section

The <section> element represents an organizational division in a topic. Sections are used to organize subsets of information that are directly related to the topic. Multiple <section> elements within a single topic do not represent a hierarchy, but rather peer divisions of that topic. Sections cannot be nested. A <section> can have an optional title.

For example, the titles Reference Syntax and Properties might represent section-level discourse within a topic about a command-line process—the content in each <section> relates uniquely to the subject of that topic.

Note: For maximum flexibility, sections allow plain text as well as phrase and block level elements. Because of the way XML grammars are defined within a DTD, any element that allows plain text cannot restrict the order or frequency of other elements. As a result, the <section> element allows <title> to appear anywhere as a child of <section>. However, the intent of the specification is that <title> should only be used once in any <section>, and when used, it should precede any other text or element content.

Content models

See appendix for information about this element in OASIS document type shells.

Inheritance

- topic/section

Example

<reference id="reference">
 <title>Copy Command</title>
 <refbody>
  <section>
   <title>Purpose</title>
   <p>This little command copies
   things.</p>
  </section>
 </refbody>
</reference>

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: Universal attribute group, outputclass, and spectitle.