How is version control applied to shared content components in DITA IT documentation?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

In DITA IT documentation, version control is a crucial aspect of managing shared content components. It ensures that content remains consistent and up-to-date across various documents. Version control allows IT organizations to track changes, manage revisions, and efficiently handle the evolution of shared content components.

One common practice in version control is to use a source control system or version control system (VCS), such as Git, SVN, or Mercurial. These systems enable IT teams to store DITA source files and track changes over time. Content contributors can commit their changes to a shared repository, and the VCS records each modification along with comments, author information, and timestamps. This history of changes helps organizations maintain content consistency and allows for easy rollbacks if errors occur.

Example:

Consider a scenario where an IT organization is using Git for version control of their DITA content. Here is an example of how version control is applied:


<!-- Example of version-controlled DITA source file in Git -->
<topic id="network-configuration">
  <title>Network Configuration</title>
  <body>
    <p>This topic provides instructions for configuring network settings.</p>
    <steps>
      <step>Step 1: Access the network settings.</step>
      <step>Step 2: Configure the IP address.</step>
      <step>Step 3: Save your changes.</step>
    </steps>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, the DITA source file is under version control using Git. When content contributors make changes to the file, they commit their modifications to the Git repository. The VCS tracks changes, allowing the organization to ensure content consistency and easily manage updates across multiple IT documents.