Conditional processing in DITA plays a vital role in tailoring safety and security documentation for different defense systems. It allows organizations to manage content variations efficiently based on specific system requirements, ensuring that the documentation remains relevant and compliant. Here’s how conditional processing is used in DITA for this purpose:

Conditional Attributes

DITA provides conditional attributes such as “platform,” “product,” and “audience” that can be applied to elements within topics or entire topics themselves. These attributes act as markers that indicate under which conditions the content should be included or excluded. For defense systems, where multiple configurations and versions may exist, conditional attributes enable the selection of content that is applicable to a particular system, platform, or audience.

Conditional Filtering

Conditional processing allows content filtering based on the attributes applied. Organizations can generate documentation customized for specific defense systems by using conditional processing to filter content during the publishing process. This ensures that only the relevant safety and security information is included in the final documentation. It reduces redundancy, prevents inconsistencies, and simplifies the documentation management process for complex defense projects.

Example:

Here’s an example of how conditional processing in DITA tailors safety and security documentation for different defense systems:

<topic id="security_guidelines">
  <title>Security Guidelines</title>
  <platform>System A</platform>
  <content>This section contains security guidelines specific to System A.</content>
</topic>

<topic id="security_guidelines">
  <title>Security Guidelines</title>
  <platform>System B</platform>
  <content>This section contains security guidelines specific to System B.</content>
</topic>

<topic id="security_guidelines">
  <title>Security Guidelines</title>
  <platform>Common</platform>
  <content>This section contains security guidelines applicable to all systems.</content>
</topic>

In this example, conditional processing is used to include security guidelines tailored to System A, System B, or a common set of guidelines based on the specified platform attribute.