DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide

Making a DocBook Book

A typical book, in English at least, consists of some meta-information in an info (title, author, copyright, etc.), one or more prefaces, several chapters, and perhaps a few appendixes. A book may also contain bibliographys, glossarys, indexes, and a colophon.

Example 2-1 shows the structure of a typical book. Additional content is required where the ellipses occur.

Example 2-1. A typical book

<book>
<info>
  <title>My First Book</title>
  <author><firstname>Jane</firstname><surname>Doe</surname></author>
  <copyright><year>2010</year><holder>Jane Doe</holder></copyright>
</info>
<preface><title>Foreword</title> ... </preface>
<chapter> ... </chapter>
<chapter> ... </chapter>
<chapter> ... </chapter>
<appendix> ... </appendix>
<appendix> ... </appendix>
<index> ... </index>
</book>