Types of DITA Comparison

Types of DITA Comparison

DITA Compare supports three comparison types. The correct type to use depends on the scope of content being compared.

Topic comparison

A topic comparison compares two single DITA topic files and produces a single output topic file with differences marked up using the selected output format.

This is the simplest and most common comparison type. It is appropriate when you need to compare a specific topic in isolation.

Map File comparison

A Map File comparison compares the DITA map file itself — its structure, metadata, and topicref entries — without processing any of the referenced topics. The output is a DITA map file with differences marked according to the output format.

Use this type when you need to understand structural changes to a documentation set's organisation rather than its content.

Map Topicset (MTS) comparison

A Map Topicset comparison processes all topics referenced from two top-level DITA maps (including submaps) and produces a complete set of compared topic files plus a result map. This is the most comprehensive comparison type and is appropriate for full-documentation-set comparisons.

Two update modes are available:

• Map Copy - topics from both maps are copied to a new output directory, with comparison results

• In Place - topics are modified in place within the existing directory structure

Viewing the Result

This DITA Markup output is 'vendor neutral' such that it can be rendered in a useful way in any XML editor that either works with conditional processing or attribute-controlled styling of the WYSIWYG (author) view. The screenshot below shows the output as viewed in the 'author' view of Oxygen XML Editor - with the 'Colored revision changes' style selected:

Choosing the Right Comparison Type

Related Topics

• Map Processing in DITA Compare

• Comparing DITA Topics and Maps

• Running Your First DITA Comparison

• DITA Compare User Guide