The content of all topics, regardless of topic type, is
built on the same common structures.
- Topic body
- The topic body contains all content except for that
contained in the title or the short description/abstract. The topic
body may be specialized to impose constraints appropriate for the
specific topic type even when titles and prolog are generic, or the
topic body may be generic where the topic title and prolog are specialized.
- Sections and examples
- The body of a topic may contain divisions, such as sections and examples. They may contain
block-level elements like titles and paragraphs and phrase-level elements like API names or
text. It is recommend that sections have titles, whether they are entered directly into the
title element or rendered using a fixed or default title.
- Either body divisions or untitled sections or examples may be used to delimit
arbitrary structures within a topic body. However, body divisions may nest, but sections and
examples cannot contain sections.
- Sectiondiv
- Sectiondiv allows for the arbitrary grouping of content within
a section for the purpose of content reuse. The sectiondiv does
not include a title. Content that requires a title should use
section or example.
- Bodydiv
- Bodydiv allows for the arbitrary grouping of content within the
body of a topic for the purpose of content reuse. The bodydiv
does not include a title. Content that requires a title should
use section or example.
- Block-level elements
- Paragraphs, lists, and tables are types of
"block" elements. As a class of content, they can contain other
blocks, phrases, or text, though the rules vary for each structure.
- Phrases and keywords
- Block-level elements can contain markup to label parts of a paragraph
or parts of a sentence as having special semantic meaning or presentation
characteristics, such as <uicontrol> or <b>. Phrases can usually
contain other phrases and keywords as well as text. Keywords can only
contain text.
- Images
- Images can be inserted to display photos, illustrations, screen
captures, diagrams, and the like. At the phrase level, they can display
trademark characters, icons, toolbar buttons, and the like.
- Multimedia
- With the object element, multimedia information may
be added to display, for example, diagrams that can be rotated
and expanded. With the <foreign> element,
media may be included within topic content, e.g., SVG graphics, MathML
equations, and so on.