Home
Introduction to DITA 1.3
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) specification defines a set of document types for authoring and organizing topic-oriented information, as well as a set of mechanisms for combining, extending, and constraining document types.
About the DITA specification: All-inclusive edition
The all-inclusive edition of the DITA specification is the largest edition. It is designed for implementers who want all OASIS-approved specializations, as well as users who develop learning and training materials.

Specification URIs
Notices
Introduction to DITA 1.3
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) specification defines a set of document types for authoring and organizing topic-oriented information, as well as a set of mechanisms for combining, extending, and constraining document types.
- About the DITA specification: All-inclusive edition
  The all-inclusive edition of the DITA specification is the largest edition. It is designed for implementers who want all OASIS-approved specializations, as well as users who develop learning and training materials.
- Terminology
  The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT, "RECOMMEND", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC 2119].
- Normative references
- Non-normative references
  Non-normative references are references to external documents or resources that implementers of DITA might find useful.
- Formatting conventions in the XHTML version of the specification
  Given the size and complexity of the specification, it is not generated as a single XHTML file. Instead, each DITA topic is rendered as a separate XHTML file. The XHTML version of the specification uses certain formatting conventions to aid readers in navigating through the specification and locating material easily: Link previews and navigation links.
- Formatting conventions in the Errata 02 version of the specification
  Content that has been modified since the DITA 1.3 version of the written specification is indicated with visual cues. This document contains changes for both DITA 1.3 Errata 01 and DITA 1.3 Errata 02.
Architectural specification: All-inclusive edition
The architectural specification portion of the DITA specification outlines the framework of DITA. It contains an overview of DITA markup; addressing; processing; configuration, specialization, generalization, and constraints; as well as information about coding DITA grammar files.
Language reference: All-inclusive edition
The language reference portion of the DITA specification contains a topic for each DITA element. The topic defines the element, its inheritance hierarchy, and provides examples of usage. This portion of the DITA specification also includes information about DITA attributes.
Conformance
Conformance to the DITA specification allows documents and document types that are used with different processors or different versions of a processor to produce the same or similar results with little or no reimplementation or modification.
Acknowledgments
(Non-normative) Many members of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee participated in the creation of this specification and are gratefully acknowledged.
Non-normative information
This section contains non-normative information, including topics about new features in DITA 1.3 and migrating from DITA 1.2 to DITA 1.3.
Content models for learning and training package
For each element in the learning and training package, this section presents the content model and a list of parent elements that can contain that element.

About the DITA specification: All-inclusive edition

The all-inclusive edition of the DITA specification is the largest edition. It is designed for implementers who want all OASIS-approved specializations, as well as users who develop learning and training materials.

All-inclusive edition

The following graphic illustrates the contents of the all-inclusive edition; it also highlights how the all-inclusive edition relates to the other editions.

Block diagram illustrating the components of the three editions of the DITA specification, and the subset relationships between the three editions. The Base Edition ('Part 1') contains the Base Architecture, which includes map, topic, and subject scheme. The Technical Content Edition ('Part 2') contains the Base Architecture plus the Technical Content specializations, which include concept, task, reference, book map, glossary, classification map, machine industry, and troubleshooting. The All-Inclusive Edition ('Part 3') contains the Base Architecture, the Technical Content specializations, and the Learning and Training specializations. Portions of this diagram specific to the All-Inclusive Edition are highlighted and bold, while others are dimmed, to signify that this is the All-Inclusive Edition of the specification.

Base edition: The base edition contains topic, map, and subject scheme map. It is the smallest edition; it is designed for application developers and users who need only the most fundamental pieces of the DITA framework.
Technical content edition: The technical content edition includes the base architecture and the specializations usually used by technical communicators: concept, task, and reference topics; machine industry task; troubleshooting topic; bookmap; glossaries; and classification map. It is the medium-sized edition; it is designed for authors who use information typing and document complex applications and devices, such as software, hardware, medical devices, machinery, and more.
All-inclusive edition (this edition): The all-inclusive edition contains the base architecture, the technical content pieces, and the learning and training specializations. It is the largest edition; it is designed for implementers who want all OASIS-approved specializations, as well as users who develop learning and training materials.

XML grammar files

The DITA markup for DITA vocabulary modules and DITA document types is available in several XML languages: RELAX NG (RNG), XML Document-Type Definitions (DTD), and W3C XML Schema (XSD).

While the files should define the same DITA elements, the RELAX NG grammars are normative if there is a discrepancy.

DITA written specification

The specification is written for implementers of the DITA standard, including tool developers and XML architects who develop specializations. The documentation contains several parts:

Introduction
Architectural specification
Language reference
Conformance statement
Appendices

The DITA written specification is available in the following formats; the XHTML version is authoritative:

XHTML (available from the OASIS Web site)
CHM
PDF
DITA source
ZIP of XHTML (optimized for local use)