The <audience> metadata element indicates, through the value of its type attribute, the intended audience for a topic.
Since a topic can have multiple audiences, you can include multiple audience elements. For each audience you specify, you can identify the high-level task (job) they are trying to accomplish and the level of experience (experiencelevel) expected. The audience element may be used to provide a more detailed definition of values used throughout the map or topic on the audience attribute.
Many of the attributes on the <audience> element have enumerated values, which may be extended by using constaints or by using associated attributes. For instance, the @othertype attribute can be used to extend the audience type enumeration.
| Doctype | Content model |
|---|---|
| topic, map, concept, ditabase, glossary, glossentry, glossgroup, reference, task, bookmap, classifyMap, subjectScheme, machineryTask, learningAssessment, learningBookmap, learningContent, learningMap, learningOverview, learningPlan, learningSummary | no content |
| Doctype | Content model |
|---|---|
| topic (base), topic (technical content), concept, ditabase, glossary, glossentry, glossgroup, reference, task (strict), task (general), machineryTask, learningAssessment, learningContent, learningOverview, learningPlan, learningSummary | metadata |
| map (base), map (technical content), classifyMap, subjectScheme, learningMap | metadata, topicmeta |
| bookmap, learningBookmap | metadata, topicmeta, bookmeta |
For a command reference topic for experienced programmers, the following might be an appropriate indication of that audience:
<audience type="programmer" job="programming" experiencelevel="expert"/>
| Name | Description | Data Type | Default Value | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| type | Indicates the kind of person for whom the content of the
topic is intended. Note that this differs
from the type attribute on many other DITA elements. Allowable
values are:
|
(user | purchaser | administrator | programmer | executive | services | other | -dita-use-conref-target) | #IMPLIED | No |
| othertype | Indicates an alternate audience type, when the type is not available in the type attribute value list. This value is used as the user-provided audience when the type attribute value is set to "other." | CDATA | #IMPLIED | No |
| job | Indicates the high-level task the audience for the topic is trying to accomplish. Different audiences may read the same topic in terms of different high-level tasks; for example, an administrator may read the topic while administering, while a programmer may read the same topic while customizing. Beginning with DITA 1.2, values in this attribute are not limited to a small number of choices; the following values were used in DITA 1.0 and DITA 1.1, and are still provided as sample values: installing, customizing, administering, programming, using, maintaining, troubleshooting, evaluating, planning, migrating, other, -dita-use-conref-target. | NMTOKEN | #IMPLIED | No |
| otherjob | If the job attribute value is "other" the value of this attribute is used to identify a kind of job other than the default ones provided by the job attribute. | CDATA | #IMPLIED | No |
| experiencelevel | Indicates the level of experience the audience is assumed
to possess. Different audiences may have different experience levels
with respect to the same topic; for example, a topic may require general
knowledge from a programmer, but expert knowledge from a user. Beginning
with DITA 1.2, values in this attribute are not limited to a small
number of choices; the following values were used in DITA 1.0 and
DITA 1.1, and are still provided as sample values:
|
NMTOKEN | #IMPLIED | No |
| name | Used to associate the audience element with values used in the audience attribute | CDATA | #REQUIRED | Yes |
| univ-atts attribute group (includes select-atts, id-atts, and localization-atts groups) | A set of related attributes, described in univ-atts attribute group | |||
| global-atts attribute group (xtrf, xtrc) | A set of related attributes, described in global-atts attribute group | |||
| class | A common attribute described in Other common DITA attributes |
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