1. Overview

XBook provides DTDs that allow you to author documentation in XML. These DTDs can be found in the distribution in the directory src/nl/justobjects/xbook/rsc/dtd. The remainder of this document refers to DTD file names in that directory, for example text.dtd refers to src/nl/justobjects/xbook/rsc/dtd/text.dtd.

XBook provides three basic types of DTDs:

1. The DTD for the book from which the site menu structure is generated (book.dtd)
2. DTDs for documents that provide the content (doc.dtd, page.dtd, album.dtd, text.dtd)
3. The DTD for the site menu structure from which the site structure (frames, navigation) is generated (xmenu.dtd)

Each of these DTDs may be used standalone or in combination. The typical use is to specify the entire site structure through a book.xml document according to book.dtd and to author each of the documents (specified with the <document>-element) with one of the DTDs in the second category. Another use is just to generate a single document using the DTDs in the second category (e.g. a single photo album). Also, you may not want to use any DTDs in the first two categories but just generate a site from a menu.xml file based on xmenu.dtd. Each DTD is described in a separate document for quick reference. The generation tools and the XSLT styling process are described in the Generation Guide. If you want to add your own DTDs or extend XBook in other ways you should consult the Extensibility Guide.

Below is an overview of the name and purpose of each DTD and a link to the authoring guide for that DTD.

Tip: a quick way to get started is by taking an XML document from one of the test or xdoc directories.