DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide

Name

LiteralLayout -- A block of text in which line breaks and white space are to be reproduced faithfully

Synopsis

Mixed Content Model

LiteralLayout ::= ((LineAnnotation|#PCDATA|FootnoteRef|XRef|Abbrev|Acronym|Citation| CiteRefEntry|CiteTitle|Emphasis|FirstTerm|ForeignPhrase| GlossTerm|Footnote|Phrase|Quote|Trademark|WordAsWord|Link|OLink| ULink|Action|Application|ClassName|Command|ComputerOutput| Database|Email|EnVar|ErrorCode|ErrorName|ErrorType|Filename| Function|GUIButton|GUIIcon|GUILabel|GUIMenu|GUIMenuItem| GUISubmenu|Hardware|Interface|InterfaceDefinition|KeyCap| KeyCode|KeyCombo|KeySym|Literal|Constant|Markup|MediaLabel| MenuChoice|MouseButton|MsgText|Option|Optional|Parameter|Prompt| Property|Replaceable|ReturnValue|SGMLTag|StructField|StructName| Symbol|SystemItem|Token|Type|UserInput|VarName|Anchor|Author| AuthorInitials|CorpAuthor|ModeSpec|OtherCredit|ProductName| ProductNumber|RevHistory|Comment|Subscript|Superscript| InlineGraphic|InlineMediaObject|InlineEquation|Synopsis| CmdSynopsis|FuncSynopsis|IndexTerm)+)

Attributes

Common attributes

Tag Minimization

Both the start- and end-tags are required for this element.

Parameter Entities

Description

LiteralLayout is a verbatim environment. Unlike the other verbatim environments, it does not have strong semantic overtones and may not imply a font change.

Processing expectations

This element is displayed "verbatim"; whitespace and linebreaks within this element are significant.

Unlike ProgramListing and Screen, which usually imply a font change, LiteralLayout does not. How spaces are to be represented faithfully in a proportional font is not addressed by DocBook.

In DocBook V3.1, the Class attribute was added to give users control over the font used in LiteralLayouts. If the Class attribute is specified and its value is Monospaced, then the LiteralLayout will be presented in a monospaced font, probably the same one used for other verbatim environments. The default value for Class is Normal, meaning that no font change will occur.

 Future Changes

The InterfaceDefinition element will be discarded in DocBook V4.0. It will no longer be available in the content model of this element.

Parents

These elements contain LiteralLayout: Answer, Appendix, Article, BiblioDiv, Bibliography, BlockQuote, Callout, Caption, Caution, Chapter, Colophon, Dedication, entry, Example, Figure, Footnote, Glossary, GlossDef, GlossDiv, Important, Index, IndexDiv, InformalExample, InformalFigure, LegalNotice, ListItem, MsgExplan, MsgText, Note, Para, PartIntro, Preface, Procedure, QandADiv, QandASet, Question, RefSect1, RefSect2, RefSect3, RefSynopsisDiv, Sect1, Sect2, Sect3, Sect4, Sect5, Section, SetIndex, Sidebar, SimpleSect, Step, TextObject, Tip, Warning.

Children

The following elements occur in LiteralLayout: Abbrev, Acronym, Action, Anchor, Application, Author, AuthorInitials, Citation, CiteRefEntry, CiteTitle, ClassName, CmdSynopsis, Command, Comment, ComputerOutput, Constant, CorpAuthor, Database, Email, Emphasis, EnVar, ErrorCode, ErrorName, ErrorType, Filename, FirstTerm, Footnote, FootnoteRef, ForeignPhrase, FuncSynopsis, Function, GlossTerm, GUIButton, GUIIcon, GUILabel, GUIMenu, GUIMenuItem, GUISubmenu, Hardware, IndexTerm, InlineEquation, InlineGraphic, InlineMediaObject, Interface, InterfaceDefinition, KeyCap, KeyCode, KeyCombo, KeySym, LineAnnotation, Link, Literal, Markup, MediaLabel, MenuChoice, ModeSpec, MouseButton, MsgText, OLink, Option, Optional, OtherCredit, Parameter, Phrase, ProductName, ProductNumber, Prompt, Property, Quote, Replaceable, ReturnValue, RevHistory, SGMLTag, StructField, StructName, Subscript, Superscript, Symbol, Synopsis, SystemItem, Token, Trademark, Type, ULink, UserInput, VarName, WordAsWord, XRef.

In some contexts, the following elements are allowed anywhere: BeginPage, IndexTerm.

In some contexts, the following elements are excluded: Acronym, Footnote, IndexTerm.

Attributes

Class

Class distinguishes between literal layout environments that are presented in a monospaced font and literal layout environments that have no implicit font change.

Format

The Format attribute applies the linespecific notation to all LiteralLayouts. All white space and line breaks must be preserved.

Width

Width specifies the width (in characters) of the longest line in this LiteralLayout (formatters may use this value to determine scaling or rotation).

See Also

ComputerOutput, LineAnnotation, ProgramListing, Screen, ScreenShot, Synopsis, UserInput

Examples

<!DOCTYPE blockquote PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V3.1//EN"> <blockquote> <attribution>William Shakespeare, <citetitle>Henry V</citetitle></attribution> <literallayout> O, for a muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! </literallayout> </blockquote>

For additional examples, see also Part.

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