In DITA, tables are used to organize content into rows and columns. Creating tables involves specific elements for defining rows and columns.

These elements are <table>, <tgroup>, and <colspec>.

<table> Element:

The <table> element is the root element for defining tables in DITA. It contains one or more <tgroup> elements, each representing a table group. A DITA table is typically comprised of a single <table> element.

<tgroup> Element:

The <tgroup> element is used to group rows and columns within a table. It can contain one or more <colspec> elements, defining the table’s column specifications. A <tgroup> can contain <thead> (header) and <tbody> (body) elements, which organize the content.

<colspec> Element:

The <colspec> element is used to define the characteristics of individual columns in a table, such as width and alignment. It is typically found within a <tgroup> element.

Example:

This is a sample of a simple table in DITA.

<table>
  <title>Sample Table</title>
  <tgroup cols="3">
    <colspec colname="col1" colwidth="30%"/>
    <colspec colname="col2" colwidth="40%"/>
    <colspec colname="col3" colwidth="30%"/>
    <thead>
      <row>
        <entry>Header 1</entry>
        <entry>Header 2</entry>
        <entry>Header 3</entry>
      </row>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <row>
        <entry>Row 1, Column 1</entry>
        <entry>Row 1, Column 2</entry>
        <entry>Row 1, Column 3</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry>Row 2, Column 1</entry>
        <entry>Row 2, Column 2</entry>
        <entry>Row 2, Column 3</entry>
      </row>
    </tbody>
  </tgroup>
</table>

In this example, we’ve created a simple table with a <table> element that contains a <tgroup>. The <tgroup> has three <colspec> elements to define column specifications. It also includes <thead> for the table header and <tbody> for the table body. Rows are defined within the <tbody> using the <row> element, and individual cells (entries) are defined within the rows.