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Syntax and mark-up
Organisation of DITA elements
Elements in DITA are grouped together into a number of categories for organisational and comprehension purposes.
Domain elements
The domain elements are comprised of a number of separate sets of elements that relate to specific documentation fields.

Introduction
Information types and topics
Topics are the building blocks of modular documents, and organising topics by semantic information types is one of the architectural features of DITA.
DITA map files
Syntax and mark-up
- Organisation of DITA elements
  Elements in DITA are grouped together into a number of categories for organisational and comprehension purposes.
  - Block and phrase elements
    Most DITA topic semantic elements can be categorised as block or phrase elements.
  - Topic elements
    The topic elements are the basic structural building blocks of all information types.
  - Map elements
    The map elements are the elements used in ditamaps and bookmaps.
  - Body elements
    The simple block structures within the body of topics are categorised as the body elements.
  - Prolog elements
    A topic's metadata is stored in a range of prolog elements.
  - Domain elements
    The domain elements are comprised of a number of separate sets of elements that relate to specific documentation fields.
  - Specialisation elements
    Elements used primarily for specialisation are categorised as specialisation elements.
- Working with mark-up
- Element domains
  Elements in DITA are arranged into domains for organisational purposes and technical reasons.
- Short descriptions
  The short description (or shortdesc) is arguably the most important component of a DITA topic, and is also one of the most difficult elements to write. Short descriptions should be written for every topic.
- Lists
  The purpose of a list is to make it easier for the reader to understand sequences of information and collections of like information. Different types of lists are used for different information structures.
- Paragraphs
  Paragraphs are the basic components of topics. A paragraph (p) element should be a self-contained unit dealing with one idea or point, typically expressed in two or more related sentences. The p element should be used when no other semantically-specific block element is available.
- Procedures and steps
  The purpose of procedural documents is to explain to the reader how to accomplish tasks. The task information type is specifically designed for procedures, with a well-defined structure built around steps.
- Tables
  The purpose of a table is to structure, organise and present factual data that a user will need to look up or reference. There are two general purpose table types in DITA: table and simpletable.
- Phrases
  The semantics of words and phrases in DITA content is expressed through a broad range of phrase elements.
- Special characters and dates
Language and punctuation
Graphics and figures
Cross-referencing
Cross-references are a means of binding individual topics into a coherent and navigable document.
Content re-use
Metadata, conditional processing, and indexing
The DITA documentation process
DITA authoring concepts
Moving from style-based authoring to a structured authoring methodology such as DITA requires a radically different approach to writing.

Domain elements

The domain elements are comprised of a number of separate sets of elements that relate to specific documentation fields.

Remembering that DITA started life within IBM as a tool for creating software and hardware documentation, it shouldn't be a surprise to discover that DITA's base elements reflect that background.

Elements that relate to a particular field (such as software) are called domain elements. The domain elements within DITA are grouped into:

typographical elements: generic word-processor like elements used to highlight text
programming elements: terms and structures related to programming environments
software elements: terms and structures related to the operation of a software program
table elements: elements that relate to table structures
user interface elements: terms and structures related to a software user interface
utilities elements: elements that don't fit anywhere else!

If you are writing a programmer's reference, you will mainly use elements in the programming domain.

If you are writing a mobile phone user guide, you should avoid using programming domain elements, and mainly use user interface domain elements.

The typographical domain elements are designed to be used only when no semantically-appropriate elements are available and a formatting effect is required. These elements should therefore only be used as a last resort.