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Syntax and mark-up
Element domains
Elements in DITA are arranged into domains for organisational purposes and technical reasons.
Programming domain

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.
- 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.

Programming domain

The elements in the programming domain are designed for documenting programming languages.

Programming domain elements

The elements in the programming domain each have a specific semantic purpose.

Element Name	Semantic Purpose
apiname	API name
codeblock	code block
codeph	code phrase
option	one of a set of options
parmname	parameter or argument
parml	parameter list
plentry	parameter list entry (within parml)
pt	parameter term (within plentry)
pd	parameter definition (within plentry)
synph	syntax phrase
syntaxdiagram	syntax diagram
groupseq	group of syntactic units (used only for syntax diagrams)
groupchoice	choice of a group of syntactic units (used only for syntax diagrams)
groupcomp	group of composite syntactic units (used only for syntax diagrams)
fragment	fragment of syntax (used only for syntax diagrams)
fragref	cross-reference to a fragment of syntax
synblk	block of small pieces of syntax
synnote	footnote within syntax (syntax note)
synnoteref	cross-reference to a syntax note
kwd	syntax keyword (used only for syntax diagrams)
var	variable that a user must supply (used only for syntax diagrams)
oper	operator character (such as +, -, and =) within syntax
delim	delimiter character (such as /, \|, and ;) within syntax
sep	separator character within syntax
repsep	separator character for repeated syntax elements