Next in thread →
Next in month →
Re: [dita] Summary of Working Resolutions Regarding DITA Complexity
FWIW ... it seemed to me that the respective TCs should optimize
search fro their respective published content, specs (DITA TC) or
whitepapers (DITA Adoption TC).
:-)
Stan
On 6/15/2011 12:32 PM, Nancy Harrison wrote:
Hi Stan,
Thanks for the very useful summaries. I have at this point only
one question, relative to items 18 & 19. I'm not sure why
both the DITA TC and the DITA Adoption TC would be tasked to do
the same thing; it seems to me more an item for the Adoption TC
than for the TC itself.
Regards,
Nancy
On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 10:51 AM, Stan
Doherty <>
wrote:
Hi all --
Here's my summary of resolutions from the past few TC
meeting discussions. I have cross-posted them to the
"Complexity" web page itself at http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita/DITA_Perceptions.
Stan
WORKING
RESOLUTIONS
====================================================
http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita/DITA_Perceptions
Item-1 -- The DITA Adoption TC should recruit more
people to get involved with writing articles about DITA.
Contributors (ideally) need to be active members of the
Adoption TC, although there are opportunities for
collaboration. For example, perhaps a TC member can work
up a set of working examples on a feature prior to
handing that off to an Adoption TC person for doing a
write-up.
Item-2 -- The DITA TC should for DITA 1.3 make it easier
to create subsets of the DITA documentation. Robert
commented that there is almost certainly room for better
documentation subsetting with DITA 1.3. He would be
involved with doing the implementation work, but needs
other people to offer suggestions and insights on what
to do.
Item-3 -- The DITA TC should make Jarno's DTD/Schema
shell generator more widely available and officially
supported.
Item-4 -- The DITA TC should create default document
types that include fewer domains a la the base topic.
Item-5 -- The DITA TC should make specialization easier
(new rules, tools, auditing aids). Fir DITA 1.3 -
Michael Priestley summarized some thoughts that he has
been having about building into DITA 1.3 a
template-based interface against a subset of DITA
features that would allow users to pick and choose what
they would like to see included in a constraint. This
completed template could be exported to multiple tool
environments. A dedicated working group would be one
approach to getting this done.
Item-6 -- The DITA TC should provide a repository of
well-known specializations. JoAnn, Robert, and Michael
will get together to figure out how to make the
specialization repository work, whether it be an
extension of dita.xml.org
or a Sourceforge submission. Figuring out how to search
them and classify/rate them would be important. Rating
guidelines for authors and submitters will be needed.
Item-7 -- The DITA Adoption TC should develop a feature
article addressing "what is the most basic set of DITA
features" would be useful for people learning DITA.
Item-8 -- The DTA TC should review alternative "views"
of the DITA architecture in order to determine if there
is a better way to capture and present the architecture
to existing and new users. For example, reviewing Rob
Hanna's proposal about abstract classes or other notions
of type hierarchies might serve as a starting point.
Item-9 -- The DITA TC should assist in providing new
users with a "minimalist" implementation of DITA by
developing a starter set of DTDs and constraints. Hand
this off to DITA-Adoption-TC. Michael and Don are
interested in participating as a skunkworks activity
within the TC. Members of the TC and of the BusDocs SC
are solicited to participate and perhaps own.
Item-10 -- The DITA Adoption TC should leverage the
to-be-developed "starter set" of DTDs/constraints and
promote awareness of this "minimalist"/"no frills" path
toward learning DITA.
Item-11 -- The DITA Adoption TC should address the
perception that information typing (especially through
DITA topic types) is not a hard requirement for learning
or using DITA. That said, new users should be aware that
ignoring information typing reduces the scope of what
can be done in DITA (topic.dtd, basic maps).
Item-12 -- The DITA Adoption TC should review the DITA
maturity model (Priestley, Swope) as a framework for
organizing and orienting the discussion about "what do I
need to learn in DITA in order to achieve XXX or YYY or
ZZZ goal?"
Item-13 -- The DITA TC should develop a brief "reading
guide to the DITA spec" that correlates features to
usage/demographics. What's the learning path at each
stage of the maturity model? How to move to the next
level? (Organizations and individuals sometimes get
stuck.) Individual TC members are encouraged to
contribute rough draft material to the Adoption TC.
Stan, Darryl, Kris, and Don have volunteered to help.
Item-14 -- The DITA Adoption TC should add to the DITA
XML site (http://dita.xml.org/resource-directory)
an index of sample DITA files developed in support of
the feature articles.
Item-15 -- The DITA TC should for DITA 1.3 develop and
review sample code snippets in the spec from the
perspective of making them more easy to instantiate and
process as working samples.
Item-16 -- The DITA TC should add a requirement to the
DITA 1.3 proposal development and review process about
sample files. If feature advocates and champions can
develop and make available working samples of proposed
new features, that might go a long way toward making
those new features testable and promotable. Generating
feature-specific equivalents to the S1000D "bicycle"
example would be great. Preserve the distinction between
creating "sample files" to support learning and "test
files" to address compliance.
Item-17 -- The DITA Adoption TC should monitor the
new-feature use case examples developed in the DITA TC
to use as a foundation for DITA 1.3 feature articles.
Item-18 -- The DITA-TC should explore opportunities for
increasing the precision and/or usefulness of Google
search results about DITA.
Item-19 -- The DITA Adoption TC should explore
opportunities for increasing the precision and/or
usefulness of Google search results about DITA.
--
Stan Doherty
--
_____________
Nancy Harrison
Infobridge Solutions
--
Stan Doherty
Next in thread →
Next in month →