In the realm of parts catalog and schematic documentation using DITA, version control and change tracking play a pivotal role in maintaining accuracy and managing updates efficiently.

Version Control

DITA enables version control by allowing you to assign version information to topics and modules within your documentation. This versioning mechanism is crucial for parts catalogs and schematics, as it helps you keep track of changes over time. Each time a component or part is updated, the version information can be incremented, providing a clear history of revisions. For example:

<topic id="engine-components">
  <title>Engine Components</title>
  <version>1.0</version>
  <content>...
</topic>

With version control in place, you can easily identify which version of a component is documented, making it simpler to ensure that the right information is provided to users.

Change Tracking

Change tracking is another essential feature of DITA for parts catalog and schematic documentation. It allows you to document changes, updates, and revisions to components, parts, or assemblies. When a change is made, you can include a change log or annotation within the DITA content to describe what was modified and why. For example:

<topic id="brake-assembly">
  <title>Brake Assembly</title>
  <version>2.0</version>
  <content>...
  <change-history>
    <change date="2023-07-10" author="John Doe">
      <description>Updated torque specifications.</description>
    </change>
    <change date="2023-08-20" author="Jane Smith">
      <description>Revised brake pad installation procedure.</description>
    </change>
  </change-history>
</topic>

Change tracking allows users to understand the evolution of a component or part, making it easier to assess the impact of changes and ensuring documentation accuracy.