From DITA XML to Markdown: lightweight information typing

This blog has a history rooted in DITA XML. For years, it explored structured content management—sharing insights, tips, and reflections. Back then, DITA was the gold standard for large-scale technical documentation, but its complexity came at a cost: verbose XML syntax, specialized editors, and intricate publishing pipelines. Initially hosted on WordPress, the blog later moved to Sphinx to experiment with alternatives like reStructuredText.

Today, the focus has shifted to Markdown.

Markdown is a lightweight markup language. Unlike XML, it’s human-readable, easy to write, and doesn’t require dedicated software. Yet it still allows technical writers to apply the DITA philosophy of information typing, structuring content into concepts, tasks, and references.

Instead of relying on heavy XML toolchains, writers can leverage open, freely available tools—including static site generators like Astro and its Starlight theme. Structured documentation is now accessible to a wider audience: individual writers, small teams, open-source contributors, and enterprise documentation teams alike. For a deeper look at how to apply DITA’s information typing discipline in Markdown, see strong information typing without the XML overhead.

This blog is a work in progress. Most legacy content remains in French, but new content will primarily be in English. Over time, older posts may be translated or curated to align with this new focus.

The mission remains the same: providing practical insights to help technical communicators navigate the evolving landscape of documentation—now with an emphasis on lightweight, open, and sustainable practices.

Stay tuned for posts, tutorials, and experiments at the intersection of structured writing, lightweight markup, and modern documentation workflows. You may also enjoy reading about managing content in files instead of databases, or the journey from raw HTML editing to Git-based Markdown workflows.