of DITA in March 2000, IBM's "XML Workgroup" has been using the tools in several significant prototypes. Based on feedback both from external forums and these prototype activities, the Workgroup provided some updates to the DITA tools in an October 2001 package called dita01.zip.

The current release is the result of a series of reviews and usability studies that have lead to a number of new or better understood design features. The most succinct description of these is in the Introduction to the Darwin Information Typing Architecture article, under the heading "Main features of the DITA architecture."

 

Important closing words...

The wisdom in the IBM Darwin Information Typing Architecture Specification Agreement included with this package is very important. The DITA design is progressing, but still quite evolutionary. It is possible that documents created with the current version of these DTDs will need to be modified to work with future versions of the DTDs. The DITA team encourages you to use the dtds and tools and to help us advance the design, with the understanding that this package is unsupported. As with any new technology, always do an appropriate risk assessment and ensure that you have a backup plan.

Now, specialize away!

Don Day
dond@us.ibm.com
IBM Corporation, Austin, Texas