| author | publisher | ID |
|---|---|---|
Larry Kollar |
Oje Media |
solution |
Lightweight DITA (LwDITA) is one way to gain many of the benefits of structured authoring, while continuing to use familiar file formats and avoiding much of the complexity of a full-weight DITA solution.
LwDITA is a:
… simplified version of (DITA). … LwDITA has a smaller element type and attribute set, stricter content models, and a reduced feature set. LwDITA also defines mappings between XML, HTML5, and Markdown, enabling authoring, collaboration, and publishing across different markup languages.
Lightweight DITA: An Introduction Version 1.0. Edited by Carlos Evia, Kristen James Eberlein, and Alan Houser. 10 April 2018. OASIS Committee Note 01.
LwDITA addresses the needs of documentation groups who want the benefits of topic-based authoring, without a lengthy conversion and training process.
One of the visionary aspects of LwDITA is its embrace of non-XML formats, allowing immediate adoption. Currently, LwDITA supports:
- XDITA (XML format, a "lite" version of DITA's generic topic)
- HDITA (HTML5 format, supports media objects)
- MDITA (Markdown, can use HDITA elements as fallback)
In addition, LwDITA can use DITA <map> and <bookmap> doctypes to create books
and collections of related topics.
Mixing LwDITA and full-weight DITA topics in the same map is supported.
Future LwDITA specifications may introduce new formats,
expanding its reach even further.