Topic 2: Understanding Topics

Topics are the primary building blocks of structured authoring. The following are the characteristics of a topic:

• Tangible container or file that holds information
• Small; addresses a single subject
• Large enough to explain a subject completely and can stand alone
• Reusable across many contexts and deliverables

In DITA, every topic is stored as a XML file. Topic oriented architecture removes content repetition and makes the content reusable, thus leading to lean and minimal documentation.

Topics being basic building blocks for multiple documents

As seen in the above figure:

• Different topics connected together to form a document
• Same topic can be reused multiple times in the same document or in multiple documents
• Every topic is independent and can fit to multiple contexts
• There could be many types of documents—User Guide, Release Note, Administration Guide, and so on—all from the same set of topics.

Just like the Legos, where different shapes of blocks can be joined together to form different types of constructions.

A castle built of Legos

Practice Assignment:

• Write topic(s) to inform directions from your office to your favorite café in town.

Further reading:

• What is topic-based authoring; http://dita-ot.sourceforge.net/doc/ot-userguide13/xhtml/faqs/topic_authoring.html

Quizzes:

1) What is a topic?
                a) A discussion or conversation
                b) A complete chunk of content explaining a specific subject
                c) A section of text in a document

2) Can a topic be reused in multiple documents?
                a) Yes
                b) No

3) What is the file format of a topic in DITA?
                a) DOC
                b) HTML
                c) XML

4) Why topic based architecture provides lean and minimal documentation?
                a) Topics are written once and reused in multiple contexts and deliveries.
                b) Topic based documentation removes erroneous information.
                c) Topics are smaller than sections and chapters.

5) Which of the following is the characteristic of a topic?
                a) It explains a subject completely and can stand alone
                b) It is a single page document
                c) Topics are divided into sub-topics

Answers:
[1 b, 2 a, 3 c, 4 a, 5 a]