IBM User Technologies
11 / 2004 © 2004 IBM Corporation
Information developmentwith DITA
Ian LarnerIan LarnerUser Technologies, IBM Hursley Lab, EnglandUser Technologies, IBM Hursley Lab, [email protected][email protected]
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
WebSphere information
WebSphere Application Server information centers http://www-306.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/infocenter.html [See reference foil screen capture] Application Server (product) versions - Express, base, Network Deployment … Use by others (Business Integration, WebSphere Studio/Rational) Tasks + concepts, reference (+ custom types) Views – User goal, “feature” HTML (and PDF) Look-and-feel (SWG, WAS, local) Eclipse (plugins, TOCs, integration)
Components (development and delivery)
“Web time”, dynamic development
Reuse React (On demand, dynamic, …, automatic)
Reuse, react (On demand, dynamic, … WebSphere administrative console help…
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Reuse, react (On demand, dynamic, … WebSphere administrative console help…
- GUI help, xhtml pseudo-Eclipse, one local install for all versions, has own look and feel, + restricted linking- Also provided in information center for lookup and task-related reference
Console GUI implemented as Apache Struts framework (http://struts.apache.org/) “an open source framework for building Java web applications. “
Struts XML defines What panels exist What is on the panel – panes, items, labels, descriptions, buttons, links, data types, ranges, …
Properties define text strings - labels, descriptions All translated to multiple national languages
Collection panel Detail panel
XML can change dynamically, even after translation
Use XSLT to create help file Discover what’s there, what’s changed Reuse the same text strings (entities), any national language
Authors add value in prescribed areas, use prescribed metadata Added value recognized by XSLT and preserved
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Authoring process
Design Write - DITA map usage Write – DITA topics DITA output
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
DITA value
Reuse conrefs & metadata (within) XSL (without)
Customization Metadata & tag usage XSL
Automation (XSL)
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
The remaining foils are for reference only
WebSphere Application Server information center screen capture (referenced from main presentation foils)
WebSphere admin console Collection screen capture (referenced from main presentation foils)
WebSphere admin console Detail screen capture (referenced from main presentation foils)
Design (of component, features, and information) Extra about information design process
Write - DITA map usage Extra about information development use of DITA maps
Write – DITA topics Extra about information development in DITA topics
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
WebSphere Application Server information center
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
WAS v5 administrative console – Collection panel
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
WAS v5 administrative console – Detail panel
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Design (of component, features, and information) Reuse by products – different deliverables Topic types, tag & metadata use Vocabulary use User goal sets (usergoals_was.dita)
Use as default DITA as possible Customization, not specialization
Writer DITA education, DITA templates, guidelines, weekly workshops, automation
Feature development and ownership
Reuse within component - conref of phrases, tags, topics, topicrefs…
Translation reuse & post-changes
Reuse / conversion from outside the component
Reuse / conversion from GUI XML & use cases
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Write - DITA map usage
Component developed by “feature” teams Use to plan tasks & concept/ref needed Write in domain DITA maps Metadata for domain, user task… Relationship tables for links – Impose on topic output
Present in WAS goal-oriented views Create goal-oriented maps on metadata Create “integrating” maps on metadata sets Special XSL to process for navigations&xhtml
Minimize translation content
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Write – DITA topics
Use as default DITA as possible DITA templates, guidelines, for custom usage DITA entity files for reuse by conref
Conrefs for GUI strings, terms, topic parts Conrefs between topics (but not recommended) Conrefs in conrefs(!)
Custom use of metadata with default tags Audience, platform, WAS version(!), …
Custom use of default tags for UI files Custom use of XSL to create, change, and output
Epic editor for writing XSL, Homesite, other for global changes
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
DITA output
Use as default process as possible Xhtml & PDF Custom XSL to build WAS Eclipse navigations Custom XSL to add WAS-specific xhtml -content, plugin-specific linking, …
Rexx post-process for topic-specific data Variable control of build (XSL & other) Need to run by TSCs (“push-button”)
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Information development with DITA
© 2004 IBM Corporation
Links
WebSphere Application Server V6.0 – product overview http://www-306.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/was/
WebSphere Help System download: http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/download/search.jsp?go=y&rs=iwshs
Plugins for the WebSphere Application Server information center http://www-306.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/infocenter.html
Apache Struts framework http://struts.apache.org/
Eclipse http://www.eclipse.org/
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