I could be missing some details, and I expect someone
like Michael to correct me if I'm wrong, but let me
explain things the way I understand them.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dana Spradley [mailto:]
> Sent: Thursday, 2007 April 05 18:24
> To:
> Subject: [dita] regrets, and opposition to including item
> 12051 as an easy 1.2 fix
>
> I'm not going to be able to make the next meeting - so in
> case the "simple/quick fix" list gets compiled at it, I'd
> like to register my opposition to including item 12051, "Add
> class attribute to dita element."
>
> I think this qualifies as a controversial proposal - I
> believe both myself and JoAnn are on record opposing it.
>
> Instead of regularizing the dita element and allowing it to
> be specialized, I'd be more in favor of deprecating it, and
> eventually eliminating it.
>
> According to the 1.1 spec, "The <dita> element has no
> particular output implications; it simply allows you to
> create multiple topics of different types at the same level
> in a single document."
More accurately, it currently allows you to put topic, task,
concept, and reference together in a single document. It
does not allow you to put other topic-level things that you
may have created as specializations of topic. That's the
problem.
When we create a new generalized topic (or whatever we are
calling it) in DITA 1.2, it will not be able to be put into
a ditabase document (unless we change the dita element's
content model specially for the element we add).
The point is that any user that creates a new specialization
of topic isn't going to be able to put those new elements
into a ditabase document unless they can create a specialization
of the dita element.
>
> As such, it needs no class attribute - since the sole
> function of that attribute is to preserve output implications
> across specializations.
I'm not sure what "preserve output implications across
specializations" means, but the function of the ditabase
document type (and hence the dita element) is to allow a
user to collect various topic-level elements into one
document.
And they can't include their own topic-specializations
in a ditabase document as things stand.
>
> To add a class attribute to the dita element and make it
> available for specialization is a major architectural change
> that requires careful thought, not a simple easy fix.
I don't see how allowing specialization on the one DITA element
that currently does not allow it as a major architectural change.
paul
