This sounds like a larger style issue that should be tackled post 10.2. In the meantime, let's be consistent with current usage.
-jean Laura Stewart wrote: > On 8/29/06, Jean T. Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Laura Stewart wrote: >> ... >> > FYI - I would prefer to keep the phrase "data type" in the title and >> > first paragraph of this file as a qualifier. In the near future (post >> > 10.2) I intend to update all of the other files that describe data >> > types to add this qualifier. There are many files in Derby that don't >> > have qualifiers in the titles and it makes locating the correct info >> > difficult for Derby users. >> >> I don't agree with this change. I wouldn't like to see everything >> expanded -- "BLOB data type", "Date data type", etc. >> >> The XML data type appears in the "Data Types" chapter -- I haven't heard >> any users complain that this isn't clear. But I may have missed some >> posts. Could you include a link to the posts that showed the difficulty? >> >> thanks, >> >> -jean > > > One of the benefits of using DITA is that the documentation is > "componentized" into "topics". > There are several benefits to this: > -- Combined with the information from other products > -- Alternative ways to view the information. > > COMBINED INFO > When another products are combined with Derby, the information for > those products can be combined with the information for Derby. It is > important that the titles of the topics state clearly what the topic > is about. When users look at a Table of Contents or Navigation Tree > to find information, the qualifiers help users find the information > that they want more quickly. Adding the qualifiers also helps people > for whom English is not their native language. In this case, we are > describing different data types and that qualifier should be applied > to the title. What if there is a topic entitled XML which discusses > the data type, and another topic entitled XML which describes an > overview of the Extensible Markup Language, and a third topic entitled > XML which describes what "well-formed" XML documents are. In this > example 3 topics with the same title is confusing. And while the > topics appear in different sections in a book (which might help > distinguish the topics), that implied qualifer doesn't help when the > information is viewed in a different way (see below). > > METHODS OF VIEWING INFO > Another advantage of DITA is the ability to view the documentation in > different ways. It can be viewed in the traditional PDF/Book format > or it can be viewed in non-traditional ways, such as is categories of > information or by subject matter (such as all troubleshooting info). > Viewing information in categoies is often the way information is > organized in Information Centers. In Info Centers, the organization of > the information is often not in the sequential book format. In these > situations, the implied qualifier of the chapter or section title is > always present for a topic. > > Bottom line. Topics need to be able to stand alone. Their titles > should be clear and concise and they should have links to the > appropriate information. > > So I don' t have any links to specific Derby posts about this. I am > just explaining what the trend is in technical writing and > information. >
