<diagnostics-general>

The <diagnostics-general> element includes non-procedural information that can help determine the causes of a symptom. Results of the diagnoses might link to possible solutions.

Usage information

This element is useful for presenting non-procedural diagnostic information, for example, a diagnostic table or a flowchart. Non-procedural diagnostic information can be used when the symptoms can be observed and do not require people to take action.

Specialization hierarchy

The <diagnostics-general> element is specialized from <section>. It is defined in the troubleshooting module.

Content model

<title>?(<audio> | <dl> | <div> | <example> | <fig> | <image> | <lines> | <lq> | <note> | <object> | <ol> | <p> | <pre> | <simpletable> | <sl> | <table> | <ul> | <video> | <data> | <foreign> | <draft-comment> | <fn> | <indexterm> | <required-cleanup>)*?

Contained by

<diagnostics>

Optional Optional <title>Zero or more of the following
  • <audio>
  • <data>
  • <div>
  • <dl>
  • <draft-comment>
  • <example>
  • <fig>
  • <fn>
  • <foreign>
  • <image>
  • <indexterm>
  • <lines>
  • <lq>
  • <note>
  • <object>
  • <ol>
  • <p>
  • <pre>
  • <required-cleanup>
  • <simpletable>
  • <sl>
  • <table>
  • <ul>
  • <video>

Contained by

Inheritance

- topic/section troubleshooting/diagnostics-general

The <diagnostics-general> element is specialized from <section>. It is defined in the troubleshooting module.

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes.

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes.

Example

This section is non-normative.

This section contains examples of how the <diagnostics-general> element can be used. Implementations might well have different business rules for how to document troubleshooting.

Example 1. Example: Simple diagnosis

The following code sample shows how the <diagnostics-general> element can contain a table to help a reader determine the cause of a problem. The table then references the associated remedy.

<troubleshooting id="car-makes-funny-noises">
  <title>Car is making funny noises.</title>
  <shortdesc>You probably know how your vehicle sounds when it’s running
    properly. Listening to your car can help you troubleshoot problems. If
    you hear a strange sound, pay attention and react
    accordingly.</shortdesc>
  <troublebody>
    <diagnostics>
      <diagnostics-general>
        <simpletable frame="all" relcolwidth="1* 1*">
          <sthead>
            <stentry>Symptom</stentry>
            <stentry>Probable cause</stentry>
          </sthead>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Clunking noise on bumps only</stentry>
            <stentry>Struts. See <xref href="#./checkstruts"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Continuous clunking noise</stentry>
            <stentry>Ball joints. See <xref href="#./checkballjoints"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Ticks when in neutral</stentry>
            <stentry>Exhaust. See <xref href="#./checkexhaust"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Ticks only in reverse</stentry>
            <stentry>Brakes. See <xref href="#./checkbrakes"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Ticks in turns and curves</stentry>
            <stentry>CV joint. See <xref href="#./checkcvjoint"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Ticks only when cold</stentry>
            <stentry>Catalytic converter. See <xref href="#./checkcatalyticconverter"/>.
            </stentry>
          </strow>
          <strow>
            <stentry>Ticks only at slow speed</stentry>
            <stentry>Wheels. See <xref href="#./checkwheels"/>.</stentry>
          </strow>
        </simpletable>
      </diagnostics-general>
    </diagnostics>   
    <!-- The rest of this topic contains <troublesolution> elements, each of which
         contains a remedy. The cross references in the above steps resolve to the 
         <remedy> elements. -->
  </troublebody>
</troubleshooting>

The table in the <diagnostics-general> element might be rendered in the following way. The hyperlinks in the "Probable cause" column resolve to the <remedy> elements in the topic.



Example 2. Example: Rigorous diagnosis