Presented at DocTrain East 2007 Conference by Joe Gollner, Stilo International -- As every author knows, working with content has always been challenging. Now that we need to develop content that can be used in multiple ways, some we do not expect, makes this task even more demanding. The early experiences of working with structured XML markup have been difficult and not just because it is new. As the technology stabilized and practices were worked out, authors not only had to master new writing techniques but they often could not see a compelling benefit being returned on this effort. Least of all, their customers, the users of the documentation products, did not seem to be benefiting in any material way. At times, it even seemed that the move to structure resulted in less effective publications. But now that the technology is being worked out and as new technologies are thrusting structured content into the limelight, authors are entering a time when several things will change for the better. On one hand the challenges of working with structured markup have largely been addressed and on the other the content they produce can now be moved, rapidly into people's hands whether that be a high quality book or a blackberry. XML was hard. DITA has emerged as a technique that makes XML much easier to work with. And the wired marketplace is ready to consume structured content as soon as you hit save. This is in fact where the history of markup has been heading.

1. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Content in the Wild:
DocTrain East 2007
Why DITA Matters Joe Gollner
19 October 2007
jgollner@stilo.com
Copyright © Stilo International plc 2007
Topics
Current Trends in the
Content Landscape
A Brief History of Structure
Entering the Age of
Full-Spectrum Publishing
How DITA fits in
Why DITA Matters
www.stilo.com

2. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Content Management Pop Quiz
In building a system to manage & process content…
Meticulously capture the business requirements.
a.
b. Rigorously document the structural rules that apply.
c. Carefully define a detailed system architecture.
d. Industriously build processing components to address the
requirements given the structural rules and the realities of
the system architecture.
e. All of the above.
f. None of the above.
E or F?
Sadly “F” may be the right answer…
Current Trends in the Content landscape
There are two relevant, but apparently divergent, trends:
Simplicity wins, again.
Web 2.0 phenomenon is expanding & accelerating
An era of interactive openness with users and communities
Huge volumes of very simple, but still structured, content
Dominant feature: Uncontrolled growth.
Complexity endures, again.
Enterprise applications are becoming content aware
Integration of content in all forms is accelerating
Applications are appearing that consume high-precision content
Dominant feature: Uncontrolled growth.
Prescriptive design methods cannot handle this growth
www.stilo.com

3. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
The Good News and Bad News about Content
These trends bring change
The Good News
The demand for content is
expanding rapidly
The Not So Good News
The complexity confronting
authors & publishers &
technology providers
is growing rapidly
Structured Markup
Has evolved in this context
Investments have been made
over 20 years
Many lessons have been learned
A Brief History of Structure
Why did structured content
emerge?
Why has it been challenging
to adopt?
What is happening now?
Why has DITA become
so popular?
Why does DITA matter?
www.stilo.com

4. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
In the Beginning
…was the book.
Memex
Adapting to the Exponential Growth in
Knowledge Resources
1940 1960 1980 2000
www.stilo.com

5. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Communication & Control Systems
Leveraging Knowledge through Automation
1940 1960 1980 2000
The Internet
Connecting Knowledge Organizations
1940 1960 1980 2000
www.stilo.com

6. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Proprietary Formats
Limiting the Interchangeability of all data types
CALS – Tackling the Interchange Problem
PROBLEM INTERIM SOLUTION GOAL
STDS
Supplier Client Supplier Client Supplier and Client
1940 1960 1980 2000
www.stilo.com

7. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Standard Generalized Markup Language
1940 1960 1980 2000
SGML
SGML
Reflected human communication patterns
Provided absolute flexibility
Difficult to implement
Adopted in documentation-intensive sectors
Military, Aerospace and Commercial Publishing
Yuri Rubinsky
The Real Father
The Key Innovation of SGML: of XML
naming something (understanding) is different than
describing what should be done with it (behaviour)
naming something is the important part
naming something and defining its behaviour
benefits from sophistication
www.stilo.com

8. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
The World Wide Web
Where there’s a Will there’s a Way
1940 1960 1980 2000
World Wide Web – The Success of Simplicity
Original Objective (1989)
“to allow information sharing within
internationally dispersed teams”
HTML: a simple use of a complex standard
The Key Innovation of the Web:
deciding what to do (intention) is different than
determining how it should be done (execution)
deciding what to do is the important part
communicating an intention and successfully executing it
benefits from simplicity
www.stilo.com

9. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Source: Microsoft
1940 1960 1980 2000
XML offered Simplicity
XML sought Simplicity
XML is an application profile constraining the use of SGML
delivered expanded application support
Simplicity led to Adoption
the potential for knowledge sharing becomes a reality
simplicity turned out to be a double-edged sword
Wide-scale Adoption led to Complexity
previously isolated systems became connected
all data types entered the era of open standards
XML promised Simplicity and delivered Complexity
www.stilo.com

10. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
The Key Innovations of XML
The Key Innovations of XML:
Fusing the innovations of SGML and the Web
naming something (understanding) is different than
describing what should be done with it (behaviour)
deciding what to do (intention) is different than
determining how it should be done (execution)
XML exhibits an unresolved tension between
Sophistication
to meet the needs of application integration
Simplicity
to meet the needs of people interacting with technology
XML – An Incomplete Revolution?
Initial focus of XML was directed to technology issues
addressing the challenges facing application integration
& facilitating data interchange
the result has been spiraling complexity
Other issues emerged
XML protocols proliferated at a startling rate
the sophistication of XML became an implementation challenge
Implementers were often left asking:
Where did the simplicity go? Why are the authors complaining?
Why are my applications so slow? What do I do with all this data?
www.stilo.com

11. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Web 2.0 – The Social Web
Explosive
growth that is
changing how
we will work
and live
1940 1960 1980 2000 2010
Web 2.0 – All About Engagement
Web 2.0 has been called “The Participatory Web”
Key technical elements include:
AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
simple syndication protocols – RSS / ATOM
simplified web services – Aggregator APIs
Folksonomies – collaborative tagging
Processable content – XHTML / CSS / Microformats
Addressable, traceable, dynamic, collaborative content – wiki / blog
Much closer to the original idea behind the ‘web’
The centrality of XML in making this possible is often missed
Web 2.0 is providing a new venue for content
Rapid delivery of tailored views assembled from granular content
www.stilo.com

12. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Entering the Age of Full-Spectrum Publishing
XML
Multi-Format
Automatic
Publishing
Authoring with
Structured Markup
DITA – A Fundamentally Sound Architecture
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
Online Access
Wireless Access
Customers
Call Centre Staff
Print Manuals
PDF
Sources Topics Repositories Maps Products
Providing a proven framework for addressing the
challenges posed by full-spectrum publishing.
www.stilo.com

13. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
The Tao of DITA: Specialization
Adaptability in each area provides implementers with great flexibility
when building and most importantly adapting solutions.
DITA in Action
Iterative
implementation
allows adaptation
of technology
& practices
The DITA base models
& Open Toolkit were key tools
www.stilo.com

14. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
What XML has meant for Content Authors
Authoring in XML exhibits to contradictory challenges
Too much markup
Gets in the way of creating content
Forces a reliance on unfamiliar tools
Adds a level of technical complexity
to what is a creative task
Not enough markup
Some content demands precision
Authors need clear guidance and
useful feedback in order
to satisfy this demand
As more content is delivered to
applications, this is more common
What DITA means for Authors
Promoting simplified markup for most content
Providing a start-up solution for publishing (Open Toolkit)
Allowing specialization to be introduced
When more detailed markup guidelines help authors
When precise markup is essential for downstream use
www.stilo.com

15. Content in the Wild: Why DITA Matters
Why DITA Matters
The initial focus of XML
has not been on content
The focus of XML on enabling
application integration has
added markup complexity
DITA represents a serious
effort to direct attention towards
the challenges of content
DITA specifically provides
ways to address the
contradictory challenges of
XML authoring
What’s Next
DITA is an Opportunity
The technology providers can
focus on solving key problems
We can work together to refine
a good shared solution for
creating high quality content
DITA must become even
more open
DITA has more growing to do
DITA deployments should
avoid the “complexity trap”
DITA could be critical
Communicating knowledge
effectively has never been more
important…
www.stilo.com