Managing content access control and user permissions in educational knowledge bases built with DITA is essential to ensure that the right users have appropriate access to educational materials. Here are key considerations for handling access control:

Role-Based Access

DITA allows organizations to implement role-based access control. Different roles, such as students, instructors, and administrators, can be defined, each with specific permissions. For example, students may have read-only access, while instructors have editing privileges. This ensures that content is tailored to the needs of various user groups.

Content Segmentation

Organizations can segment educational content using DITA keys and conref mechanisms. By defining different keys for content sections, you can control who can access specific content. This segmentation helps manage content at a granular level and aligns with varying user permissions.

Example:

Here’s an example in DITA XML illustrating role-based access control:

<topic id="mathematics_101">
  <title>Mathematics 101</title>
  <role>student</role>
  <content>...

In this example, a DITA topic “Mathematics 101” specifies that it is accessible to users with the “student” role, ensuring that only students can access this educational material.