The xml:lang attribute identifies the language of a topic or content
fragment. The outputclass attaches a classifying label to an element.
Miscellaneous attributes of DITA elements include the following
- xml:lang
- The xml:lang attribute's behavior is described in detail in the XML specification: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag The
attribute identifies a language by means of the standard language and country
codes (as described in RFC
3066). For instance, French Canadian would be identified by the value fr-ca.
As is usual, the language applies to the contained content and attributes
of the current element and contained elements, other than fragments
that declare a different language.
- outputclass
- The outputclass attribute provides a label on one or more element instances,
typically to specify a role or other semantic distinction. As the outputclass
attribute doesn't provide a formal type declaration or the structural consistency
of specialization, it should be used sparingly, often only as a temporary
measure while a specialization is developed. For example, <uicontrol> elements
that define button labels could be distinguished by adding an outputclass: <uicontrol
outputclass="button">Cancel</uicontrol>. The outputclass value
could be used to trigger XSLT or CSS rules, as well as providing a mapping
to be used for future migration to a more specialized set of UI elements.