Information Modeling in XML |
Sunday |
Bob Boiko, Metatorial Services Inc. |
1:00 - 4:30pm |
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 In this workshop we will practice modeling information in XML. You will begin with your own or an imagined business context. From the context you will define one or more info types that bring value to that context. You will model your types in XML to flesh out their structure. We will then discuss the issues of reuse using XSL Transforms as a method for creating templates that the same information in different views. At the end of the session you should have a solid understanding of information type modeling, rendering and reuse and have a starting place for applying your knowledge.
Hour 1: Defining a business context that can define info types
- From goals to audiences
- From audiences to types
- From types to their structure
At the end of the hour, you will have a paper model of one or more types that are worth going further with.
Hour 2: Modeling types in XML
- XML modeling and syntax
- XML Techniques
- Modeling exercise
At the end of the hour you will have a basic XML model of one or more info types.
Hour 3: Rendering and reuse
- XSL Transforms syntax and methods
- Rendering full views
- Rendering short views
- Rendering lists
At the end of the hour you will have at least three renderings of at least one info type
Conclusion: Where to from here
- Info modeling skills
- XML skills
- Modeling at a larger scale
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Structures, Semantics, Controls, and More: HTML 5 is Here! |
Monday |
Char James-Tanny, JTF Associates, Inc. |
2:05 - 3:05pm |
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OK, so the estimated timeline says it will be 2012 before HTML 5 is a W3C Candidate Recommendation and 2022 before browsers fully recognize HTML 5. But that doesn't mean that we can't start using it now!
The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) has proposed HTML 5 as the next standard. HTML 5 includes new elements for structure and external content (like audio, video, and graphics), and it adds new attributes to some existing elements. Backward compatibility is maintained so that HTML 5 documents and applications work (or degrade nicely) in existing browsers. The resulting code is very clean and, in some ways, could be considered minimal (especially when compared to HTML 4 or XHTML 1).
Come learn about the future of HTML! See demos and explanations, learn which browsers already support it, and get resources and references to more information.
— YOU WILL LEARN —
- What HTML 5's new elements and new attributes are
- How HTML 4 and HTML 5 differ
- About browser compatibility and support
- How to use the new structures
- About conversion issues
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Enhancing DITA Web Help with TOCJS and Zoom Search Engine |
Monday |
Pam Noreault, Sophos, Inc. |
3:25 - 4:25pm |
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DITA web help out-of-the box does not generate a web help system that most companies would consider production ready. The web help lacks a frameset, fully functional table of contents, and a search feature. With some customization and the help of two third-party tools, you can create a professional web help system for your company from DITA.
— YOU WILL LEARN —
- How to get DITA web help into a frameset and branding it appropriately
- How to implement and use the TOCJS for the table of contents
- How to use the Zoom Search Engine to create full-text search
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XSL Techniques for XML-to-XML Transformations |
Monday |
Simon Bate, Scriptorium Publishing Services |
3:25 - 4:25pm |
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One of the selling points of XML is that it's possible to use XSL to transform from one XML file to another, making corrections or modifying markup along the way. However, the XSL techniques used in these XML-to-XML conversions can differ from those used to transform XML to output formats (such as HTML or XSL-FO). In a recent project, we used XSL to correct markup and fix conversion errors in 55,000 XML files containing 2000-year-old Greek texts. The clean-up work included correcting errors in the Greek numbering system, converting text-based markup to XML, replacing or repairing missing markup, and ensuring the accuracy of our work in such a large document set. This session uses this work to illustrate how XML-to-XML transforms differ from XML-to-output transforms. Along the way we describe some XSL techniques we created for processing XML data in which there is a close relationship between the content and the markup.
This presentation will be useful to anyone developing XSL to repair errors in XML files, performing conditionalized transforms, or working with files in which the content and markup are closely connected. It will also help managers and team leads to recognize the types of jobs that constitute trivial XSL transforms, in contrast with those tasks that require complex XSL transforms.
— YOU WILL LEARN —
- Techniques for XML-to-XML conversions
- Techniques for converting missing markup
- How to work with files where content and markup are closely related
- How to ensure accuracy of conversion in large document sets
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Using DITA as a Content Delivery System for Mobile Devices |
Tuesday |
Kris Rockwell, Hybrid Learning Systems |
8:30 - 9:30am |
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Participants in this session will explore one possible delivery option using the Darwin Information Typed Architecture (DITA) XML specification as a content delivery platform for mobile devices, and how it can be extended to other platforms including printed material. Additionally, participants will explore use of a task analysis as a viable job aid to use on mobile devices in order to provide users with multiple levels of instruction, including direct relationships to existing electronic technical documentation. You'll see a demonstration of content delivery to the iPhone platform as an example of this solution in use.
— YOU WILL LEARN —
- What Darwin Information Typed Architecture (DITA) is
- Why DITA lends itself to mobile content delivery
- The idea behind the five-minute lesson
- How you can use DITA to leverage other learning and reference content
- How to use task-analysis-based content to provide users with multi-tiered access to critical information
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Introduction to DITA Conditional Processing |
Wednesday |
Dave Gash, HyperTrain dot Com |
2:25 - 3:25pm |
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One of DITA's primary strengths is in combining discrete data chunks into cohesive documents, but it also excels at the other end of the spectrum -- separating data chunks when necessary. This feature, called conditional processing, allows you to produce separate documents for different products, platforms, audiences, and so on, all from the same input. Conditional processing's control mechanism is metadata, "data about data", that you specify in your topics and maps to direct DITA's decision making process. This session introduces you to conditional processing and metadata. With appropriately designed and placed metadata, you can achieve dramatic single-source results with minimal effort!
— YOU WILL LEARN —
- What metadata is used for
- How to include metadata with other elements
- Where to put metadata in your DITA projects
- How to create and use build conditions
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