Depends on your needs Diane. And I wouldn't worry about FM 'playing' with either, getting the right standard is more important than the tool and FM is capable of round-trip to either standard.
I'm assuming you will be storing the content as XML, pulling it from a CMS (or CCMS as I heard recently) and using the standard to help control the input (using FM as the editor). If not then the following may still be of use but not a direct answer. You can specialise (customise) either to meet your specific needs. In a nutshell, and I'm not expert but from what I've read etc etc, DocBook looks very comprehensive and may be overkill for some... DITA has fewer elements and was created specifically to support topic/task based documentation. Personally I've been looking at DITA I think DocBook is overkill for our needs but you'd need to do some more digging into each standard first. Get your requirements together (from EVERYONE who will be contributing content) and then assess each standard. I know that the DITA guys and gals have a working committee in the process of looking at interoperability but it's early days for that (the premise being that you should be able to use, for example, a DITA topic within a DocBook manual). I'm sure there will be whitepapers out there on this, or at the very least some well informed opinions from people more knowledgeable in this area than I, so fire up Google. This may be of use as well: http://norman.walsh.name/2006/03/24/dita2006 (scroll down for some great content!) HTH Gordon -----Original Message----- From: framers-bounces+gordon.mclean=grahamtechnology.com at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces+gordon.mclean=grahamtechnology.com at lists.frameusers. com] On Behalf Of Diane Gaskill Sent: 08 June 2007 07:00 To: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: Which is better, FM with DocBook or DITA Hi everyone, You might remember that a few weeks ago I asked about FM vs AT. I got some REALLY good information which is now all in a huge spreadsheet that I will make available when it is complete. Many thanks to all of you who provided all that great information. Now I have another question, almost as complicated. Structured FM can work with both OASIS XML standards: DocBook and DITA. But which one is the better standard to use? Or does it make any difference? One of our divisions in Japan has decided on AT with Docbook 4.2 because it is what one of our OEM customers use. They want us to do the same. We would rather use FM, but are undecided on which standard to use. According to Adobe, <http://www.adobe.com/products/framemaker/pdfs/revguide.pdf> FM 7.2 supports DocBood 4.1 and xDocBook 4.1.2. Does anyone know if it supports later versions such as 4.2? I found info on the OASIS website that says the latest verion they support is 4.4, and other information that says there is a least a verion 5.0 of DocBook. Thanks everybody! Diane Gaskill Hitachi Data Systems _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as Gordon.McLean at grahamtechnology.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/gordon.mclean%40grahamte chnology.com Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.11/838 - Release Date: 07/06/2007 14:21 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ This email (and any attachments) is private and confidential, and is intended solely for the addressee. If you have received this communication in error please remove it and inform us via telephone or email. Although we take all possible steps to ensure mail and attachments are free from malicious content, malware and viruses, we cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any changes to content outwith our administrative bounds. The views represented within this mail are solely the view of the author and do not reflect the views of the organisation as a whole. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Graham Technology plc Registered in Scotland company no. SC143434 Registered Office India of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland PA4 9LH http://www.grahamtechnology.com ____________________________________________________________________________________________________