Conditional processing in DITA plays a crucial role in tailoring farming practices documentation for different climate zones and soil types. It allows agricultural organizations to create adaptable documents that can provide region-specific recommendations while maintaining a single source of content.

Conditional Attributes

DITA uses conditional attributes to mark specific sections of content that are applicable under certain conditions. For example, in a farming practices document, you can use conditional attributes to specify content that is relevant to a particular climate zone or soil type. These attributes can be defined based on variables like “climate” or “soil_type.”

Example:

Here’s an example of how conditional processing can be used in a DITA topic for tailoring farming practices to different climate zones:

<topic id="farming-practices">
  <title>Farming Practices</title>
  <section id="general">
    <title>General Practices</title>
    <p>These practices are applicable to all climate zones...</p>
  </section>
  <section id="temperate">
    <title>Temperate Climate</title>
    <p conref="practices/climate/temperate.xml"/></p>
  </section>
  <section id="arid">
    <title>Arid Climate</title>
    <p conref="practices/climate/arid.xml"/></p>
  </section>
  <section id="tropical">
    <title>Tropical Climate</title>
    <p conref="practices/climate/tropical.xml"/></p>
  </section>
</topic>

In this example, conditional processing is used to include specific content for different climate zones. Depending on the reader’s needs, the document can generate tailored guidance based on the specified conditions.