paligo-logo-horizontal-colorpaligo-logo-horizontal-colorpaligo-logo-horizontal-colorpaligo-logo-horizontal-color
  • Product
    • Solutions
      • Product Overview
      • Technical Documentation
      • Software and API Documentation
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Smart eLearning Content
      • Professional Services
      Industries
      • Insurance
      • Manufacturing
      • Finance
      • Life Sciences
      Integrations
      • Zendesk icon
        Zendesk
      • Salesforce icon
        Salesforce
      • Zoomin icon
        Zoomin
      • Fluid Topics icon
        Fluid Topics
      • Github icon
        Github
      • Phrase icon
        Phrase
      • Slack icon
        Slack
      • All Integrations
      Promoted
      •  
        COnVEx 2023

        ConVEx 2023

        Read More

  • Case studies
  • Knowledge & Resources
    • Knowledge
      • White Papers
        •  

          Making the Business Case for Intelligent Enterprise Content

      • In depth
        •  

          Old HAT: time to switch from a Help Authoring Tool to a CCMS?

      • Webinars
        •  
          CCMS Open Forum in Bologna in late 2022

          Tutorial: Complex Documentation Using Structured Authoring Principles

      Resources
      • Paligo AcademyTraining and tutorial videos to get you up to speed.
      • Paligo DocumentationQuick Start Tutorial and complete Paligo documentation.
      • Paligo SupportProduct and technical support for Paligo customers.
      • News & EventsNews and information about upcoming events.
      • Paligo Blog
      Blog
      •  
        image shows man confused by which content management system he needs

        Why design intentions are key in technical documentation

        image shows people working in a lab

        Instructions for Use (IFU) creation in Pharma & Life Sciences

        Taxonomies

        How to Create a Taxonomy from Scratch with Findability in Mind

        Migration of documentation to Paligo CCMS

        How to Prioritize Documentation: Managing Your Technical Writing Backlog

        View all
      Handpicked
      •  
        Information Architecture for Technical Writers

        Information Architecture 101 for Technical Writers

        Read More

  • Contact
  • Pricing
  • Request Demo
  • Product
    • Solutions
      • Product Overview
      • Technical Documentation
      • Software and API Documentation
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Smart eLearning Content
      • Professional Services
    • Industries
      • Insurance
      • Manufacturing
      • Finance
      • Life Sciences
    • Integrations
      • Zendesk icon
        Zendesk
      • Salesforce icon
        Salesforce
      • Zoomin icon
        Zoomin
      • Fluid Topics icon
        Fluid Topics
      • Github icon
        Github
      • Phrase icon
        Phrase
      • Slack icon
        Slack
      • All Integrations
    • Promoted
      •  
        COnVEx 2023

        ConVEx 2023

        Read More

  • Case studies
  • Knowledge & Resources
    • Knowledge
      • White Papers
        •  
      • In depth
        •  
      • Webinars
        •  
    • Resources
      • Paligo AcademyTraining and tutorial videos to get you up to speed.
      • Paligo DocumentationQuick Start Tutorial and complete Paligo documentation.
      • Paligo SupportProduct and technical support for Paligo customers.
      • News & EventsNews and information about upcoming events.
      • Paligo Blog
    • Blog
      •  
    • Handpicked
      •  
        Information Architecture for Technical Writers

        Information Architecture 101 for Technical Writers

        Read More

  • Contact
  • Pricing
  • Request Demo
Back to glossary

DITA


DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) is an XML content model. XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language, which means there are many different “flavors” of XML, such as DocBook, S1000D, DITA, and more.

What defines DITA specifically as an XML content model is that it is based on categorizing topics into information types, meaning each document will be constrained to a limited subset of the content model. The main topic types are “task”, “concept”, and “reference”. The idea behind this is to make authoring of content more consistent. For example, instructional content is always written using the task model so that certain elements follow others, like steps after prerequisites. It can however be argued that it is hard to define content so rigidly, and that such topic typing can be over-restrictive.

The model does allow for specialization of topic types, to create your own DITA topic types in order to reduce the limitations and extend it to fit your needs. However, specialization can introduce another level of complexity in creating that information architecture and maintaining it.

Topic typing can be done quite easily in other content models such as DocBook, but it would then typically be an option to enforce it rather than being built into the model. The DITA open standard is developed and maintained by the OASIS DITA Technical Committee.

Request a live demo

Read Paligo reviews on TrustRadius Paligo ISO27001:2017 Certificate by Brand Compliance
Paligo Logo Inverse
Paligo G2 Badge 2023 Best Support Paligo G2 Badge 2023 Easiest Admin Paligo G2 Badge 2023 Easiest Business Paligo G2 Badge 2023 High Performer
Headquarters

Vretenvägen 2
171 54 Solna
Sweden

Company
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Contact Sales
  • Trust and Security
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookie policy
  • Whistleblowing
Resources
  • Help Documentation
  • Paligo Academy
  • Contact Support
  • Case studies
  • Webinars
  • Blog
  • Brand
  • Glossary
Recent posts

Why design intentions are key in technical documentation

Instructions for Use (IFU) creation in Pharma & Life Sciences

How to Create a Taxonomy from Scratch with Findability in Mind

How to Prioritize Documentation: Managing Your Technical Writing Backlog

Reviewers Hate Reviewing – Or Do They? Working With Reviewers in Technical Writing

© 2022 Paligo®. All rights reserved