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Language reference: All-inclusive edition
The language reference portion of the DITA specification contains a topic for each DITA element. The topic defines the element, its inheritance hierarchy, and provides examples of usage. This portion of the DITA specification also includes information about DITA attributes.
Learning and training elements
Elements in the learning and training section include specialized topics, maps, content, and metadata elements specially designed to support instructional content.
Learning and training: map domain elements
Use the learning and training map domain to organize groups of topics as learning objects. Defined as a map domain, these elements are available for use within any DITA map, not just a learning-specific DITA map. For example, you could include learning objects in a DITA generic map or in a DITA bookmap.

Specification URIs
Notices
Introduction to DITA 1.3
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) specification defines a set of document types for authoring and organizing topic-oriented information, as well as a set of mechanisms for combining, extending, and constraining document types.
Architectural specification: All-inclusive edition
The architectural specification portion of the DITA specification outlines the framework of DITA. It contains an overview of DITA markup; addressing; processing; configuration, specialization, generalization, and constraints; as well as information about coding DITA grammar files.
Language reference: All-inclusive edition
The language reference portion of the DITA specification contains a topic for each DITA element. The topic defines the element, its inheritance hierarchy, and provides examples of usage. This portion of the DITA specification also includes information about DITA attributes.
- Element quick reference
  This section contains a listing of DITA elements.
- Topic elements
  The base topic elements include elements that make up the core building blocks of the DITA topic, such as topic, body, and related-links, as well as elements like <p> and <ph> that are used in many topic specializations. Some of these elements are also available inside the <topicmeta> map element.
- Map elements
  Map elements include the core components of DITA maps, such as <topicref> and <reltable>, as well as general purpose map specializations in the map group domain.
- Metadata elements
  Metadata elements include information that is located within the <topicmeta> element (in maps) or <prolog> element (in topics), as well as indexing elements that can be placed in additional locations within topic content.
- Domain elements
  General purpose domains are not specific to any type of information, such as the hazard statement domain that provides elements for describing hazardous situations.
- Classification elements
  Classification elements support managing metadata. Those in the subject scheme map are used to define controlled values and to bind the controlled values to DITA attributes as enumerations. Those declared in the classification domain are used in other maps to classify content according to the scheme.
- Specialization elements
  Several DITA elements exist either for architectural reasons or for support of specialized markup yet to be designed. Although there is little need to use these elements unless you are directed to, some of them, such as <state>, can be used if your content makes use of these semantic distinctions. For example, a discussion of signals on a gate of an integrated logic circuit might use the <state> element to represent either on or off conditions of that gate.
- Legacy conversion elements
  Conversion elements exist primarily to aid in the conversion of content to DITA.
- DITAVAL elements
  A conditional processing profile (DITAVAL file) is used to identify which values are to be used for conditional processing during a particular output, build, or some other purpose. The profile should have an extension of .ditaval.
- Technical content elements
  Elements in the technical content section include the original Concept, Task, and Reference specializations, as well as specializations added in later releases. It also includes domains designed primarily for technical content.
- Learning and training elements
  Elements in the learning and training section include specialized topics, maps, content, and metadata elements specially designed to support instructional content.
  - Learning and training: topic elements
    Use the learning and training topic types to provide the instructional content, according to the needs identified by the learning goals and objectives.
  - Learning and training: map types
    Use the learning and training map types to aggregate learning content into individual learning objects, groups of learning objects, or higher-level aggregations of learning groups and objects, according to the needs identified by the learning goals and objectives.
  - Learning and training: map domain elements
    Use the learning and training map domain to organize groups of topics as learning objects. Defined as a map domain, these elements are available for use within any DITA map, not just a learning-specific DITA map. For example, you could include learning objects in a DITA generic map or in a DITA bookmap.
    - <learningGroup>
      Use a <learningGroup> to structure learning objects into higher-level organizations, such as course-level, module-level, or lesson-level.
    - <learningObject>
      learningObject organizes topic references to DITA learning topics as a learning object.
    - <learningObjectMapRef>
      Use a <learningObjectMapRef> element to include a map reference to a learning object map as part of a DITA learning map, learning bookmap, or learning group map.
    - <learningGroupMapRef>
      Use a <learningGroupMapRef> element to include a map reference to a learning group map as part of a DITA learning map, learning bookmap, learning group map, or <learningGroup> element.
    - <learningPlanRef>
      Use a <learningPlanRef> element to include a topic reference to a learning plan topic as part of a <learningObject>.
    - <learningPreAssessmentRef>
      Use a <learningPreAssessmentRef> element to include a topic reference to a learning assessment topic as part of a DITA <learningObject>.
    - <learningOverviewRef>
      Use a <learningOverviewRef> element to include a topic reference to a learning overview topic as part of a <learningObject> element.
    - <learningContentRef>
      Use a <learningContentRef> element to include a topic reference to a learning content topic as part of a DITA <learningObject> element.
    - <learningContentComponentRef>
      Use a <learningContentComponentRef> element to include a topic reference to a topic that acts as a subtopic of a <learningContent> topic.
    - <learningSummaryRef>
      Use a <learningSummaryRef> to include topic reference to a learning summary topic in a DITA learning object.
    - <learningPostAssessmentRef>
      Use a <learningPostAssessmentRef> element to include a topic reference to a learning assessment topic as part of a DITA <learningObject>.
  - Learning and training: interactions domain elements
    Use the learning interactions to construct a basic set of question and response interaction. The domain also provides an <lcInstructornote2> element, which you can use to provide instructor-specific information in the learning topics.
  - Learning and training: interactions domain elements (DEPRECATED)
    Use the learning interactions to construct a basic set of question and response interaction. The domain also provides an <lcInstructornote> element, which you can use to provide instructor-specific information in the learning topics.
  - Learning and training: metadata elements
    Use the learning and training metadata to describe specific characteristics of the learning content. The learning and training metadata elements provide a robust metadata model for learning objects, built upon industry standards and best practices. Defined as a domain, these elements are available for use in both the topic <prolog> and the map <topicmeta>.
  - Learning and training: common content elements
    The learning and training content elements provide specialized content for learning topics.
- Attributes
  This section collects commonly used attributes, with common definitions. If an element uses a different definition, or narrows the scope of, an otherwise common attribute, it will be called out in the topic that defines the element.
Conformance
Conformance to the DITA specification allows documents and document types that are used with different processors or different versions of a processor to produce the same or similar results with little or no reimplementation or modification.
Acknowledgments
(Non-normative) Many members of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee participated in the creation of this specification and are gratefully acknowledged.
Non-normative information
This section contains non-normative information, including topics about new features in DITA 1.3 and migrating from DITA 1.2 to DITA 1.3.
Content models for learning and training package
For each element in the learning and training package, this section presents the content model and a list of parent elements that can contain that element.

Learning and training: map domain elements

Use the learning and training map domain to organize groups of topics as learning objects. Defined as a map domain, these elements are available for use within any DITA map, not just a learning-specific DITA map. For example, you could include learning objects in a DITA generic map or in a DITA bookmap.