Chapter 2. About topics and maps

A DITA document is necessarily modular. The information unit used to compose a DITA document is called a topic. As its name suggests, a topic addresses a single subject.
The overall contents of a DITA document are specified using a topic map (also simply called a map). A map mainly contains a hierarchy of topic references.
Figure 2-1. File layout of this tutorial
file_layout.svg
Remember
Remember
  • It is recommended to have a single topic per XML file.
  • The recommended filename extension for a topic file is ".dita".
  • The recommended filename extension for a map file is ".ditamap".
  • Topic and map files may be contained in different directories. You are free to organize the contents of these directories as you wish.