Does DITA need XML? Lightweight DITA and HTML5

1. © IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 1 Michael Priestley Enterprise Content Technology Strategist Senior Technical Staff Member Does DITA need XML? XDITA and HDITA: A Lightweight DITA Preview May 14, 2013

2. 2 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Important Disclaimer THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WHILE EFFORTS WERE MADE TO VERIFY THE COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION, IT IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. IN ADDITION, THIS INFORMATION IS BASED ON IBM’S CURRENT PRODUCT PLANS AND STRATEGY, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY IBM WITHOUT NOTICE. IBM SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR OTHERWISE RELATED TO, THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION IS INTENDED TO, OR SHALL HAVE THE EFFECT OF: • CREATING ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION FROM IBM (OR ITS AFFILIATES OR ITS OR THEIR SUPPLIERS AND/OR LICENSORS); OR • ALTERING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE APPLICABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT GOVERNING THE USE OF IBM SOFTWARE.

3. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 What’s ahead • Why are we doing this? • Why XML/HTML5 sucks/is awesome • Why can’t we all just get along? • What would that look like?

4. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why are we doing this? “Here’s something simple!” “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” “Here’s something simple!” “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” “Here’s something simple!” “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” SGML XML DITA

5. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Evolution or revolution? Full DITA Lightweight DITA “We need something simple” “We need more features!” “We need something simple” “We need more features!” “Here’s something simple!” “We need more features!”

6. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 But we are not alone vi Emacs “It’s too complex!!” XHTML “Here’s something simple!” Wiki Variant A-Z Word “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” markdown Lightweight DITA HTML5 + extensions “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” Full DITA HTML5 DocBook “Grrrr”

7. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why XML sucks • Tags and attributes are a pain in the #$%# • Specialized editors cost money, take a long time to load, take a long time to learn • Long, complex processing chain can break in lots of different places, be really hard to debug <topic id=“abc”> <title>The point of it all</title> <shortdesc>I can sum it up here</shortdesc> <body> <p>I can say some more stuff</p> <section> <title>Stuff</title> <p>And so on</p> <ul> <li><p>This</p></li> <li><p>Is</p></li> <li><p>A List</p></li> </ul> </section> <section> <title>And more stuff</title> <p>With its own explanation</p> <dl> <dlentry> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is explained</p></dd> </dlentry> <dlentry> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is also explained</p></dd> </dlentry> </dl> </section> </body> </topic>

8. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why XML is awesome • Tags and attributes separate content from presentation, allowing flexibility and control • Specialized editors support different authoring roles – not one size fits all • Specialized content types and structures enforce consistency and enable automation • Multistage processing chain maximizes reuse and provides ready-to-view output Publish HTML5 EPUB Kindle iBook PDF Embedded help Word Open Office Slides Various help formats Etc. Filter, Substitute, Link, Assemble, Layout for Device or Format, Etc. Design Author

9. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why HTML5 sucks • Tags and attributes are a pain in the #$%# • Anything goes • Single processing step can bloat and affect performance • No standardized capabilities for conditional processing, reuse, etc. <html> <article> <h1>The point of it all</h1> <p>I can sum it up here</p> <p>I can say some more stuff</p> <section> <h2>Stuff</h2> <p>And so on</p> <ul> <li><p>This</p></li> <li><p>Is</p></li> <li><p>A List</p></li> </ul> <section> <h2>And more stuff</h2> <p>With its own explanation</p> <dl> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is explained</p></dd> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is also explained</p></dd> </dl> </section> </article> </html>

10. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why HTML5 is awesome • Tags and attributes separate content from presentation, allowing flexibility and control, including responsive design • Editor support widely available, even right in the browser • Author and present in same interface – the browser. • No complex processing chain, fewer breakage points (Filter for user) Author View

11. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why can’t we all just get along? HTML5 supports adaptive XML supports omnichannel EPUB Kindle iBook PDF Embedded help Word Open Office Slides Various help formats . . . Aaaand HTML5

12. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Why can’t we ALL just get along? Tutorials API docs Trouble- shooting Prod overviews Tech comm Trainer Developer Support Marketing LCMS WCM CCM KB Usage Learning site Marketing site Support site Developer site Code repo

13. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Let’s try that again… From any source, to any channel Content reused across applications, applications reused across content LCMS WCM CCMKB Code repo Learning site Marketing site Support site Developer site Tech comm Trainer Developer Support Marketing

14. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 So what does it look like? Lightweight DITA XDITA and HDITA mapping Next steps, open questions

15. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Lightweight DITA vs full DITA 15 Full DITA Lightweight DITA Topics 94 elements ~30 elements Maps 10 elements (+30 shared with topic) ~3 elements (+1 shared with topic) <p>What elements are allowed in a paragraph?</p> dl parml fig syntaxdiagram imagemap image lines lq note hazardstatement object ol pre codeblock msgblock screen simpletable sl table ul boolean cite keyword apiname option parmname cmdname msgnum varname wintitle ph b i sup sub tt u codeph synph filepath msgph systemoutput userinput menucascade uicontrol q term abbreviated-form tm xref state data data-about foreign unknown draft-comment fn indextermref indexterm required-cleanup dl parml fig syntaxdiagram imagemap image lines lq note hazardstatement object ol pre codeblock msgblock screen simpletable sl table ul boolean cite keyword apiname option parmname cmdname msgnum varname wintitle ph b i sup sub tt u codeph synph filepath msgph systemoutput userinput menucascade uicontrol q term abbreviated-form tm xref state data data-about foreign unknown draft-comment fn indextermref indexterm required-cleanup image ph (phrase) b (bold) i (italic) u (underline) sup (superscript) sub (subscript) xref (link) data image ph (phrase) b (bold) i (italic) u (underline) sup (superscript) sub (subscript) xref (link) data

16. 16 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified topic  Eliminate advanced features  No prolog metadata or related links  Eliminate redundant markup  Only one table model (simplified CALS)  Simplify content models  No mixed content: the only place to author text is in a <p>, and <p> doesn't contain lists or other block-level content <topic id="mini" domains="(lwdita-c)(no-nested- topics-c) (no-nested-blocks-c)"> <title>Mini topic</title> <body> <p>This topic has constraints that disallow nesting topics and lists.</p> <p>Additional constraints could be applied to get rid of attribute sets based on function, for example eliminating conref.</p> <ul> <li><p>Everything you write goes inside a paragraph.</p></li> <li><p>You can add paragraphs, tables, lists, and media.</p></li> </ul> </body> </topic>

17. 17 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified topic  Easily modified to:  Get rid of sections or get rid of content outside of sections  Limit lists to one level  Easy to add or remove capabilities with attributes organized into functional groups:  “reuse” adds @id and @conref to <p>, <ul>, <li> etc.  “variable-content” adds @keyref to <ph> <topic id="mini" domains="(lwdita-c)(no-nested- topics-c) (no-nested-blocks-c)"> <title>Mini topic</title> <body> <p>This topic has constraints that disallow nesting topics and lists.</p> <p>Additional constraints could be applied to get rid of attribute sets based on function, for example eliminating conref.</p> <ul> <li><p>Everything you write goes inside a paragraph.</p></li> <li><p>You can add paragraphs, tables, lists, and media.</p></li> </ul> </body> </topic>

18. 18 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified map  Eliminate advanced features  No metadata or reltable  Simplify content models  Only one way to specify title: as <navtitle> in <topicmeta> <map id="simpleTOCmap" domains="(lwdita-c) (tocref-c)"> <topicmeta> <navtitle>TOC map</navtitle> </topicmeta> <topicref href=”mini.dita”> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Mini topic</navtitle> </topicmeta> </map>

19. 19 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified map  Easy to add or remove capabilities with attributes organized into functional groups:  “TOC referencing” adds @href  “Classification/variables” adds @keys  “Link indirection” adds @keyref  Out of the box maps for:  Simple TOC  Variable/taxonomy management and link redirection <map id="simplevarmap" domains="(lwdita-c) (taxo-c)"> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Variable map</navtitle> </topicmeta> <topicref keys=”prodname”> <topicmeta> <navtitle>My Product</navtitle> </topicmeta> </topicref> </map>

20. 20 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified specialization  Pull together a new specialization out of building blocks  Assemble section types  Add phrases and attributes  So simple it can be authored instead of coded  Use a specialized authoring topic  Fill in the fields and generate the specialization <specdef id=”meeting”> <title>Meeting specialization</title> <specdefbody> <sectiondef> <dl> <dlentry> <dt>Goals</dt> <dd> <p><xref href=”goals.dita”/></p> <p>Fill the goals of the meeting</p> </dd> </dlentry> ......

21. 21 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Simplified specialization  Generate more than just DTDs  Schemas, RNG... with lightweight schemas or starter sets for full  Overrides for publishing transforms and editor prompts  Even a lightweight authoring prototype for testing <meeting id="abc123" domains="(lwdita-c)(all- sections-c) (goals-d) (agenda-d) (minutes-d)> <title>Minutes for 2012 July 18<title> <shortdesc>Discussions of editor scenarios and processing expectations.</shortdesc> <meetingbody> <goals>...</goals> <agenda>...</agenda> <minutes>...</minutes> </meetingbody> </meeting>

22. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 But it’s still all just XML With all the attendant vices and virtues you’ve come to love/hate…. But does it have to be?

23. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 It comes in flavors! XDITA (DITA in XML) HDITA (DITA in HTML5) <topic> <title>The point of it all</title> <shortdesc>I can sum it up here</shortdesc> <body> <p>I can say some more stuff</p> <section> <title>Stuff</title> <p>And so on</p> <ul> <li><p>This</p></li> <li><p>Is</p></li> <li><p>A List</p></li> </ul> <section> <title>And more stuff</title> <p>With its own explanation</p> <dl> <dlentry> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is explained</p></dd> </dlentry> <dlentry> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is also explained</p></dd> </dlentry> </dl> <article> <h1>The point of it all</h1> <p>I can sum it up here</p> <p>I can say some more stuff</p> <section> <h2>Stuff</h2> <p>And so on</p> <ul> <li><p>This</p></li> <li><p>Is</p></li> <li><p>A List</p></li> </ul> <section> <h2>And more stuff</h2> <p>With its own explanation</p> <dl> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is explained</p></dd> <dt><p>This</p></dt> <dd><p>Is also explained</p></dd> </dl> </section> </article>

24. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Meet in the middle: Specialize in XML, constrain in HTML5 XDITA HDITA <video> <fallback><p>Here's a video of stuff you can't see.</p></fallback> <controls value="y"/> <poster value="screengrab.png"/> <source value="mymovie.mp4" type="video/mp4"/> <source value="backupformat.xyz" type="video/xyz"/> <track value="captions.vtt" type="captions"/> </video> <video controls=“controls” poster="screengrab.png"> <source src="mymovie.mp4" type="video/mp4"/> <source src="backupformat.xyz" type="video/xyz"/> <track value="captions.vtt" kind="captions"/> <p>Here's a video of stuff you can't see.</p> </video>

25. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Mapping maps XDITA HDITA <map> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Navigation</navtitle> </topicmeta> <topicref href="abc.dita"> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Topic A</navtitle> </topicmeta> </topicref> <topicref href="bcd.dita"> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Topic B</navtitle> </topicmeta> <topicref href="b123.dita"> <topicmeta> <navtitle>Topic B1</navtitle> </topicmeta> </topicref> </topicref> </map <nav> <h1>Navigation</h1> <ul> <li><a href="abc.html">Topic A</a></li> <li><a href="bcd.html">Topic B</a> <ul> <li><a href="b123.html">Topic B1</a> </li> </ul> </ul> <nav>

26. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 A few attributes XDITA HDITA @props @data-hd-props @abc123 (any attribute specialized from @props) @data-hd-abc123 @conref (on section, table, paragraph, and list elements) @data-hd-conref (on section, table, paragraph, and list elements) @keys (on topicref) @data-hd-keys (on <li> inside <nav>) @keyref (on <image>, <a>, and <topicref> for link indirection, on all inline elements for variable text) @data-hd-keyref (on <img> and <a> for link indirection, on all inline elements for variable text)

27. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Can DITA jump formats? vi Emacs “Here’s something simple!” Wiki Word “Here’s something simple!!” markdown “We need more features!” “It’s too complex!” Full DITA HTML5 “Grrrr” XDITA HDITA markDITA WorDITA WiDITA “We need more features!” “We need more features!”

28. ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 If you like this idea… Talk about it. Tell people. Especially, tell the tool developers, and the vendors. The two main reasons vendors say they don’t support DITA: “it’s too complicated” “people aren’t asking for it” We’re working on the first one – but we need your help for the second.

29. 29 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Join the discussion  Lightweight DITA discussion group at Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Lightweight-DITA-4943862  Blogging about it at the DITA focus area: http://dita.xml.org/blog/michael-priestley  Start an argument with me on twitter: @Ditaguy

30. 30 ©IBM Corporation 2012, 2014 Legal IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

Does DITA need XML? Lightweight DITA and HTML5

Does DITA need XML? Lightweight DITA and HTML5

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