<abbreviated-form>

The <abbreviated-form> element represents a reference to a term that might appear in an abbreviated form. The abbreviated form often is an acronym.

Usage information

The <abbreviated-form> element typically is used in conjunction with a glossary entry topic that defines a term and an acronym. The glossary entry topic might also provide a surface form that specifies both the term and the acronym. The surface form is intended to be rendered on first use or in introductory contexts where the term might be unfamiliar to a reader. In other contexts, processors typically render the abbreviated form of the term. Note that the definition of an introductory context will differ for every deliverable format and is highly processor-specific.

For instance, a process composing a book deliverable might render the surface form of a term on the first reference to the <glossentry> topic within the book or for every reference within a copyright or a warranty-related warning. A process generating an online page might render the surface form as a hover tooltip on every instance of the term.

Rendering expectations

See Rendering of abbreviated-form elements.

Specialization hierarchy

The <abbreviated-form> element is specialized from <term>. It is defined in the abbreviated-form domain module.

Content model

EMPTY

Empty

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes and @keyref.

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes and the attributes defined below.

@keyref
Specifies a key name that acts as a redirectable reference based on a key definition within a map. See STUB CONTENT for information on using this attribute.

For HDITA, the equivalent of @keyref is @data-keyref

Example

This section is non-normative.

This section contains examples of how the <abbreviated-form> element works in conjunction with a glossary entry topic that defines a term and its variations.

Example 1. Markup for a glossary entry topic

The following code sample shows the markup for a simple glossary entry topic:

<glossentry id="id-attribute-value">
  <glossterm>Anti-lock Braking System</glossterm>
  <glossBody>
    <glossSurfaceForm>Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)</glossSurfaceForm>
    <glossAlt>
      <glossAcronym>ABS</glossAcronym>
    </glossAlt>
  </glossBody>
</glossentry>

For the purposes of rendering, the code sample contains three important elements:

<glossSurfaceform>
Defines the term as it should be rendered on first use. Typically this is the long form of a term, followed by an abbreviation or acronym. Note that other languages often do not follow the same conventions as English.
<glossAcronym>
Defines the terms as it should be rendered on second or later us. Typically this is the acronym or abbreviation that is associated with the term.
<glossterm>
Provides a fallback version of the term, which will be displayed in situations where the preferred representation is unavailable.
Example 2. The glossary entry topic is associated with a key

In order for the <abbreviated-form> element to reference the glossary entry topic, the glossary entry topic must be associated with a key. This can happen using standard key definition, or a map architect can use the specialized <glossref> element"

<glossref keys="abs" href="antilock.dita"/>
Example 3. The <abbreviated-form> element references the key

The <abbreviated-form> element references the key defined for the glossary entry topic, for example:

<section>An <abbreviated-form keyref="abs"/> helps a driver to stop. For this reason 
many find an <abbreviated-form keyref="abs"/> useful.
<!-- ... -->
</section>

The typical rendering is that the first use of the <abbreviated-form keyref="ab"> will result in the surface form of the term, while subsequent usages will result in the acronym, as shown in the following screen capture:



Do note, however, that processors implement varying levels of support for the <abbreviated-form> element.