MediaWiki

MediaWiki is a Moteur of wiki for the Web which is in particular used by the whole of the projects of the Fondation Wikimédia, the whole of the wikis lodged at Wikia and also many others wikis, of which some belong to the most famous wikis and most known. Conceived at the base to meet the need for Wikipédia, this engine is also used today by companies as a solution of Knowledge management and like a Management system of contents. The American company Novell uses it in particular for several of its Web sites which convey important a Web traffic. Other associations also adopted it (for example Wikitravel, Mozilla or Ekopedia).

MediaWiki is written in, and can as well function with the basic Management system of data MySQL as PostgreSQL. MediaWiki is a Free software distributed according to the terms of the license GNU LPG.

MediaWiki includes functionalities specific to the encyclopedia: the management of the spaces of names, the use of pages of discussion associated in each article.

History

At the base, the software was written for Wikipédia by Magnus Manske, developer and German student of the Université of Cologne. Previously, Wikipédia used a small engine of wiki written in Perl called UseModWiki. Then, on January 25th, 2002, Wikipédia changed engine of wiki for that of Manske which made it possible to have of more than functionalities and a more extensible infrastructure (thanks to a database MySQL). However, the first implementation being pitiful from a point of view performance, Lee Daniel Crocker thereafter decided to rewrite it mainly, and later, Brion Vibber became the most active developer and took about it the role of leader of the software exits. From the release of the first version of the script of Manske, several names representative of the state of the software were given to him: “script PHP”, “phase II”, “phase III”, “the new source code”. However it was equipped with no name of product. After the Fondation Wikimédia was announced on June 20th, 2003, the wikipédien Daniel Mayer found the name MediaWiki by word game to him on the name “Wikimedia” and this new name started gradually to become known since August 2003. Because of its great similarity with the name Wikimédia (which itself is already similar to the name Wikipédia), this name often caused confusion. However, MediaWiki became a true name with whole share, a research on this name with Google lasting April 2007 returned more than 165 million results. The logo was created by Erik Moeller starting from a photograph of a flower taken by Florence Nibart-Devouard, and was subjected in an original manner to the international contest of the new logo for Wikipédia which was held during the summer 2003. The logo finished in third place, and was selected to represent MediaWiki rather than Wikipédia. The logo having finished second as for him was used to represent the Wikimédia foundation and the first for Wikipédia. The double hooks on the photograph around the Tournesol symbolize the Syntaxe used by MediaWiki to create Hyperliens towards the other pages of the wiki.

MediaWiki in the beginning was especially written for Wikipédia by the student and German developer Magnus Manske. Wikipédia used before the software UseModWiki (known under the name of “Phase I”). The swing towards MediaWiki (“Phase II”) took place on January 25th, 2002.

At mid the 2002, the software still was rewritten and improved (“Phase III”). It is starting from this stable base that a incremental development was organized to lead to the current versions.

In the middle of the year 2003, the program - hitherto anonymous - is baptized MediaWiki and of the regular publications start to be made for the not-users of Wikipédia. This name was selected to make a pun with the foundation Wikimedia, the organization mother of Wikipédia. However, he is sometimes criticized for his too great similarity with Wikimedia, which causes sometimes confusions among the uninitiated persons of the project. -->

Versions

Strong points

MediaWiki is provided basic with a whole of elaborate functionalities and a system of extensions enabling him to integrate additional functions. Because of the strong presence of the plurilingualism in the Wikimédia projects, the part Internationalisation profited from a very detailed attention on behalf of the developers. The interface completely or was partially translated in more than 70 languages, and can be personalized by the administrators of the site (the whole interface can be modified directly on the site). Being given that Wikipédia is one of the Web sites most visited in the world, the developers took a care very particular to extensibility thanks to a multi-layer system of Mise out of mask and basic Duplication of data. Wikipédia and the other Wikimedia projects are currently always at the origin of most of the criteria of realization of MediaWiki.

Bonds

One of the oldest differences between MediaWiki and the other engines of wiki (the same applies to its predecessor UseModWiki) is the use of free Liens instead of the CamelCase (breakage of camel). Where usually the others wiki need to write “WorldWideWeb” in only one word to produce a bond towards the page of the same name, MediaWiki does not impose any constraint to him, it is simply enough to place the expression which one wishes to bind between double hooks. All the spaces contained in the expression are thus preserved like World Wide Web . That proves to be essential to be able to produce an encyclopedia in which the precision of the titles is sometimes very important.

Spaces of name

In addition to the bonds, MediaWiki is equipped with many other functionalities to structure the contents. One of the oldest functionalities is the system of Espace of name. For a long time, the separation of the discussions around Wikipédia and its encyclopedic contents constituted a real problem. And the same applies with the personal pages devoted to the wikipédiens. In a simplistic way, spaces of name can be summarized with prefixes used in the title of the pages (for example “User: ” or “Discussion: ” what makes it possible a page to exist under several names, but with different purposes according to the prefix. For example, the page entitled “ Terminator ” can describe the film of 1984 putting in scene Arnold Schwarzenegger, while the page “ Utilisateur: Terminator ” can be a personal page describing a user having chosen this name for pseudonym. In a more usual way, each encyclopedic page is associated with a page of discussion the purpose of which is to make it possible Wikipédiens to discuss the article. By comparison with the filesystems, spaces of name can be comparable with the files which make it possible to separate several of the same files name. Although it is possible to add spaces of names, their number in a wiki is usually relatively weak.

Under-pages

In addition to spaces of names, the pages can be structured using under-pages. A page having for title " A" can have several under-pages whose title must be form " A/x". The under-page then proposes automatically a Lien of return towards the mother page (of the form " < A")

The modifiable interface

The interface of MediaWiki can be completely changed directly on the wiki itself by the users who have the right of it (usually they are the people which is called administrators). That is done thanks to a space of particular name which corresponds to the prefix “MediaWiki: ” where each page corresponds to a precise message of the interface. At the origin, the space of name “MediaWiki: ” was used to create personalized blocks of text which can be dynamically charged in the other pages using a special syntax. These contents were moved later in a space of name to share called “Model: ”.

Models

The models are pieces of text which can be in charge of dynamic way in another unspecified page. For that it is enough to call the model by writing its name between double Accolades (it is to some extent about a special bond). The models have their own space of names which corresponds to Model prefix the “: ”. For example to call upon the model being in the page entitled “Model: Disputed”, it is enough to write “” at the place of a page to which one wishes to see appearing the contents of the model in question. In this case the model not having any Parameter, it is sometimes described as label (or tag). To place this tag in an article will result also in automatically to add the article in the category having for objective to gather the articles having like common point to affirm information disputed. The models can be adapted to various situations thanks to the use of parameters, of kind so that the text produces harmony with the particular cases. Another somewhat similar method, called substitution, can make it possible to insert the contents of the model in the target page. This is carried out by adding the prefix “subst: ” between the double accodances before the name of the model. That makes it possible to produce a result similar to that of a Copy-to stick and the model is not thus called any more by there. On the other hand any change brought to the model will not have any effect in the page in which the model was substituted there. Substitution limits the coherence of the use of the models, but can be practical in certain cases, and is (perhaps) less greedy in resources waiter. The models are used many different manners, like:

identification of problem with an article of Wikipédia while placing a model in the article. This model then produced a rectangle indicating that the article is disputed, and categorizes it consequently occasion so that the articles of this nature all are gathered together;
the creation of complicated fitting of table which is used in a coherent way through several pages, and only where the contents of the tables must be inserted while using the parameters of the model;
the sending of standard messages to the users when they do not have any more the right to write anything (when their behavior is regarded as incorrect).

The multi-media one

As lets it suppose the name MediaWiki, one of the strong points of the software is its capacity to manage a broad variety of files multimedia (the latter can be sent on the wiki directly thanks to the interface) and it is particularly true with regard to the images. If the software is well configured, it is then relatively easy to produce galleries of images and labels. The software also manages the Métadonnées Exif. The need for making turn Wikimedia Commons (one of the largest files of media of Contained free) with MediaWiki caused contribution in functionalities of this type.

Such-such (WYSIWYG)

Currently, MediaWiki is equipped with no interface WYSIWYG, although it has a graphic bar of tools which makes it possible to simplify the process of training of syntax wiki. It is however possible to have an graphical interface for the drafting of article using an extension called FCKeditor.

Sections

MediaWiki makes it possible to modify only part of a page (a sub-section) in order to make more comprehensible the modification of possible a long page (as that can be the case with Wikipédia). The section is then identified by its heading.

Elaborate contents

MediaWiki is also provided with functionalities making it possible to manage contents worked out thanks to a special syntax. For example, the software allows origin to produce mathematical formulas using LaTeX and of a parser written in OCaml. Other functionalities of the kind exist in the form of extension, energy of the chronological planks while passing by the layout of mathematical curves and the partitions of music to the Egyptian hiéroglyphes.

The interface personnalisable

If the option is activated, the users can also personalize their style sheet and configure JavaScript code on the side of the customer so that it is carried out on each visited page. For example, the navigation system by popup of Lupin is a JavaScript tool which shows outlines of articles when the user passes the mouse to the top of a bond, and also give bonds towards the usual tasks of maintenance. wikEd is another example, a text editor integrated into MediaWiki with many functionalities which brings syntactic coloring and functions to seek and of replacement.

Groups and rights of access

Although MediaWiki has basic a whole of functions related to the restriction, the access and the definition of user groups, the access control to the pages does not seem to constitute an element of high priority in the development process. For example, it is not possible to define permissions of access to the pages according to the space of name. Here, the wikis like TWiki and MoinMoin bring more power by managing advanced mechanisms of safety like access control lists.

Extensions

The source code of MediaWiki contains several “hooks” to which can be attached additional code. That makes it possible to the programmers to write extensions without changing the base or obliging them to subject their code to a control of revision. Most of the time, to install an extension amounts adding a line of code in the file of configuration, although in certain cases, of the changes on the level of the database is in more necessary. Many extensions available are in fact simple scripts making it possible to integrate contents like files Adobe Flash or forms HTML. Other scripts add new behaviors complicated to syntax wiki. It is the case of Semantic MediaWiki which gives the possibility of adding relations structured and punishable and attributes in the wiki pages (semantic cf Web). The Wikimédia foundation holds a waiter Subversion on which many extensions are lodged, and directory of them is available on the Web site of MediaWiki.

Performances

Being given that MediaWiki is used to make turn Wikipédia, which is one of the sites of the World Wide Web which conveys the most information, the performances of the engine and its Extensibilité was optimized in an increased way. MediaWiki manages the masks Squid, the duplication of databases with Répartition of load, the setting out of mask on the side of the customer, the Memcached or the setting out of hiding place based on the tables for the frequently consulted treatments or the results of current requests, in the shape of a simple file of static mask, with reduced functionalities, the compression of the old versions, and a queue of the jobs for the basic operations of data. It may be that MediaWiki is oversize for a use of reduced size, where its broad whole of functionalities and its interface at the end have a cost in term of performance. On another side, the software is appropriate perfectly for the operations of the firm wikis, like the project Wikimédia and the family of language. However, MediaWiki is not equipped with functionalities to manage such installations.

Limits

Put aside the lack of interface WYSIWYG mentioned previously, several remarks can be made in MediaWiki: the fact that its documentation only available on the Net (not of printed version) and that it is not owner (tens of authors took part in its drafting). The installation and the use of the MediaWiki software are not very intuitive for an inexperienced user (compared with other software like FrontPage for example). There is no finished definition of the syntax of MediaWiki, syntax is defined by code PHP of the parser, and it may be that a definition of syntax in the form EBNF is impossible. For this reason to produce an editor WYSIWYG or a complete adaptation of the analyzer for other language is a difficult task.

See too

the foundation Wikimedia
the encyclopedic project Wikipédia
Wikia, free shelterer of wikis using MediaWiki like engine of wiki

External bonds

Official site of Mediawiki
Official site of Mediawiki

Some sites functioning with MediaWiki

MediaWiki on the site Wikimedia meta

Simple: MediaWiki Zh-min-nan: MediaWiki

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