 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2009) |
A component content management system (CCMS) is a content management system that manages content at a granular level (component) rather than at the document level. Each component represents a single topic, concept or asset (for example an image, table, product description, a procedure).
The CCMS must be able to track "not only versions of topics and graphics but relationships among topics, graphics, maps, publications, and deliverables." [1] More often than not, the CCMS also contains the publishing engine to create the final outputs for print, web and e-readers.
Components can be as large as a chapter or as small as a definition or even a word. Components in multiple content assemblies (content types) can be viewed as components or as traditional documents.
Although modular documentation is not necessarily XML-based, it is usually the case. Standards include:
Challenges for the technical writers include topic-based authoring, that is shifting from writing book-shaped, linear documentation to writing modular, structured and reusable content component.
Each component is only stored one time in the content management system, providing a single, trusted source of content (referential). These components are then reused (rather than copied and pasted) within a document or across multiple documents. This ensures that content is consistent across the entire documentation set. [2] The use of components can also reduce the amount of time it takes to update and maintain content as changes only need to be made once, in one component.
Each component has its own lifecycle (owner, version, approval, use) and can be tracked individually or as part of an assembly. Component content management is typically used for multi-channel customer-facing content (marketing, usage, learning, support). The solution can be a separate system or be a functionality of another content management system type (for example, enterprise content management or web content management).
Unlike a "simple" management system, the CCMS tracks the components. It tracks indirect and direct linking so that the author can safely reuse content and check the applicability of changes.
Benefits of managing contents at components level:
Benefits of using a component content management system:
In computer science, transclusion is the inclusion of part or all of an electronic document into one or more other documents by reference via hypertext. Transclusion is usually performed when the referencing document is displayed, and is normally automatic and transparent to the end user. The result of transclusion is a single integrated document made of parts assembled dynamically from separate sources, possibly stored on different computers in disparate places.
A learning object is "a collection of content items, practice items, and assessment items that are combined based on a single learning objective". The term is credited to Wayne Hodgins, and dates from a working group in 1994 bearing the name. The concept encompassed by 'Learning Objects' is known by numerous other terms, including: content objects, chunks, educational objects, information objects, intelligent objects, knowledge bits, knowledge objects, learning components, media objects, reusable curriculum components, nuggets, reusable information objects, reusable learning objects, testable reusable units of cognition, training components, and units of learning.
DocBook is a semantic markup language for technical documentation. It was originally intended for writing technical documents related to computer hardware and software, but it can be used for any other sort of documentation.
A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is recorded. The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management systems. It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.
A content management system (CMS) is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content . A CMS is typically used for enterprise content management (ECM) and web content management (WCM).
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a nonprofit consortium that works on the development, convergence, and adoption of open standards for cybersecurity, blockchain, Internet of things (IoT), emergency management, cloud computing, legal data exchange, energy, content technologies, and other areas.
XSD, a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), specifies how to formally describe the elements in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document. It can be used by programmers to verify each piece of item content in a document, to assure it adheres to the description of the element it is placed in.
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) specification defines a set of document types for authoring and organizing topic-oriented information, as well as a set of mechanisms for combining, extending, and constraining document types. It is an open standard that is defined and maintained by the OASIS DITA Technical Committee.
Single-source publishing, also known as single-sourcing publishing, is a content management method which allows the same source content to be used across different forms of media and more than one time. The labor-intensive and expensive work of editing need only be carried out once, on only one document; that source document can then be stored in one place and reused. This reduces the potential for error, as corrections are only made one time in the source document.
Microsoft Assistance Markup Language is an XML-based markup language developed by the Microsoft User Assistance Platform team to provide user assistance for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. It makes up the Assistance Platform on Windows Vista.
This article describes the technical specifications of the OpenDocument office document standard, as developed by the OASIS industry consortium. A variety of organizations developed the standard publicly and make it publicly accessible, meaning it can be implemented by anyone without restriction. The OpenDocument format aims to provide an open alternative to proprietary document formats.
Ann Rockley is a content manager. She is the founder and President of The Rockley Group, based in the greater Toronto Area. She regularly presents papers and workshops on subjects involving the efficient creation, management and delivery of content for organizations in North America and Europe. She was the lead analyst for The XML & Component Content Management Report on Content Management Systems Watch.
In technical communication, topic-based authoring or topic-based writing is a modular approach to content creation where content is structured around topics that can be mixed and reused in different contexts. It is defined in contrast with book-oriented or narrative content, written in the linear structure of written books.
A Common Source Data Base (CSDB) is to provide the user with automated processes to handle the complete palette of CSDB objects. Technical documentation is used in many areas of the everyday life. Product liability and many other issues regarding consumer protection have to be covered inside technical documentation. At minimum, a drawing including a few locators has to be provided. Much of this information is in accordance with the international S1000D specification.
MadCap Software is an American computer software firm headquartered in San Diego, California that creates help authoring tools and solutions for technical writers and documentation teams. Several principal managers, software engineers, and support personnel were recruited from rival firms, such as Adobe Systems and Macromedia, to found MadCap Software. MadCap's authoring tools are all based on xHTML.
Technical documentation is a generic term for the classes of information created to describe the use, functionality or architecture of a product, system or service.
Content Assembly Mechanism (CAM) is an XML-based standard for creating and managing information exchanges that are interoperable and deterministic descriptions of machine-processable information content flows into and out of XML structures. CAM is a product of the OASIS Content Assembly Technical Committee.
XMetaL, or XMetaL Author, is a software application people use to create and edit documents in XML and SGML. It has some features common to word processors, but is a native XML editor that can be configured to work with various standard and custom DTDs and XML Schemas. XMetaL was first released by SoftQuad Software in 1999 and is currently developed by JustSystems.