S1000D

S1000D is an international specification for the procurement and production of technical publications. It is an XML specification for preparing, managing, and publishing technical information for a product. It was initially developed by the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) for use with military aircraft. Since Issue the scope has been extended to include land, sea and even non-equipment products. It is widely used in civil as well as military products. S1000D is part of the S-Series of ILS specifications.

S1000D is maintained by the S1000D Steering Committee,[1] which includes board members from ASD, the United States' Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), and the Air Transport Association (ATA), along with national industry and defence representatives from most of the countries currently using the specification.

The specification is free to download and use, although it is recommended that advice be sought on the best methods for implementing an S1000D project. S1000D is not a one-size-fits-all solution - it is a many-sizes-fit-many solution; through a combination of business rules, selectable elements and customizable values the standard is tailored to meet the project requirements.

Main principles

S1000D requires information to be created as individual data items, called Data Modules (DM), which are structured with XML elements and metadata. Each DM is self-contained and may be used wherever that piece of information is needed. They are organised into an hierarchical XML structure through the use of Data Module Coding. This permits the updating of single data items without necessarily changing the path in the XML structure which points to them. Knowledge so partitioned and classified can therefore be shared among many publications, and updating of items in the underlying controlled source will automatically affect updating of the dependent publications. The actual XML hierarchy must be designed specifically for each different knowledge domain.

The DMs and supporting contents (graphics, multimedia, publishing information, training packages, etc.) are usually stored and maintained using a Common Source Database (CSDB). The CSDB will typically contain all the components required for a product's Interactive Electronic Technical Publication (IETP) - which is all the elements required across all disciplines for the production of a suite of documentation for the operation and maintenance of the product. Another common term often related to S1000D is Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) which is usually considered as an individual manual that is part of the IETP. Due to the flexibility of XML, these IETM may range from a printed (paper or simple page-presentation) manual, through to a fully interactive digital manual with rich media, learning opportunities and multiple formats of delivery.

Associated specifications

S1000D is part of the S-Series of ILS specifications. There is an interface specification with S3000L Issue 1.0,[2] titled S1003X[3]

For S1000D content in English, the language should adhere to ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English.[4]

Availability

S1000D can be downloaded for free at its official project website.

Issue history

Prior to Issue 2, updates to the specification were known as Changes. When the standard reached Change 9, the proposed Change 10 became Issue 2.0 with previous Changes retro-referred to as Issue 1.x. Issue 1.6 was the first publicly published version of S1000D and was notable as the first issue to include operator information (Crew) as well as maintainer content. Issue 1.7 onward are available for download from the official S1000D website.

Change history of S1000D

Issue	Date	Base language	Amendments
1.6	31 Mar 1995	SGML DTD
1.7	01 Feb 1998	SGML DTD
1.8	31 Jan 1999	SGML DTD	1.8.1 dated 31 May 2000
1.9	01 Apr 2001	SGML/XML DTD
2.0	31 May 2003	SGML/XML DTD, XML schema
2.1	29 Feb 2004	SGML/XML DTD, XML schema
2.2	01 May 2005	SGML/XML DTD, XML schema	2.2.1 dated 01 May 2006 (XML schema only)
2.3	28 Feb 2007	SGML/XML DTD, XML schema	2.3.1 dated 01 Feb 2009
3.0	31 Jul 2007	SGML/XML DTD, XML schema	3.0.1 dated 01 Feb 2009
4.0	01 Aug 2008	XML schema	4.0.1 dated 12 May 2009 4.0.2 dated 09 Oct 2013
4.1	31 Dec 2012	XML schema	4.1.A dated 31 Oct 2014 4.1.B dated 30 Jun 2017
4.2	31 Dec 2016	XML schema	4.2.A dated 31 May 2019 (specification only; no schema changes)
5.0	28 Jun 2019	XML schema	5.0.A dated 01 Nov 2019 (specification only; no schema changes)

Software solutions

S1000D does not provide, nor endorse any software tools to produce or distribute content in accordance with the standard.

Authoring Software

There are many options for creating and maintaining content to the S1000D specification. These range from using a text editor or simple XML tools, with data modules manually maintained in a file system, up to a full ILS solution where design and maintenance information drives the technical publications through proprietary databases and authoring tools. S1000D has always been agnostic in defining tools, instead offering guidance on expected functionality and allowing vendors to offer suitable solutions. Every project is different and thus each solution should be considered and tailored to the desired outcomes.

Viewer Software

In the same way that there are multiple CSDB and authoring solutions, there are many viewers and potentials to customise output to suit the project. S1000D offers extensive guidance on presentation of page-based and electronic output, but ultimately it is a project's decision as to how the content should be delivered. Many factors will drive the practicability of various solutions, such as environment, audience, availability of technology, security and more.

See also

• ATA 100
• IETM
• Common Source Data Base

References

1. S1000D official homepage
2. S3000L, "International procedure specification for Logistics Support Analysis LSA", April 2010, published by ASD/AIA
3. S10003X, "S1000D to S3000L Interchange specification", March 2011, published by ASD/AIA
4. "The official home of ASD Simplified Technical English, ASD-STE100 (STE)". Retrieved 30 January 2014.