DocBook 5.2.1: The Definitive Guide

Author: Norman Walsh

Editor: Richard Hamilton

Published in conjunction with XML Press

Version 5.2.22 for DocBook 5.2.1

Updated: 19 March, 2026

(back cover)

Table of Contents

Preface to the DocBook V5.2.1 Edition
Preface
Part I. Introduction
Part II. Reference
- I. DocBook Element Reference
  - *:* — Any element from almost any namespace
  - 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 componentV5.0
  - 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 extendedlinkV5.0
  - 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 collaborators
  - 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 — A raw entry in a bibliography
  - bibliography — A bibliography
  - biblioid — An identifier for a documentV5.0
  - bibliolist — A wrapper for a list of bibliography entries
  - bibliomisc — Untyped bibliographic information
  - bibliomixed — A cooked 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
  - buildtarget — Target of a buildV5.2
  - 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 publicationV5.0
  - danger — An admonition set off from the text indicating hazardous situationV5.2
  - 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) — A limited span of emphasized text
  - emphasis (db.emphasis) — Emphasized text
  - entry — A cell in a table
  - entrytbl — A subtable appearing in place of an entry in a table
  - enumidentifier — The identifier of a value an enumerated type can takeV5.2
  - enumitem — A value an enumerated type can take and its descriptionV5.2
  - enumitemdescription — The description of a value an enumerated type can takeV5.2
  - enumname — The name of an enumerationV5.2
  - enumsynopsis — The syntax summary for an enumerated-type definitionV5.2
  - enumvalue — The value an enumerated type can takeV5.2
  - 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 linkV5.0
  - 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 — A given name of a person
  - firstterm (db._firstterm) — The first occurrence of a term, with limited contentV5.1
  - firstterm (db.firstterm) — The first occurrence of a term
  - footnote — A footnote
  - footnoteref — A cross reference to a footnote (a footnote mark)
  - foreignphrase (db._foreignphrase) — A limited word or phrase in a language other than the primary language of the documentV5.1
  - foreignphrase (db.foreignphrase) — A word or phrase in a language other than the primary language of the document
  - formalgroup — A group of formal objects, for example subfiguresV5.2
  - 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
  - givenname — The given name of a personV5.1
  - 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 (db._glossterm) — A glossary termV5.1
  - glossterm (db.glossterm) — A glossary term
  - group (db.group) — A group of elements in a cmdsynopsis
  - group (db.group.methodparam) — A group of method parametersV5.1
  - group (db.group.paramdef) — A group of parametersV5.1
  - 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 blockV5.0
  - info (db.titleforbidden.info) — A wrapper for information about a component or other block without a titleV5.0
  - info (db.titleonly.info) — A wrapper for information about a component or other block with only a titleV5.0
  - info (db.titleonlyreq.info) — A wrapper for information about a component or other block with only a required titleV5.0
  - info (db.titlereq.info) — A wrapper for information about a component or other block with a required titleV5.0
  - informalequation — A displayed mathematical equation without a title
  - informalexample — A displayed example without a title
  - informalfigure — A untitled figure
  - informaltable (db.html.informaltable) — An HTML table without a title
  - informaltable (db.cals.informaltable) — A 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 extendedlinkV5.0
  - macrodef — A macro name and its return typeV5.2
  - macroname — The name of a macro (a code-generating function)V5.2
  - macroprototype — The prototype of a macro (code-generating function)V5.2
  - macrosynopsis — The syntax summary for a macro definition (code-generating function)V5.2
  - manvolnum — A reference volume number
  - markup — A string of formatting markup in text that is to be represented literally
  - mathphrase — A mathematical phrase 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
  - meta (db.meta.content) — A generic metadata elementV5.2
  - meta (db.meta.empty) — A generic metadata elementV5.2
  - methodname — The name of a method
  - methodparam — Parameters to a method
  - methodsynopsis — A syntax summary for a method
  - mml:* — Any element from the MathML namespace
  - 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
  - multimediaparam — Application specific parameters for a media playerV5.1
  - 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 metadataV5.0
  - 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 person's name that is not a first name, surname, or lineage
  - package — A software or application package
  - packagesynopsis — The syntax summary for a package definitionV5.2
  - 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 metadataV5.0
  - personblurb — A short description or note about a person
  - personname — The personal name of an individual
  - phone — A telephone number
  - phrase (db._phrase) — A limited span of text
  - phrase (db.phrase) — A 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 (db._quote) — A limited inline quotationV5.1
  - quote (db.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
  - result — A wrapper for identifying the results of a procedure or stepV5.1
  - 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
  - specializedtemplate — The specialization of a template identifier, in the generic programming senseV5.2
  - 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 H₂O, 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 x², the mathematical notation for x multiplied by itself)
  - surname — An inherited or family name; in western cultures the last name
  - svg:* — Any element from the SVG namespace
  - 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
  - synopsisinfo — Information supplementing synopsisV5.2
  - systemitem — A system-related item or term
  - table (db.html.table) — A formal (captioned) HTML table in a document
  - table (db.cals.table) — A formal table in a document
  - tag — A component of XML (or SGML) markupV5.0
  - 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.html.tbody) — A wrapper for the rows of an HTML table or informal HTML table
  - tbody (db.cals.tbody) — A wrapper for the rows of a table or informal table
  - td — A table entry in an HTML table
  - template — The definition of a template, in the generic programming senseV5.2
  - templatename — The identifier for a template, in the generic programming senseV5.2
  - 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.html.tfoot) — A table footer consisting of one or more rows in an HTML table
  - tfoot (db.cals.tfoot) — A table footer consisting of one or more rows
  - 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.html.thead) — A table header consisting of one or more rows in an HTML table
  - thead (db.cals.thead) — A table header consisting of one or more rows
  - 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 contentsV5.0
  - tocentry — A component title in a table of contents
  - token — A unit of information
  - topic — A modular unit of documentation not part of any particular narrative flowV5.1
  - tr — A row in an HTML table
  - trademark — A trademark
  - type — The classification of a value
  - typedefname — The name of a type aliasV5.2
  - typedefsynopsis — The syntax summary for a type-alias definitionV5.2
  - union — The definition of a union of types, which may be more than a nameV5.2
  - unionname — The name of a union of typesV5.2
  - unionsynopsis — The syntax summary for a union-of-types definitionV5.2
  - 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
- II. DocBook Assembly Element Reference
  - assembly — Defines the hierarchy and relationships for a collection of resourcesV5.1 Assembly
  - association — Identifies the type of relationship between one or more resourcesV5.1 Assembly
  - description — A description of a resource or resourcesV5.1 Assembly
  - filterin — Elements with effectivity attributes matching this element are allowedV5.1 Assembly
  - filterout — Elements with effectivity attributes matching this element are suppressedV5.1 Assembly
  - instance — Identifies a resource that is part of a relationshipV5.1 Assembly
  - merge — A wrapper for information that a module overrides in the resource it includesV5.1 Assembly
  - module — A modular component within a structureV5.1 Assembly
  - output — Specify an output format and/or file name and/or renderasV5.1 Assembly
  - relationship — A relationship associates one or more resourcesV5.1 Assembly
  - relationships — Groups relationship elements to define associations between resourcesV5.1 Assembly
  - resource — Identifies an object managed within the assemblyV5.1 Assembly
  - resources — Contains one or more resource objects that are managed by the assemblyV5.1 Assembly
  - structure — Describes the structure of a documentV5.1 Assembly
  - transform — Identifies a transform for converting from a non-DocBook schemaV5.1 Assembly
  - transforms — List of transforms for converting from non-DocBook schemasV5.1 Assembly
Part III. Appendixes
Glossary
Index

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Examples