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Prerequisite software

The software that DITA-OT requires depends on the output formats you want to use.

Software required for core DITA-OT processing

DITA-OT requires the following software applications:

  • Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)

    DITA-OT 4.0 is designed to run on Java version 17 or later and built and tested with the Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK). Compatible Java distributions are available from multiple sources:

    • You can download the Oracle JRE or JDK from oracle.com/java under commercial license.
    • Eclipse Temurin is the free OpenJDK distribution available from adoptium.net.
    • Free OpenJDK distributions are also provided by Amazon Corretto, Azul Zulu, and Red Hat. Note: This is the only prerequisite that you need to install. All other required software is provided in the distribution package, including Apache Ant™ 1.10.12, Saxon 10.6, and ICU for Java 70.1.

Software required for specific transformations

Depending on the type of output that you want to generate, you might need the following applications:

  • Microsoft Help Workshop

    Required for generating HTML help. You can download the Help Workshop from msdn.microsoft.com.

  • XSL-FO processor

    Required for generating PDF output. Apache™ FOP (Formatting Objects Processor) 2.5 is included in the distribution package. You can download other versions from xmlgraphics.apache.org/fop. You can also use commercial FO processors such as Antenna House Formatter or RenderX XEP.