DITA topics support two types of tables. The <table>
element uses the
OASIS Exchange Table Model (formerly known as the CALS table model).
The OASIS table supports the spanning of multiple rows or columns
for special layout or organizational needs, and provides a wide variety
of controls over the display properties of the data and even the table
structure itself.
The other table structure in DITA is called <simpletable>.
As the name implies, it is structurally less complex than the OASIS
table, and can be used as a very simple, regular table for which close
control of formatting is not as important. The main advantage of simpletable
is for describing lists of data with regular headings, such as telephone
directory listings, display adapter configuration data, or API properties.