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Document Types

A Document Type is a special kind of Project that contains the XML grammar definition files – DTDs and XML Schemas – that are used to parse XML content.

More specifically, a document type consists of:

  • The DTD and/or XML Schema files describing the grammar of the document type.
  • A catalog file for resolving references to document type files from projects and other document types.
  • For non-DITA document types, a doctype descriptor file describing the roles of the elements in the document type, such as links, graphics, and chunk divisions. (DITA documents are self-describing and do not require this file.)

Document types may also contain the following optional files.

  • An XSLT stylesheet for generating the administrative HTML preview for files using this document type.
  • XSLT files for custom pre-processing of documents using this document type and/or, for DITA map document types, the topics referenced from maps of this type.
  • An XSLT for generating HTML from the document type that can be dynamically referenced from portal theme XSLT stylesheets.
  • An XSLT transform defining metadata rules for files using the document type.
  • A file mapping embedded properties in non-XML documents, such as PDF and Microsoft Office files, to Titania Delivery metadata. Any project using a document type with one of these metadata mapping files will leverage those mappings.

A document type may be based on another "parent" document type, in which case it inherits all of the catalog entries, preview stylesheets, and metadata rules. For example, you could create a custom DITA topic specialization based on the base "DITA" document type, inheriting all of the catalog entries, metadata configurations, and preview stylesheet from that document type, without having to copy or build your own.

The default Titania Delivery installation includes the DITA 1.3 document types and DocBook 5.0, as well as a document type container with some default non-XML metadata mappings.

In this section:

  1. Creating a Document Type
    Document Types provide Titania Delivery with DTD or XML Schema files for parsing and validating XML content. They can stand alone or be based on existing document types.
  2. Document Type Contents
    All document types must contain the DTD and/or XML Schema modules used to define their grammar. They must also contain a catalog file, and may contain a preview stylesheet and custom metadata rules.
  3. Relationships between Document Types
    There are times when a document type might need to reference modules from another document type.
  4. Associating a Document Type with a Project
    XML identification and validation in Titania Delivery projects requires that the project be associated with document types.