--- In dita-users@yahoogroups.com, "adam.solomon" <adam.solomon@...>
wrote:
> [...] As an example, we wish to derive from
> the base element <usercontrol>. We need to give the same element name
> to the derived element, in this case <usercontrol>.

Sorry, no can do. When you specialize, you have to choose an element
name that isn't already used. (Using DTDs, at least, which is the
normative DITA implementation. Using XML Schemas you might be able to
do more, but then it's not DITA any more.)

Which presents one solution that you may or may not like: ditch the
supplied software domain and clone it with the changes you need for
<uicontrol> (I assume that you are talking about <uicontrol>, because
out-of-the-box DITA doesn't have a <usercontrol>).

Or, depending on your authoring environment, you can have it fake a
default value for the attribute by inserting your desired value every
time the element is inserted by the user.

I'm sure that years from now DITA 2.0 will have support for XML
namespaces. That might have some impact on all of this, but not in
any timeframe that's immediately useful for you.