This presentation addresses how some of the challenges that have historically confronted implementers of markup technologies (SGML and XML) and how DITA, together with some of the usability innovations associated with Web 2.0, can be used to address them. Presented at Content Convergence and Integration in Vancouver (12 March 2008).

1. Web 2.0 and
the End of DITA Joe Gollner
Vice President
Stilo International
Copyright © Stilo International 2008
www.stilo.com

3. Topics
Current Trends in the
Content Landscape
Some Lessons Learned
Entering the Age of
Full-Spectrum Publishing
How DITA fits in
Why DITA Matters
The End of DITA

4. Content Management Pop Quiz
In building a system to manage & process content…
a. Meticulously capture the business requirements.
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…

5. 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

6. 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

7. Case Study: Ultimate TechDoc
The application of structured markup to a widely diverse range of systems proved instructive

8. Case Study: Bilingual Technical Documentation
Managing
complexity
remained
a persistent
challenge
despite the
dramatic
benefits and
savings being
realized

9. Case Study: The Right Path Proved Challenging
At the time, the concepts and techniques
being used were ahead of the available
technology. Many tools were found to be
“diabolical”.

10. Case Study: Multimedia Publishing
High Profile Customer
Major enhancement of a successful CD ROM product
Issues with first release demanded a new approach
Feature requests introduced challenging requirements
Cost-effectiveness of production process needed improvement
New information sources identified for inclusion
New edition
Would incorporate seven different publication sources
Movie details, Movie reviews, film industry biographies
Awards information and glossary of film terminology
Estimated number of content objects: 3 million
Challenge: achieving high levels of quality and precision
while reducing costs and accelerating editorial processes

11. Case Study: Optimization for Accelerated Editing
<MOVIE COLOR=“c” RATING=“1.5” MPAA=“PG”>
<MTTILE>Lighting, the White Stallion</MTITLE>
Multiple <RELEASE><LENGTH>95</LENGTH> <DATE>1986</DATE>
Sources
<GENRE>Drama</DRAMA></RELEASE>
<D><NAME><ALTNAME><CALLED><NAMEPART>William</NAMEPART>
</CALLED><FAMILY>Levey</FAMILY></ALTNAME></NAME></D>
<A><NAME><ALTNAME><CALLED><NAMEPART>Mickey</NAMEPART>
</CALLED><FAMILY>Rooney</FAMILY></ALTNAME></NAME></A>
<NOTES><PARA>Extremely weak family fare with<PERSON> <CALLED>
<NAMEPART>Mickey</NAMEPART><FAMILY>Rooney</FAMILY>
</CALLED></PERSON> a wealthy man whose racehorse is stolen.
<PERSON><CALLED>The Mick</CALLED><ALSO>Mickey
Rooney</ALSO></PERSON> can’t save it.</PARA></NOTES></MOVIE>
Optimized
for Editing
<movie c 1.5 PG>Lighting, the White Stallion (1986: Drama): 95
[ Warning:
<d>[William * Levey] <a>[Mickey * Rooney]
SGML Extremely weak family fare with [Mickey * Rooney] a wealthy man
minimization! ] who racehorse is stolen. [The Mick = Mickey Rooney] can’t save it.

12. Case Study: Leading Edge e-Publishing Solution
Features: Results:
Automated conversion, Solidification of market leadership,
markup enrichment, Product functionality enhancement,
markup optimization, Product content expansion,
metadata extraction, Editorial process streamlining,
link identification & generation, reduced publishing costs,
and publishing. and improvement in profitability.

13. Entering the Age of Full-Spectrum Publishing
Options:
Enhance use of
automation or
learn to type like
Jack Kerouac
XML
Multi-Format
Automatic
Publishing
Authoring with
Structured Markup

14. 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.

15. The Tao of DITA: Specialization
Maps Type Hierarchy
Default
Topic
Behaviour
Applications
Core Behaviour
Concept Task Reference Specializations
Specific
Specialization Overrides
Domains
Base highlight programming software UI
Elements
new semantics specialization
Adaptability in each area provides implementers with great flexibility
when building and, most importantly, adapting solutions.

16. DITA in Action: Evolving Solutions
Iterative
implementation
allows adaptation
of technology
& practices
The DITA base models
& Open Toolkit were key tools

17. 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

18. What DITA can mean 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

19. DITA in Action: Dynamic Specialization & Reuse
Content Service Discovery Specialized
Requirements Requirements Taxonomies
Architecture
Topic
Description Description
Procedure
Data Concept Task Reference Data
Data Description
Data
Description Procedure
Procedure
Data Data
Specialized
Information Types Specialized
Delivery Processes
Procedure
Data
Data Annotation Formatting Effectivity Data
Procedure
Data
Change Procedure
Data Data
Specialized Procedure
Data
Domains

20. 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

21. 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
Specialization
Reuse
DITA could be critical
Communicating knowledge
effectively has never
been more important
Another ingredient is needed…

22. Web 2.0 – The Social Web
An infrastructure
for performing
sophisticated tasks
through dynamic
social interaction
mediated by
distributed
components

23. Embedded Markup Considered Harmful
Ted Nelson
Has been a vocal critic of structured markup
Sees it as an impediment & an intrusion
Partly right
Markup must become invisible with the
Ted Nelson
meaning remaining in view
Partly wrong
Social interaction always entails the
mediation of meanings (organizational / individual)
Markup can be concealed and meanings can be
socially mediated using Web 2.0 innovations

24. The End of DITA
End: realization of final purpose
When key features of DITA
become part of the infrastructure
DITA specialization techniques
DITA reuse mechanisms
The creation of high quality
content becomes something that
comes as naturally as “chatting”
DITA would become “invisible”
It could happen...

25. Stilo International
Over Twenty Years of Experience in e-Publishing
Defense CALS Initiative
Microsoft CDROM Publishing
Wall Street Journal Interactive
European Parliament
Global 2000 Clients
Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, BAE…
Wolters Kluwer, Caterpillar…
IBM, SAP, HP, Sun, Toshiba…
Providers of OmniMark
Premiere Content Processing Platform
Providers of the Stilo Migrate content migration service

26. OmniMark 8 Content Processing Platform
OmniMark provides critical capabilities
Scalable streaming architecture
Powerful pattern matching
Context management
Content validation
Full XML / SGML support
Universal character support
Equally well-suited to:
Migrating legacy content to XML
Enhancing the usefulness of content markup
Transforming XML into an unlimited range of formats
Ensuring conformance with evolving industry standards
Progressively raising the level of quality control being applied

27. OmniMark: Scalable & Efficient Content Processing
People
The OmniMark content processing platform has evolved over the last 20 years
to provide the most robust and complete tool for processing content.
OmniMark is used around the world by leading organizations to transform their
content assets into high quality information services that drive business results.

28. 28
On-Demand Online Advanced automation
Content Migration Service Analyzing
Web-based wizard guides Grouping
migration activities Mapping
Converting
Engages subject matter experts
Validating
efficiently
Bursting
Reduces cost – improves results Testing