What types of documentation are commonly produced in the IT industry using DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Within the Information Technology (IT) industry, DITA XML is widely used to create various types of documentation that cater to the needs of IT professionals and end-users. Some of the common types of documentation produced in the IT sector using DITA include:

1. Technical Manuals: IT organizations use DITA to develop technical manuals for software, hardware, and IT systems. These manuals provide comprehensive information on product installation, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting. DITA’s structured approach ensures that complex technical content is organized effectively, helping IT professionals in their daily tasks.

2. User Guides and Help Documentation: DITA is employed to craft user guides and online help documentation for software applications and platforms. These documents offer step-by-step guidance for end-users, explaining how to use the software, navigate interfaces, and troubleshoot common issues. DITA’s modularity allows for the creation of reusable content components, streamlining the documentation process and ensuring consistency across different sections.

3. API Documentation: API (Application Programming Interface) documentation is crucial in IT, especially for developers who need to integrate software and services. DITA’s capacity to manage complex hierarchies and relationships is valuable when documenting APIs. IT organizations utilize DITA to create API guides that detail endpoints, methods, parameters, and code examples for developers to follow.

Example:

Consider a scenario where an IT company is producing API documentation for a web service using DITA XML. Below is a simplified DITA structure for a section of the API guide, which explains how to authenticate with the API:


<!-- API Authentication Guide Structure -->
<topic id="api_authentication">
  <title>API Authentication Guide</title>
  <body>
    <section>
      <title>Introduction</title>
      <p>Welcome to the API Authentication Guide, which explains how to access our web service securely.</p>
    </section>
    <section>
      <title>Authentication Methods</title>
      <p>Our API supports multiple authentication methods:</p>
      <ul>
        <li>API Key Authentication</li>
        <li>OAuth 2.0 Authorization</li>
      </ul>
    </section>
    <section>
      <title>API Key Authentication</title>
      <p>This section provides instructions on using API keys for authentication.</p>
      <!-- Detailed instructions for API key authentication -->
    </section>
    <section>
      <title>OAuth 2.0 Authorization</title>
      <p>Learn how to obtain OAuth 2.0 access tokens for secure API access.</p>
      <!-- Detailed instructions for OAuth 2.0 authorization -->
    </section>
  </body>
</topic>

This example demonstrates how DITA’s structured approach can be applied to create clear and accessible API documentation, ensuring developers can easily understand and implement authentication methods for the web service.