XML PUBLISHING SOLUTIONS FOR A COMPANY

■ storage in native XML databases

There are several software vendors for the above storage solutions: Tamino XML server,
Semansys Tamino XBRL Suite, Xindice..

2.2. Dita (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)

The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) [2] is an XML-based architecture for
authoring, producing, and delivering technical information. DITA includes topics like:Task,
Concept, Reference. A Task topic describes how to accomplish a task. It displays a list of steps
that the users must follow to produce a specified result. Concept contains definitions, rules and
guidelines. A Refererence topic describes command syntax, programming instructions, reference
material. DITA is an emerging standard that provides an outstanding platform to promote
information interchange, in an orderly fashion, within an enterprise or with other organizations.
DITA provides several good methodologies for managing an “information supply chain” where
supplier and consumer can easily interchange topics. DITA provides an excellent infrastructure
for managing information at a topic level, getting away from document hierarchies that in the past
have added complexities to interchange. The DITA architecture, a related DTD and a W3C-
Schema was originally developed by IBM. DITA is now an OASIS standard.

Using DITA for publishing procedures manuals

Procedures manuals are a collection of task to accomplish by the emploees of a company.
Structuring a procedure manual has become an easy task using DITA. Taking advantage of the
DITA specification, the manuals can be structured using DITA topics: Task, Concept or
Reference. On the other hand, the manuals may be print for different audience.

In this section we are trying to design a DITA structure for the procedures manual of a
hypermarket.

The DITA Structure of a Procedure Manual for Goods Receiving in a Romanian
Supermarket

Creating Content

We used the XMLMind editor for creating the DITA procedures manual. XMLMind is a free
XML editor which has a free DITA plug-in that provides user-friendly templates for standard
DITA topic types an for DITA map files.

First, we created the concepts, then the tasks and the references. Each concept or task or reference
is an xml file. The topics that we have created are:

Topics

Concepts

■ Receptie marfa

■ Comanda

■ NIR
■
...

Task

■ Lansare comanda

■ Verificare existenta comanda

■ Verificarea marfii la receptie
■

Reference

■ Starea comenzii

■ Inregistrarea receptiei

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