concept

The <concept> element is the top-level element for a topic that answers the question what is? Concepts provide background information that users must know before they can successfully work with a product or interface. Often, a concept is an extended definition of a major abstraction such as a process or function. It might also have an example or a graphic, but generally the structure of a concept is fairly simple.

Content models

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

Inheritance

- topic/topic concept/concept

Example

<concept id="concept">
 <title>Introduction to Bird Calling</title>
 <shortdesc>If you wish to attract more birds to your Acme Bird Feeder,
learn the art of bird calling. Bird calling is an efficient way
to alert more birds to the presence of your bird feeder.</shortdesc>
 <conbody>
   <p>Bird calling requires learning:</p>
   <ul>
    <li>Popular and classical bird songs</li>
    <li>How to whistle like a bird</li>
   </ul>
 </conbody>
</concept>

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: Universal attribute group (with a narrowed definition of @id, given below), Architectural attribute group, and outputclass.

@id (REQUIRED): An anchor point. This ID is usually required as part of the @href or @conref syntax when cross referencing or reusing content within the topic; it also enables <topicref> elements in DITA maps to optionally reference a specific topic within a DITA document. This attribute is defined with the XML Data Type ID.