Specialized DITA maps are created and managed by defining custom constraints and elements in a Document Type Definition (DTD) or schema. These constraints guide the creation of DITA maps tailored to specific content or industry requirements, ensuring that they adhere to the specialized structure and metadata.

Creating Specialized DITA Maps

Creating and managing specialized DITA maps involves defining constraints, authoring special maps, and reusing and maintaining content.

Define Constraints

To create a specialized DITA map, start by defining constraints in a DTD or schema. Constraints include custom elements, attributes, metadata, and any specific rules for structuring maps to meet unique documentation needs.

Authoring Specialized Maps

Content creators use authoring tools compliant with the customized DTD or schema to create specialized DITA maps. These tools enforce the defined constraints, ensuring that maps conform to the specialized structure.

Reuse and Maintain

As specialized maps are authored and used, organizations need to maintain and update the DTD or schema to accommodate evolving content requirements. The reuse of constraints and structures across multiple specialized maps ensures consistency.

Example

An aerospace manufacturer specializes DITA maps for different aircraft documentation. They have a custom DTD for “AircraftDocs” that includes specific elements like <system-description> and <safety-compliance>. Content creators use DITA authoring tools compliant with this custom DTD to create specialized maps for various aircraft models, ensuring the structure adheres to industry-specific documentation needs.

<!DOCTYPE map PUBLIC "-//AeroTech//DTD AircraftDocs DITA Map//EN" "AircraftDocs.dtd">
<map>
  <title>Boeing 737 Documentation</title>
  
  <!-- Custom specialization elements -->
  <system-description>Boeing 737 Systems</system-description>
  <safety-compliance>FAA Compliance</safety-compliance>
  
  <!-- Specialized map structure for Boeing 737 documentation -->
  <topicref href="introduction.dita" />
  <topicref href="systems-overview.dita" />
</map>
    

In this example:

• The DITA map is specialized for Boeing 737 aircraft documentation.
• Custom elements like <system-description> and <safety-compliance> are included, capturing specialized content and metadata.
• The map structure adheres to the custom constraints defined in the “AircraftDocs” DTD, ensuring specialized map creation and management.