What you can count on

DITA is for every Melbourne writer and editor who chooses to use it. This user group is committed to every Melbourne writer being empowered enough to understand the benefits for them, and to apply it to their situation should they wish.

You may be a technical writer. You may be editing a community or professional newsletter. You may be writing a cookbook or some other dramatic piece of non fiction. Hey you may be even into creative writing. The Melbourne DITA User Group will leave you empowered to choose whether this DITA tool is for you.

A little introduction

I have a fabulous Indian cookbook at home. In fact it is so yummy that I find myself daydreaming about how I can make it better.

To begin with there are the dal dishes. At the beginning of the dal section the author explains the process of cleaning, washing and cooking dals. The first few times I cooked from this book I longed for these instructions to be fully integrated in with the recipe, although a printed book with such a structure would be unmanageable. I wonder if DITA can help? The cookbook is a compromise between the beginner and the experienced cook. A situation can be created where DITA can definitely be used to satisfy beginner and advanced without compromise. 

As I became more expert in the recipes I found myself becoming irritated by the author's half attempts at explaining the basic dal cleaning, washing process in the middle of recipes. Like if I want the instructions there then I want them and if I don't want them then don't share them with me. I wish this writer or their editor knew about DITA. I daydream about being the consumer who can choose how much of the recipe I see.

Hey! Fast cooks come back. It's not just about slow food. I bet you buy dal pre-cooked in a can. Imagine that for you the recipes are written to the proportion of ingredients found in a can. Awesome! All those delicious recipes are now available to you too. Who knows, you may even be converted to trying the slow cook process. Again, using DITA, the writer can manage the process whereby the same recipe has a slow cook method and a fast cook method. Some electronic process is then in place to let the consumer choose which version they want to see or an editor can create different versions of the publication.

Continuing on with delicious, garam masala is a wonderfully exotic and delicious spice blend. The gourmet cook wants the number of cloves, cinnamon sticks and other spices required to blend the spices to totally balance their gourmet creation. A fast cook wants to know how many teaspoons of garam masala to put in and be done with it. The degree to which the recipe is structured is the degree to just how wonderful and delicious you want to get. Again, DITA can help the author manage all these versions, and the editor choose the one they want.

Welcome to the world of DITA where consumer daydreams in the WOW factor have a chance to be realised and impossible to manage documents become possible. The journey for you has only just begun.

How to join

It is free! Visit the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/melbournedita/ web site.