Two of the biggest (I would say) missions of S1000D are to enable the reusability of information and interoperability between different systems involved in the generation and use of technical publications.

Here are the definitions of these two terms:

“In computer science and software engineering, reusability is the use of existing assets in some form within the software product development process; these assets are products and by-products of the software development life cycle and include code, software components, test suites, designs and documentation.” — “Reusability,” Wikipedia

“Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system, whose interfaces are completely understood…

As with most of anything artificial in the world, technical publications are produced and used by human beings. These people make up “organizations and establishments,” as S1000D terms them in the quote below. To more efficiently identify these in data, these organizations and establishments receive a code, shortly named a “CAGE code.” S1000D defines it in the following way:

Commercial and Government Entity code (CAGE code)

The CAGE code is a unique identifier assigned to organizations and establishments, such as contractors, suppliers and customers. CAGE codes provide a standardized method of identifying a given facility at a specific location. …

Some Business Rules Decision Points (BRDP) in S1000D can’t be grouped with other BRDP because of their uniqueness and significance. I reserved each of these about a handful of BRDP a separate topic in a so-called linear topic map of S1000D BRDP.

For the full list of topics in the linear chain (topic map) of S1000D Business Rules Decision Points, refer to:

The above is also the case for deciding whether to use or not letters “I” and “O” in codes necessary for identifying various S1000D information objects and identifying the cases when you might not be able to do…

S1000D is unique. But it doesn't mean it reinvents completely what other technical standards and specifications offer. On the contrary, it makes good use of them. It enables the application of others that S1000D users might consider necessary for producing the technical publications for their products.

Take a look at chapter (Chap) 2.2 of the S1000D Issue 5.0, for example, and you will see tens of standards referenced in S1000D. Each of these relates to specific aspects, contents, and constructs defined in S1000D.

This technical specification has even a specific element carrying the name “technical standard.” …

It’s hard to start doing something. We often shy away from it.

It’s also hard to pursue a longer project, even if it might not be extremely long.

And then, it can be simply terrifying to finish that one project we pursued, however long it was.

The three fears might be quite different. Or rather, the reasons for the fear might be different. At first, we might be afraid to commit, then what if committing to this project is a mistake, and maybe we should better be doing something else completely.

But there is one reason that unites them all…

The main component of a technical publication is text, which includes data. And this text can be written in a myriad of languages.

But even for the same language, such as English, there will be nuances and variations.

These are already, at least partially, visible and identifiable in filenames of data modules, which are the smallest self-containing units of information comprising a technical publication produced in conformance with S1000D.

This article provides a mapping for Business Rules Decision Points (BRDP) regarding multiple aspects of the language used in the technical publication and project in focus.

Disclaimer, Abbreviations, and Conventions

For disclaimer, abbreviations, and conventions…

A quick reminder:

S1000D business rules are all the decisions made and followed in a project implementing this specification for technical publications.

Read more on the definition and the list of different topics these business rules cover in the following article.

This article presents you with Topic 1 of a linear chain I once came up with for the S1000D Business Rules Decision Points and which I titled “Contractual Decisions.”

I love saying that business rules definition starts before you sign a contract mentioning this technical specification as a requirement for the production of the technical publication, of which you…

There is probably no other S1000D concept as controversial as the S1000D business rules.

The business rules themselves are not an S1000D invention. Many other areas use the concept.

“A business rule defines or constrains some aspect of business and always resolves to either true or false. Business rules are intended to assert business structure or to control or influence the behavior of the business. Business rules describe the operations, definitions and constraints that apply to an organization. Business rules can apply to people, processes, corporate behavior and computing systems in an organization, and are put in place to help…