A DITA Map is More than a Table of Contents

A DITA Map is More than a ToCChrisNitchie,LeadProgramDeveloper,OberonTechnologies

What is a DITA Map?

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What Is a DITA Map?

TableofContents(ToC)isonlyone

representationofaDITAmap

A Relationship Manifest

1. Amanifest ofnodesandtheirproperties;eachtopicref isanode.

2. Therelationshipsbetweenthenodes.

ThinkofaDITAmapasarelationshipmanifest.

YoucanbuildaToC butdon'tstopthere!Youcandosomuchmore.

For Example

a bparentof

b achildof

"a"isapartwithatitle butnocontent

"b"isachapterwithanassociatedtopic

"c"isachapterwithanassociatedtopic

a cparentof

c achildof

b csiblingof

c bsiblingof

A

B

C

BookMapmarkupsnippet

DITA Maps for All the Things

LotsofthingscanbemodeledasDITAmaps

ADITAmapcanberepresentedinvaryingvisualmodels

MindMapsUMLDiagramsOrg.Charts

FlowCharts

Alternative Navigation Models

Slide Presentation

Specifycollection‐type="sequence"onyourmap. Allowuserstonavigatethroughthecontentusingnext/previouslinks.

Presentalistof'visited'topicssotheusercanjumpbackwardsintheflow.

"Choose your Own Adventure"

Startatthefirsttopic Userelated‐linksbuiltfrommapstructureandreltables tonavigate

Dynamic Flow Startwithnext/previouslinksasinthe‘slide’model

Then,dynamically choosethenexttopicforthe user basedonvariousfactors.

Continuouslyre‐profilethemapstructuresothatthe'nextstep'isalwaysapplicable‐ astheusernavigatesthroughthetopicsandmakesdecisions.

Brainstorm: Advanced Flowcharts

Here's a flowchart Carmaintenanceprocedure

Repeatedlyguidesauserthroughaseriesofstepsuntilcomplete.

Whichstepsarefolloweddependsonthecar'sVIN

Whatifwecouldguide theuserthroughthisprocessautomatically?

Decision Points Thekeytodynamicflowchartnavigationisthehandlingofdecisionpoints.

Somewillbemanual Ifa,clickhere;ifb,clickhere

Optimalsolutionistoautomate decisionpointsusingreal‐timestateinformation

?

Gathering State from… Theenvironment

Currentdate/time Current user'sidentity User'sgeolocation

ExternalDataSources Databases ConnectedEquipment

Interactivecontent/forms

For Our Flowchart PulltheVINnumber"overthewire"

Determinewhethertheproblemwasresolvedusingerrorcodesgeneratedbytheengine

Dynamicallyfilter/profilestepsbasedonuseridentity,e.g.expertvs.novicetechnician.

Keys for Data Sources

SpecifyexternaldatasourcesusingnormalDITAmechanisms.

Flowchart as DITA Map<topicref keys="startingPoint" href="welcome.dita"/><until><condition><equals keyref="isProblemSolved/response" value="true"/>

</condition><choose><when><condition><starts-with keyref="car/vinNumber" value="PFX1"/>

</condition><mapref href="pfx1Task.ditamap"/>

</when><when><condition><or><starts-with keyref="car/vinNumber" value="PFX2"/><starts-with keyref="car/vinNumber" value="PFX3"/>

</or></condition><mapref href="pfx23Task.ditamap"/>

</when><otherwise><topicref href="noMatchingTask.dita"/><end value="noMatchingTask"/>

</otherwise></choose><topicref keys="isProblemSolved" href="isProblemSolved.dita"/>

</until><topicref keys="end" href="thanks.dita"/>

Conclusion

DITAmapscanmodelallkinds oforganizational structures

Modelyourinformationtomaximizeyourusers'experience.

IntegratingIoT opensawholenewworldofpossibilities.

Explore and Learn More Experienced Systems Integrator

Implemented Hundreds of Automated Publishing SystemsAverage 15+ years of XML and publishing experience W3C and DITA Technical Committee members

Expertise in:Content Strategy and Implementation Assessment Multi-channel Publishing and Delivery solutionsImplementation, Configuration, and CustomizationEvaluation and Tools Recommendation

Customers Across Key IndustriesPublishing, Manufacturing, Finance, Life Sciences, Government, High Tech

Privately Held CompanyUS-Based, Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MichiganEstablished in 2007

PartnershipsSDL, PTC, Quark, Adobe, Astoria Oxygen, Xmetal, Arbortext, Antenna House, Design Science

Chris.Nitchie @oberontech.com@chrisnitchie onTwitter

Questions?