RE: DITA possible for start-up/lone writer?

["Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com>]

The short version of why and what DITA and DocBook:

* In DITA, to do your own thing, you add something, while in DocBook you
delete it or modify it. Mebbe easier to 
  delete than to add, I dunno.
* DocBook is mostly a structured version of a classical printed
documentation manual. DITA makes more of an
  attempt to structure information by use rather than format.
* DITA may be hot air, but hot air isn't necessarily bad. Hot air
generates interest, interest generates a
  market, a market generates tools and expertise. Around the Silicon
Valley in particular, lots of people 
  speak DITA; a poor lone writer trying to make his fortune gets lots of
extra help.
* I would never do an XML language other than DocBook or DITA. I have
the technical expertise but not the time
  or money for all the tools I'd have to have.

I don't expect DITA to be anywhere near perfect. I'm more looking for
gotchas that would prevent one person from having the time to do
something reasonable with it.


	 Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com 
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.	

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jmalin=tuvox -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jmalin=tuvox -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of John Cornellier
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2006 3:29 AM
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: DITA possible for start-up/lone writer?

The two main reasons, as far as I know, to use DITA compared to another
DTDs are:
* specialization
* topic maps

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