Use structured authoring
DITA XML and the discipline of information typing: splitting content into concepts, tasks, and reference material that can be reused and assembled into different deliverables.
Formats and architecture
Section titled “Formats and architecture”Structured vs. unstructured formatsThe foundational choice that determines reuse, translation cost, and tooling.
DITA XML case studiesReal-world structured-authoring solutions.
Document architecture complexityWhen a documentation architecture becomes too complex — and how to recognize it.
From document to modular documentationMoving from monolithic documents to a modular, reusable content base.
Case study: NuFirewall documentationStructured authoring in production, from a press-validated open-source project.
Tutorials
Section titled “Tutorials”DITA XML and XSL-FO tutorialsAuthoring in DITA XML and generating PDF output with XSL-FO style sheets.
Auto-insert data into a DITA XML fileDynamically insert product data into DITA topics.
Conditional text with Jinja (object method)Define audience, platform, and version as Python objects, then filter content at build time.
Conditional text with JinjaA Python preprocessing script that includes or strips content sections before generation.
Conditional text with Sphinx/ReSTGenerate document variants from the same ReST sources.
Auto-insert data into a reStructuredText fileTemplate a ReST file so Python fills in product names and versions at build time.
Auto-insert SQL data into a reStructuredText fileQuery a product database and render results directly into documentation.
Deciding between DITA and Markdown in the first place? See choosing tools and formats.