DocBook provides a system for writing structured documents using XML. It is particularly well suited to books and papers about computer hardware and software, though it is by no means limited to them. Because it is a large and robust format, and because its main structures correspond to the general notion of what constitutes a book, DocBook has been adopted by a large and growing community of authors. DocBook is supported “out of the box” by a wide range of tools, both open source and commercial. In short, DocBook is an easy-to-understand and widely used schema. Worldwide, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of organizations use DocBook for millions of pages of documentation in a wide variety of print and online formats.
This book is designed to be the clear, concise, normative reference to the DocBook schema. This book is the official documentation for DocBook.
We hope to answer, definitively, all the questions you might have about all the elements and attributes in DocBook. In particular, we cover the following subjects:
- Getting started with DocBook
With around 400 elements, DocBook can be a bit overwhelming at first. We get you up to speed quickly.
- Writing DocBook documents
Where should you start and what should you do?
- Parsing and validating DocBook documents
After you’ve written a document, how can you tell if it really conforms to the DocBook schema?
- Publishing DocBook documents
After you’ve written one, what do you do with it? We introduce some popular free tools you can use to publish DocBook documents in print and various electronic formats.
- Customizing the schema
Many individuals and corporations have created custom schemas based on DocBook. We show you how to write a “customization layer” to tailor DocBook for your content.
- Understanding the elements
Each element is extensively documented, including the intended semantics and the purpose of all its attributes. An example of proper usage is included for most elements.
- Using the DocBook stylesheets
The DocBook XSL Stylesheets, part of the DocBook project at SourceForge, have become the de facto standard way to process DocBook. This book contains a brief description about using the stylesheets, but for detailed information we recommend Bob Stayton’s excellent book, DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide [Stayton07].
- Getting more information
Finally, we direct you to other places you can go for information about DocBook, XML, and other relevant topics.