Normative terminology and rendering expectations

To ground our discussion about how we handle statements about
    formatting expectations in the DITA spec, I want to remind folks
    about how the normative terms are defined:

    

    
      MUST
      
      This word, or the terms "REQUIRED" or "SHALL", mean
        that the definition is an absolute requirement of the
        specification. 
      MUST
          NOT 
      This phrase, or the phrase "SHALL NOT", means that
        the definition is an absolute prohibition of the specification.
      
      SHOULD
        
      
      This word, or the adjective "RECOMMENDED", means
        that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances
        to ignore a particular item, but the full implications must be
        understood and carefully weighed before choosing a different
        course. 
      SHOULD
          NOT 
      This phrase, or the phrase "NOT RECOMMENDED", means
        that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances
        when the particular behavior is acceptable or even useful, but
        the full implications should be understood and the case
        carefully weighed before implementing any behavior described
        with this label. 
      MAY
        
      This word, or the adjective "OPTIONAL", means that
        an item is truly optional. One vendor may choose to include the
        item because a particular marketplace requires it or because the
        vendor feels that it enhances the product while another vendor
        may omit the same item. An implementation which does not include
        a particular option must be prepared to interoperate with
        another implementation which does include the option, though
        perhaps with reduced functionality. In the same vein an
        implementation which does include a particular option must be
        prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does
        not include the option (except, of course, for the feature the
        option provides).
    
    Obviously, nothing related to formatting is mandatory -- it does not
    affect interoperability -- but SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, and MAY
    statements are possible.

    

    The spec currently makes SHOULD statements about formatting. It also
    has some Language Reference topics that do not use normative
    terms, but perhaps should (no double meaning intended.)

    

    An open question is how the spec should best make statements about
    rendering expectations easy for people implementing rendering
    processors to find.

    

    
-- 

      Best,

      Kris

      

      Kristen James Eberlein

      Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee

      Principal consultant, Eberlein Consulting

      www.eberleinconsulting.com

      +1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)