What is a document in iiRDS?

A Document is an information unit for a deliverable meant to be regarded as a whole, such as operating instructions or a parts catalog. It is typed as iirds:Document and has its own IRI and metadata.

Does every iiRDS Document need a document type?

Yes. Each Document must have at least one document type from the iiRDS standard, assigned with iirds:has-document-type.

How do I add an existing PDF manual to an iiRDS package?

Describe it as a Document with a rendition whose format is application/pdf and whose source is the path of the file in the package, then add the document type and product metadata.

Can an iiRDS Document exist without a file?

Yes. A Document can be represented only by its topics, arranged in a table of contents built from directory nodes that point to the Document and to each topic.

What is the difference between an iiRDS Document and a Package?

A Document is one deliverable. The Package represents the whole delivery, and Documents can state that they belong to it with iirds:is-part-of-package.

Which information units are allowed in iiRDS/H?

iiRDS/H allows only Documents and Packages, and each Document needs at least one PDF/A rendition.

Wiki · iiRDS core concepts · Information units

iiRDS Document: the information unit for complete deliverables

An iiRDS Document represents a deliverable that is meant to be regarded as a whole: operating instructions, a maintenance manual, a parts catalog, instructions for use. It is the coarsest of the content-level information units and often the first one an organization uses, because existing PDF manuals can join an iiRDS package as Documents without being rewritten. This guide explains how the specification defines a Document, why every Document needs at least one standardized document type, how a Document can be a single file or an assembly of topics described by a table of contents, and how it differs from a Topic and a Package. It closes with a Turtle example and notes on migration, MedTech handover, iiRDS/H and AI retrieval.

Valid for iiRDS 1.3Last reviewed September 25, 2026Level: Introductory

Technical documentation
Machinery
MedTech
AI retrieval

Definition

In iiRDS (intelligent information Request and Delivery Standard), a Document is an information unit that collects information for a specific audience and purpose — for example an operating manual, a service manual or instructions for use (IFU).
Based on iiRDS Specification 1.3, iiRDS Consortium

The specification defines a document as an information unit that consists of an ordered set of information intended by the sender to be regarded as an entity. Maintenance manuals, operating instructions and sales catalogs are its examples. A Document must have at least one standard document type, assigned with iirds:has-document-type, for example iirds:OperatingInstructions or iirds:MaintenanceInstructions.

A Document can exist in two ways. It can point to a file, typically a PDF, through a rendition. Or it can exist without a file of its own, as a collection of topics arranged by a table of contents built from directory nodes.

Like every information unit, a Document has an IRI and carries its own metadata. The specification does not define inheritance of metadata from a Document to its topics, so each unit states what applies to it.

In one sentence

An iiRDS Document is the subclass of InformationUnit for an ordered set of information that the sender intends to be regarded as one entity, classified by at least one document type.

Example

A manufacturer of filling machines delivers the operating instructions for model F400 as one PDF. In the iiRDS package, the manual is a Document typed with iirds:OperatingInstructions, with one PDF rendition and metadata for the product variant and the lifecycle phase iirds:Operation. The maintenance instructions, by contrast, are authored as topics. Their Document has no file of its own: a table of contents made of directory nodes points to the Document and to each maintenance topic. A service portal can show both manuals in the familiar form and, at the same time, offer the maintenance topics one by one.

How it applies

Technical documentation

Use a Document for deliverables that are read, released or printed as a whole, and Topics for content delivered piece by piece. The document type tells a consuming system what kind of deliverable it is, such as operating, installation or repair instructions, independent of its file name or language.

Migration

A Document with a single PDF rendition is the lowest-effort entry into iiRDS. Legacy manuals become searchable by product and document type immediately. Chapters can later be exposed as separate units through a RangeSelector, and the manual can eventually be replaced by a topic-based Document.

MedTech

Instructions for use are typical Documents: approved as a whole, versioned, translated. Revision, language and content lifecycle status are metadata of the Document, and an information object can group its language versions. For archiving, iiRDS/A restricts formats; describing an IFU in iiRDS does not replace its regulatory review.

AI and retrieval

A Document gives retrieval a frame: product, document type, purpose. Indexing a PDF rendition in page ranges, while keeping the Document IRI and document type on every chunk, lets an assistant cite the right manual and page instead of an anonymous text passage.

Document vs. Topic vs. Package

Unit	Represents	File	Typical metadata
Document	One deliverable for a purpose	A rendition, or none when built from topics	Document type (required), product, language
Topic	One self-contained subject	Its rendition	Topic type, lifecycle phase, component
Package	The whole delivery	The ZIP archive with `metadata.rdf`	iiRDS version, format restriction

In iiRDS/H, only Documents and Packages are allowed, and each Document needs a PDF/A rendition.

In RDF

A PDF-based Document and a topic-based Document with a table of contents. Shown in Turtle for readability — inside a package, metadata.rdf is written in RDF/XML.

@prefix iirds: <http://iirds.tekom.de/iirds#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .

<https://example.com/iirds/operating-manual> a iirds:Document ;
    iirds:title "Operating instructions F400"@en ;
    iirds:has-document-type iirds:OperatingInstructions ;
    iirds:has-rendition [
        a iirds:Rendition ;
        iirds:format "application/pdf" ;
        iirds:source "content/operating-manual.pdf"
    ] .

<https://example.com/iirds/maintenance-manual> a iirds:Document ;
    iirds:has-document-type iirds:MaintenanceInstructions .

<https://example.com/iirds/toc/maintenance-manual> a iirds:DirectoryNode ;
    rdfs:label "Maintenance instructions F400" ;
    iirds:has-directory-structure-type iirds:TableOfContents ;
    iirds:relates-to-information-unit <https://example.com/iirds/maintenance-manual> ;
    iirds:has-next-sibling iirds:nil ;
    iirds:has-first-child [
        a iirds:DirectoryNode ;
        iirds:relates-to-information-unit <https://example.com/iirds/replace-air-filter> ;
        iirds:has-next-sibling iirds:nil
    ] .

In topic-based authoring and modular architectures

In topic-based authoring, a Document usually corresponds to a publication structure such as a DITA map or bookmap: the map defines which topics appear and in what order. In iiRDS, that order is expressed with directory nodes rather than with links between topics, so the same topic can appear in the operating and the maintenance instructions without being copied. A modular delivery architecture can therefore offer both views of the same content: the Document as a complete, releasable deliverable with its own rendition or table of contents, and its topics as independent units that a portal or assistant filters by metadata.

Concept cluster

How this concept connects to the other iiRDS core concepts.

Also searched as

iiRDS Document
iirds:Document
iiRDS document type
iirds:has-document-type
iiRDS document vs topic
PDF manual in iiRDS
document

Questions this article answers:

what is a document in iiRDS
how to add a PDF manual to an iiRDS package
iiRDS document type operating instructions
difference between iiRDS document and topic

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In the glossary

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Frequently asked questions

What is a document in iiRDS?: A Document is an information unit for a deliverable meant to be regarded as a whole, such as operating instructions or a parts catalog. It is typed as iirds:Document and has its own IRI and metadata.
Does every iiRDS Document need a document type?: Yes. Each Document must have at least one document type from the iiRDS standard, assigned with iirds:has-document-type.
How do I add an existing PDF manual to an iiRDS package?: Describe it as a Document with a rendition whose format is application/pdf and whose source is the path of the file in the package, then add the document type and product metadata.
Can an iiRDS Document exist without a file?: Yes. A Document can be represented only by its topics, arranged in a table of contents built from directory nodes that point to the Document and to each topic.
What is the difference between an iiRDS Document and a Package?: A Document is one deliverable. The Package represents the whole delivery, and Documents can state that they belong to it with iirds:is-part-of-package.
Which information units are allowed in iiRDS/H?: iiRDS/H allows only Documents and Packages, and each Document needs at least one PDF/A rendition.

Conclusion

The iiRDS Document is the unit for everything that is read, approved or handed over as a whole. It gives existing manuals a place in an iiRDS package from the start, and it can later become a structure of topics without losing its identity, its document type or its metadata.