Can DITA facilitate variations in content structure and layout for different languages in agricultural documentation?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Adapting content structure and layout for different languages in agricultural documentation is a common requirement, and DITA XML offers robust capabilities to facilitate this process.

Variations in Content Structure

DITA XML allows agricultural companies to define variations in content structure based on language. This means that the structure of documentation, such as the arrangement of sections or the inclusion of specific elements, can be customized to suit the linguistic and cultural requirements of different target audiences. For example, a user manual for a farming machine might have a different structure in English compared to Spanish, and DITA enables the creation of language-specific templates to accommodate these variations.

Layout Customization

With DITA, it’s also possible to customize the layout of content for different languages. Agricultural documentation often needs to consider factors like right-to-left text direction for languages like Arabic or different typography for languages with unique character sets. DITA supports the use of conditional processing instructions (PIs) that can trigger specific layout stylesheets or formatting rules based on the detected language, ensuring that the content is not only translated accurately but also presented appropriately.

Example:

Here’s an example of how DITA XML can facilitate variations in content structure and layout for different languages:


<topic id="tractor-operation">
  <title>Tractor Operation</title>
  <body>
    <section lang="en-us">
      <h2>Using the Tractor</h2>
      <p>...

    </section>
    <section lang="es-es">
      <h2>Uso del Tractor</h2>
      <p>...

    </section>
  </body>
  <layout>
    <language lang="ar-sa">
      <stylesheet>rtl-layout.css</stylesheet>
    </language>
    <language lang="ja-jp">
      <stylesheet>cjk-layout.css</stylesheet>
    </language>
  </layout>

In this example, the DITA topic includes language-specific sections for English and Spanish, along with conditional layout instructions for Arabic and Japanese, showcasing how DITA enables content structure and layout customization for different languages.