Specialization in processing

Specialized processing is not necessary for every specialized element, only for those elements which do not have appropriate default behavior based on their ancestors.

Whether creating a new transform or extending an existing one, there are several rules that should be followed to ensure the effectiveness of the transform for other specialized types, and also the maintainability and extensibility of the transform to accommodate new requirements.

• Using the class attribute
  Applying an XSLT template based on class attribute values allows a transform to be applied to whole branches of element types, instead of just a single element type.
• Modularization and integration of processing
  Processing should be divided into modules based on the structural types or domains they support, and can be integrated together into transforms or stylesheets in the same way that structural type and domain modules can be integrated into document types.

OASIS DITA Architectural Specification v1.0 -- 09 May 2005
Copyright (c) OASIS Open 2005. All Rights Reserved.