Importing DITA 1.2 EDDs into templates

Question

I have been modifying the DITA 1.2 EDDs for my custom features and switching in my template customizations for tags and page layout. I understand the text insets, the need to modify the inset eddmod files and update the text insets in the referencing files. However, I can't figure out the order of precedence among the EDDs and which templates to import them into to get the full set. If I import one EDD into the basetopic.template, I get errors about elements that are referenced but not defined. I try to import EDDs that define those elements to whittle down the list, but then a subsequent EDD import takes me back to more elements that are not defined. This result makes me think that importing definitions is not an accumulative process as with importing formats but a wipeout process, as in losing all memory of element definitions previously imported. Can somebody explain how this is supposed to work? It's a lot more complicated than previous versions of DITA.
Susan

Answer 1

Susan,
   You've asked two questions: one about EDDs in general and one about FM
10's DITA 1.2 EDDs.
   On the first point, you are correct. Importing element definitions is
not cumulative and this differs from importing various formats. The reason
for this behavior is that, unlike paragraph formats or variable
definitions, for example, element definitions are intertwined. It doesn't
do any good to import the definition of a single element unless you also
have element definitions for all the other elements that are mentioned
within that definition. Furthermore, a cumulative approach could leave you
with "orphan" element definitions in the element catalog for elements that
are no longer reachable in a valid structure. Therefore each EDD must be
complete in itself, containing definitions for all the needed elements.
   If you want to be able to change some but not all element definitions,
you need to modify the definitions of those elements in your EDD, deleting
those that are no longer needed and adding new ones as necessary. Since an
EDD is a FrameMaker document, you can anticipate some possible changes by
using variables and text insets in the EDD so that changing the variable
definitions or inset material makes it simpler to make some kinds of changes.
   And since the DITA 1.2 EDDs use exactly these techniques--variables and
text insets--that takes us to your second question. Before considering the
DITA 1.2 EDDs, look at the DITA 1.2 DTDs. DITA 1.2 is not so much a set of
DTDs as a set of building blocks for creating DTDs. DITA 1.2 provides a set
of modules that can be assembled to create complete DTDs. Furthermore, the
modules themselves are customizable, since the parameter entities
referenced within them can be redefined. Notice in the default
structapps.fm that there are several DITA 1.2 applications; they correspond
to various DTDs included in the DITA 1.2 distribution. Look at the
subdirectories of the structure\xml\DITA1.2\app directory; except for the
FrameMaker subdirectory, they correspond to directories in the DITA 1.2
distribution. In fact, each of these FM 10 directories has a DTD
subdirectory which has the modules and complete DTDs that the DITA 1.2
distribution has in the identically named directory. The FM 10 directories
also have subdirectories called edd, rules, and template. These contain
respectively the EDD modules corresponding to the DTD modules and complete
EDDs corresponding to te complete DTDs, the associated r/w rules, and the
templates for the complete EDDs.
   So, if you want to change the template for one of these existing DTDs,
change the EDD modules it uses and possibly the variable definitions within
the complete EDD. If you want to create a template that uses combinations
of the EDD modules that are not provided, create a new EDD with all the
needed modules included as text insets.
   I hope this helps. There's more information in the comments at the
beginning of the complete EDDs (that internal documentation is in the
FrameMaker subdirectory of DITA1.2\app.
         --Lynne
Lynne A. Price
Text Structure Consulting, Inc.
Specializing in structured FrameMaker consulting, application development,
and training
[email protected]            http://www.txstruct.com
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