ibm user technologies 11 / 2004 © 2004 ibm corporation information development with dita ian larner...

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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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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Reuse, react (On demand, dynamic, …

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Authoring process

Design Write - DITA map usage Write – DITA topics DITA output

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DITA value

Reuse conrefs & metadata (within) XSL (without)

Customization Metadata & tag usage XSL

Automation (XSL)

IBM User Technologies

11 / 2004 © 2004 IBM Corporation

Any questions?

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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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WebSphere Application Server information center

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WAS v5 administrative console – Collection panel

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WAS v5 administrative console – Detail panel

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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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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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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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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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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/

ibm user technologies 11 / 2004 © 2004 ibm corporation information development with dita ian larner...

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