DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide

by Norman Walsh
Edited by Richard Hamilton
ISBN: 9780596805029, published in conjunction with XML Press.
Version 1.0.4 for DocBook V5.0
Updated: 19 October, 2011

This is the online edition of the DocBook V5.0 book. References to V5.1 elements and features have been removed. There is a separate online guide for DocBook V5.1.

(back cover)

Table of Contents

1. Preface
I. Introduction
II. Reference
- I. DocBook Element Reference
  - abbrev - An abbreviation, especially one followed by a period
  - abstract - A summary
  - accel - A graphical user interface (GUI) keyboard shortcut
  - acknowledgements - Acknowledgements of a book or other component
  - acronym - An often pronounceable word made from the initial (or selected) letters of a name or phrase
  - address - A real-world address, generally a postal address
  - affiliation - The institutional affiliation of an individual
  - alt - A text-only annotation, often used for accessibility
  - anchor - A spot in the document
  - annotation - An annotation
  - answer - An answer to a question posed in a QandASet
  - appendix - An appendix in a Book or Article
  - application - The name of a software program
  - arc - An XLink arc in an extendedlink
  - area (db.area) - A region defined for a Callout in a graphic or code example
  - area (db.area.inareaset) - A region defined for a Callout in a graphic or code example
  - areaset - A set of related areas in a graphic or code example
  - areaspec - A collection of regions in a graphic or code example
  - arg - An argument in a CmdSynopsis
  - article - An article
  - artpagenums - The page numbers of an article as published
  - attribution - The source of a block quote or epigraph
  - audiodata - Pointer to external audio data
  - audioobject - A wrapper for audio data and its associated meta-information
  - author - The name of an individual author
  - authorgroup - Wrapper for author information when a document has multiple authors or collabarators
  - authorinitials - The initials or other short identifier for an author
  - bibliocoverage - The spatial or temporal coverage of a document
  - bibliodiv - A section of a Bibliography
  - biblioentry - An entry in a Bibliography
  - bibliography - A bibliography
  - biblioid - An identifier for a document
  - bibliolist - A wrapper for a list of bibliography entries
  - bibliomisc - Untyped bibliographic information
  - bibliomixed - An entry in a Bibliography
  - bibliomset - A cooked container for related bibliographic information
  - biblioref - A cross-reference to a bibliographic entry
  - bibliorelation - The relationship of a document to another
  - biblioset - A raw container for related bibliographic information
  - bibliosource - The source of a document
  - blockquote - A quotation set off from the main text
  - book - A book
  - bridgehead - A free-floating heading
  - callout - A called out description of a marked Area
  - calloutlist - A list of callout s
  - caption (db.caption) - A caption
  - caption (db.html.caption) - An HTML table caption
  - caution - A note of caution
  - chapter - A chapter, as of a book
  - citation - An inline bibliographic reference to another published work
  - citebiblioid - A citation of a bibliographic identifier
  - citerefentry - A citation to a reference page
  - citetitle - The title of a cited work
  - city - The name of a city in an address
  - classname - The name of a class, in the object-oriented programming sense
  - classsynopsis - The syntax summary for a class definition
  - classsynopsisinfo - Information supplementing the contents of a ClassSynopsis
  - cmdsynopsis - A syntax summary for a software command
  - co - The location of a callout embedded in text
  - code - An inline code fragment
  - col - Specifications for a column in an HTML table
  - colgroup - A group of columns in an HTML table
  - collab - Identifies a collaborator
  - colophon - Text at the back of a book describing facts about its production
  - colspec - Specifications for a column in a table
  - command - The name of an executable program or other software command
  - computeroutput - Data, generally text, displayed or presented by a computer
  - confdates - The dates of a conference for which a document was written
  - confgroup - A wrapper for document meta-information about a conference
  - confnum - An identifier, frequently numerical, associated with a conference for which a document was written
  - confsponsor - The sponsor of a conference for which a document was written
  - conftitle - The title of a conference for which a document was written
  - constant - A programming or system constant
  - constraint - A constraint in an EBNF production
  - constraintdef - The definition of a constraint in an EBNF production
  - constructorsynopsis - A syntax summary for a constructor
  - contractnum - The contract number of a document
  - contractsponsor - The sponsor of a contract
  - contrib - A summary of the contributions made to a document by a credited source
  - copyright - Copyright information about a document
  - coref - A cross reference to a co
  - country - The name of a country
  - cover - Additional content for the cover of a publication
  - database - The name of a database, or part of a database
  - date - The date of publication or revision of a document
  - dedication - The dedication of a book or other component
  - destructorsynopsis - A syntax summary for a destructor
  - edition - The name or number of an edition of a document
  - editor - The name of the editor of a document
  - email - An email address
  - emphasis (db.emphasis) - Emphasized text
  - emphasis (db._emphasis) - A limited span of emphasized text
  - entry - A cell in a table
  - entrytbl - A subtable appearing in place of an Entry in a table
  - envar - A software environment variable
  - epigraph - A short inscription at the beginning of a document or component
  - equation - A displayed mathematical equation
  - errorcode - An error code
  - errorname - An error name
  - errortext - An error message.
  - errortype - The classification of an error message
  - example - A formal example, with a title
  - exceptionname - The name of an exception
  - extendedlink - An XLink extended link
  - fax - A fax number
  - fieldsynopsis - The name of a field in a class definition
  - figure - A formal figure, generally an illustration, with a title
  - filename - The name of a file
  - firstname - The first name of a person
  - firstterm - The first occurrence of a term
  - footnote - A footnote
  - footnoteref - A cross reference to a footnote (a footnote mark)
  - foreignphrase - A word or phrase in a language other than the primary language of the document
  - formalpara - A paragraph with a title
  - funcdef - A function (subroutine) name and its return type
  - funcparams - Parameters for a function referenced through a function pointer in a synopsis
  - funcprototype - The prototype of a function
  - funcsynopsis - The syntax summary for a function definition
  - funcsynopsisinfo - Information supplementing the FuncDefs of a FuncSynopsis
  - function - The name of a function or subroutine, as in a programming language
  - glossary - A glossary
  - glossdef - A definition in a GlossEntry
  - glossdiv - A division in a Glossary
  - glossentry - An entry in a Glossary or GlossList
  - glosslist - A wrapper for a list of glossary entries
  - glosssee - A cross-reference from one glossentry to another
  - glossseealso - A cross-reference from one GlossEntry to another
  - glossterm - A glossary term
  - group - A group of elements in a CmdSynopsis
  - guibutton - The text on a button in a GUI
  - guiicon - Graphic and/or text appearing as a icon in a GUI
  - guilabel - The text of a label in a GUI
  - guimenu - The name of a menu in a GUI
  - guimenuitem - The name of a terminal menu item in a GUI
  - guisubmenu - The name of a submenu in a GUI
  - hardware - A physical part of a computer system
  - holder - The name of the individual or organization that holds a copyright
  - honorific - The title of a person
  - imagedata (db.imagedata) - Pointer to external image data
  - imagedata (db.imagedata.mathml) - A MathML expression in a media object
  - imagedata (db.imagedata.svg) - An SVG drawing in a media object
  - imageobject - A wrapper for image data and its associated meta-information
  - imageobjectco - A wrapper for an image object with callouts
  - important - An admonition set off from the text
  - index - An index to a book or part of a book
  - indexdiv - A division in an index
  - indexentry - An entry in an index
  - indexterm (db.indexterm.endofrange) - Identifies the end of a range associated with an indexed term
  - indexterm (db.indexterm.singular) - A wrapper for an indexed term
  - indexterm (db.indexterm.startofrange) - A wrapper for an indexed term that covers a range
  - info (db.info) - A wrapper for information about a component or other block
  - info (db.titleforbidden.info) - A wrapper for information about a component or other block without a title
  - info (db.titleonly.info) - A wrapper for information about a component or other block with only a title
  - info (db.titleonlyreq.info) - A wrapper for information about a component or other block with only a required title
  - info (db.titlereq.info) - A wrapper for information about a component or other block with a required title
  - informalequation - A displayed mathematical equation without a title
  - informalexample - A displayed example without a title
  - informalfigure - A untitled figure
  - informaltable (db.cals.informaltable) - A table without a title
  - informaltable (db.html.informaltable) - An HTML table without a title
  - initializer - The initializer for a FieldSynopsis
  - inlineequation - A mathematical equation or expression occurring inline
  - inlinemediaobject - An inline media object (video, audio, image, and so on)
  - interfacename - The name of an interface
  - issuenum - The number of an issue of a journal
  - itemizedlist - A list in which each entry is marked with a bullet or other dingbat
  - itermset - A set of index terms in the meta-information of a document
  - jobtitle - The title of an individual in an organization
  - keycap - The text printed on a key on a keyboard
  - keycode - The internal, frequently numeric, identifier for a key on a keyboard
  - keycombo - A combination of input actions
  - keysym - The symbolic name of a key on a keyboard
  - keyword - One of a set of keywords describing the content of a document
  - keywordset - A set of keywords describing the content of a document
  - label - A label on a Question or Answer
  - legalnotice - A statement of legal obligations or requirements
  - lhs - The left-hand side of an EBNF production
  - lineage - The portion of a person's name indicating a relationship to ancestors
  - lineannotation - A comment on a line in a verbatim listing
  - link - A hypertext link
  - listitem - A wrapper for the elements of a list item
  - literal - Inline text that is some literal value
  - literallayout - A block of text in which line breaks and white space are to be reproduced faithfully
  - locator - An XLink locator in an extendedlink
  - manvolnum - A reference volume number
  - markup - A string of formatting markup in text that is to be represented literally
  - mathphrase - A mathematical phrase, an expression that can be represented with ordinary text and a small amount of markup
  - mediaobject - A displayed media object (video, audio, image, etc.)
  - member - An element of a simple list
  - menuchoice - A selection or series of selections from a menu
  - methodname - The name of a method
  - methodparam - Parameters to a method
  - methodsynopsis - A syntax summary for a method
  - modifier - Modifiers in a synopsis
  - mousebutton - The conventional name of a mouse button
  - msg - A message in a message set
  - msgaud - The audience to which a message in a message set is relevant
  - msgentry - A wrapper for an entry in a message set
  - msgexplan - Explanatory material relating to a message in a message set
  - msginfo - Information about a message in a message set
  - msglevel - The level of importance or severity of a message in a message set
  - msgmain - The primary component of a message in a message set
  - msgorig - The origin of a message in a message set
  - msgrel - A related component of a message in a message set
  - msgset - A detailed set of messages, usually error messages
  - msgsub - A subcomponent of a message in a message set
  - msgtext - The actual text of a message component in a message set
  - nonterminal - A non-terminal in an EBNF production
  - note - A message set off from the text
  - olink - A link that addresses its target indirectly
  - ooclass - A class in an object-oriented programming language
  - ooexception - An exception in an object-oriented programming language
  - oointerface - An interface in an object-oriented programming language
  - option - An option for a software command
  - optional - Optional information
  - orderedlist - A list in which each entry is marked with a sequentially incremented label
  - org - An organization and associated metadata
  - orgdiv - A division of an organization
  - orgname - The name of an organization
  - otheraddr - Uncategorized information in address
  - othercredit - A person or entity, other than an author or editor, credited in a document
  - othername - A component of a persons name that is not a first name, surname, or lineage
  - package - A software or application package
  - pagenums - The numbers of the pages in a book, for use in a bibliographic entry
  - para - A paragraph
  - paramdef - Information about a function parameter in a programming language
  - parameter - A value or a symbolic reference to a value
  - part - A division in a book
  - partintro - An introduction to the contents of a part
  - person - A person and associated metadata
  - personblurb - A short description or note about a person
  - personname - The personal name of an individual
  - phone - A telephone number
  - phrase (db.phrase) - A span of text
  - phrase (db._phrase) - A limited span of text
  - pob - A post office box in an address
  - postcode - A postal code in an address
  - preface - Introductory matter preceding the first chapter of a book
  - primary - The primary word or phrase under which an index term should be sorted
  - primaryie - A primary term in an index entry, not in the text
  - printhistory - The printing history of a document
  - procedure - A list of operations to be performed in a well-defined sequence
  - production - A production in a set of EBNF productions
  - productionrecap - A cross-reference to an EBNF production
  - productionset - A set of EBNF productions
  - productname - The formal name of a product
  - productnumber - A number assigned to a product
  - programlisting - A literal listing of all or part of a program
  - programlistingco - A program listing with associated areas used in callouts
  - prompt - A character or string indicating the start of an input field in a computer display
  - property - A unit of data associated with some part of a computer system
  - pubdate - The date of publication of a document
  - publisher - The publisher of a document
  - publishername - The name of the publisher of a document
  - qandadiv - A titled division in a QandASet
  - qandaentry - A question/answer set within a QandASet
  - qandaset - A question-and-answer set
  - question - A question in a QandASet
  - quote - An inline quotation
  - refclass - The scope or other indication of applicability of a reference entry
  - refdescriptor - A description of the topic of a reference page
  - refentry - A reference page (originally a UNIX man-style reference page)
  - refentrytitle - The title of a reference page
  - reference - A collection of reference entries
  - refmeta - Meta-information for a reference entry
  - refmiscinfo - Meta-information for a reference entry other than the title and volume number
  - refname - The name of (one of) the subject(s) of a reference page
  - refnamediv - The name, purpose, and classification of a reference page
  - refpurpose - A short (one sentence) synopsis of the topic of a reference page
  - refsect1 - A major subsection of a reference entry
  - refsect2 - A subsection of a refsect1
  - refsect3 - A subsection of a refsect2
  - refsection - A recursive section in a refentry
  - refsynopsisdiv - A syntactic synopsis of the subject of the reference page
  - releaseinfo - Information about a particular release of a document
  - remark - A remark (or comment) intended for presentation in a draft manuscript
  - replaceable - Content that may or must be replaced by the user
  - returnvalue - The value returned by a function
  - revdescription - A extended description of a revision to a document
  - revhistory - A history of the revisions to a document
  - revision - An entry describing a single revision in the history of the revisions to a document
  - revnumber - A document revision number
  - revremark - A description of a revision to a document
  - rhs - The right-hand side of an EBNF production
  - row (db.entrytbl.row) - A row in a table
  - row (db.row) - A row in a table
  - sbr - An explicit line break in a command synopsis
  - screen - Text that a user sees or might see on a computer screen
  - screenco - A screen with associated areas used in callouts
  - screenshot - A representation of what the user sees or might see on a computer screen
  - secondary - A secondary word or phrase in an index term
  - secondaryie - A secondary term in an index entry, rather than in the text
  - sect1 - A top-level section of document
  - sect2 - A subsection within a Sect1
  - sect3 - A subsection within a Sect2
  - sect4 - A subsection within a Sect3
  - sect5 - A subsection within a Sect4
  - section - A recursive section
  - see - Part of an index term directing the reader instead to another entry in the index
  - seealso - Part of an index term directing the reader also to another entry in the index
  - seealsoie - A See also entry in an index, rather than in the text
  - seeie - A See entry in an index, rather than in the text
  - seg - An element of a list item in a segmented list
  - seglistitem - A list item in a segmented list
  - segmentedlist - A segmented list, a list of sets of elements
  - segtitle - The title of an element of a list item in a segmented list
  - seriesvolnums - Numbers of the volumes in a series of books
  - set - A collection of books
  - setindex - An index to a set of books
  - shortaffil - A brief description of an affiliation
  - shortcut - A key combination for an action that is also accessible through a menu
  - sidebar - A portion of a document that is isolated from the main narrative flow
  - simpara - A paragraph that contains only text and inline markup, no block elements
  - simplelist - An undecorated list of single words or short phrases
  - simplemsgentry - A wrapper for a simpler entry in a message set
  - simplesect - A section of a document with no subdivisions
  - spanspec - Formatting information for a spanned column in a table
  - state - A state or province in an address
  - step - A unit of action in a procedure
  - stepalternatives - Alternative steps in a procedure
  - street - A street address in an address
  - subject - One of a group of terms describing the subject matter of a document
  - subjectset - A set of terms describing the subject matter of a document
  - subjectterm - A term in a group of terms describing the subject matter of a document
  - subscript - A subscript (as in H2 O, the molecular formula for water)
  - substeps - A wrapper for steps that occur within steps in a procedure
  - subtitle - The subtitle of a document
  - superscript - A superscript (as in x^2, the mathematical notation for x multiplied by itself)
  - surname - A family name; in western cultures the last name
  - symbol - A name that is replaced by a value before processing
  - synopfragment - A portion of a CmdSynopsis broken out from the main body of the synopsis
  - synopfragmentref - A reference to a fragment of a command synopsis
  - synopsis - A general-purpose element for representing the syntax of commands or functions
  - systemitem - A system-related item or term
  - table (db.cals.table) - A formal table in a document
  - table (db.html.table) - A formal (captioned) HTML table in a document
  - tag - A component of XML (or SGML) markup
  - task - A task to be completed
  - taskprerequisites - The prerequisites for a task
  - taskrelated - Information related to a task
  - tasksummary - A summary of a task
  - tbody (db.cals.entrytbl.tbody) - A wrapper for the rows of a table or informal table
  - tbody (db.cals.tbody) - A wrapper for the rows of a table or informal table
  - tbody (db.html.tbody) - A wrapper for the rows of an HTML table or informal HTML table
  - td - A table entry in an HTML table
  - term - The word or phrase being defined or described in a variable list
  - termdef - An inline definition of a term
  - tertiary - A tertiary word or phrase in an index term
  - tertiaryie - A tertiary term in an index entry, rather than in the text
  - textdata - Pointer to external text data
  - textobject - A wrapper for a text description of an object and its associated meta-information
  - tfoot (db.cals.tfoot) - A table footer consisting of one or more rows
  - tfoot (db.html.tfoot) - A table footer consisting of one or more rows in an HTML table
  - tgroup - A wrapper for the main content of a table, or part of a table
  - th - A table header entry in an HTML table
  - thead (db.cals.entrytbl.thead) - A table header consisting of one or more rows
  - thead (db.cals.thead) - A table header consisting of one or more rows
  - thead (db.html.thead) - A table header consisting of one or more rows in an HTML table
  - tip - A suggestion to the user, set off from the text
  - title - The text of the title of a section of a document or of a formal block-level element
  - titleabbrev - The abbreviation of a title
  - toc - A table of contents
  - tocdiv - A division in a table of contents
  - tocentry - A component title in a table of contents
  - token - A unit of information
  - tr - A row in an HTML table
  - trademark - A trademark
  - type - The classification of a value
  - uri - A Uniform Resource Identifier
  - userinput - Data entered by the user
  - varargs - An empty element in a function synopsis indicating a variable number of arguments
  - variablelist - A list in which each entry is composed of a set of one or more terms and an associated description
  - varlistentry - A wrapper for a set of terms and the associated description in a variable list
  - varname - The name of a variable
  - videodata - Pointer to external video data
  - videoobject - A wrapper for video data and its associated meta-information
  - void - An empty element in a function synopsis indicating that the function in question takes no arguments
  - volumenum - The volume number of a document in a set (as of books in a set or articles in a journal)
  - warning - An admonition set off from the text
  - wordasword - A word meant specifically as a word and not representing anything else
  - xref - A cross reference to another part of the document
  - year - The year of publication of a document
  - *:* - Any element from almost any namespace
  - mml:* - Any element from the MathML namespace
  - svg:* - Any element from the SVG namespace
III. Appendixes
Glossary
Index

List of Figures

List of Tables

1.1. Renamed elements
1.2. Recommended mapping for removed elements
3. Sample CALS Table
4. Sample HTML Table

List of Examples

1.1. DocBook V4.5 document
1.2. DocBook V5.0 document
2.1. A typical book
2.2. A typical chapter
2.3. A typical article
2.4. A sample reference page
4.1. A fragment of a CSS stylesheet
4.2. A fragment of an XSL stylesheet
4.3. A fragment of XQuery
5.1. Adding cleartext with a customization layer
5.2. Removing msgset
5.3. Removing msgentry
5.4. Removing computer inlines
5.5. Removing cmdsynopsis and funcsynopsis
5.6. Removing the sect4 and sect5 elements
5.7. Limiting recursive sections to three levels
5.8. Limiting recursive sections to three levels using Schematron
5.9. Removing admonitions from tables
5.10. Removing continuation from orderedlist
5.11. Removing common attributes
5.12. Adding a sect6 element
5.13. Adding born and died attributes
5.14. Changing role on procedure
5.15. Adding a value to an enumeration
25. A DSSSL Function
26. Example index terms
27. The Grand Unified Theory

List of Equations