OPML and DITA Maps

This is a comment tossed out purely for the long look ahead. 

      

      I've been getting some good use out of the OPML 2.0 spec [1] for
      creating map-editing tools. There are many outline editors
      (Checkvist [2] is the one I happen to like, but Simplenote and
      Flicknote on Android are related) that are easy to use on any
      browser and can export to the OPML format that is easily
      transformed back into a map for DITA storage. And there are some
      available _javascript_ tools for building your own map editor based
      on OPML. All in all, OPML is an incredibly accessible format with
      available tools that map readily to "nestedSortable" behaviors in
      browsers--drag and drop [3] or shortcut-driven editing [4] that
      can hook into other online services and mind map tools that also
      consume OPML (yep, use MindMap or Freemind to author future DITA
      maps in a direct format, if we get on this bandwagon).

      

      The OPML 2.0 spec defines only the elements that contribute to the
      tree relationship; they leave open any specification of the
      "payload" part of a node since different applications will have
      different requirements. Also notable, the spec defines a head and
      body for separating list metadata from the list itself, something
      that I also find is nicely parallel to topic structure.

    
Notably, OPML also represents markup for stateful information
      about the active location in a list. I think the intent was to
      ensure that the presentation of a list could be picked up again in
      the same state later on or at a different location. This part is
      clutter to that spec--it is antithetical to the RESTful way of
      thinking, so don't let that part distract you. The useful essence
      is:

    

    
      
Separation of outline structure from application-specific data
        (wider range of use, at some concern for regulating interchange
        within a class of use)

      

      
Consideration of a head/body structure to better serve
        separation of metadata from the data model itself.

      
Intersection with existing Web ways of handling lists of
        resources. If we can lower this barrier, we greatly extend the
        uptake of DITA as a first-class Web resource (think of sidebar
        widgets that can be dynamically created for related lists,
        categories, etc.).

      

    
    
So this note is for adding to the list of considerations for DITA
      2.0-era architecture.

    

    [1] http://dev.opml.org/spec2.html

    [2] https://checkvist.com/ (I use the free version to develop my
    presentation outlines, then transform to DITA map to generate stubs
    for slides--works great)

    [3] https://github.com/ilikenwf/nestedSortable,
    https://github.com/dbushell/Nestable

    [4] http://www.netcrucible.com/xslt/opml.htm 

    

    
-- 

      
      

        Don R. Day

        Founding Chair, OASIS
          DITA Technical Committee

        LinkedIn: donrday   Twitter:
        @donrday

        About.me: Don R. Day   Skype:
        don.r.day
      

      

        "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

        Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"

        --T.S. Eliot 
      

    

  

	

        
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