Lesson2

Introduction of wikis software

There are many pieces of wikis software available, in this lesson, some of them will be introduced. So after this lesson you will be familiar with some software of wikis.

• Wiki Wiki Web (very nice): the original wiki, this one's plain and simple. WikiWikiWeb is written in Perl and requires no special database features on your Web host. One great feature of this wiki is the ability to autogenerate maps of the interlinked connections with surrounding pages. You can get WikiWikiWeb from the Running Your Own Wiki FAQ and the WikiBase page.

• UseMod (simple, excellent): a very simple-to-install Wiki -- the entire program is just a single Perl script. While it may seem like overkill to throw an entire Web application into a single script, UseMod is very compact, yet extremely powerful. The Meatball Wiki uses UseMod. Configurations are made through a convenient configuration file. UseMod has many features, including an RSS feed, but it manages to stay simple and easy to use. UseMod contains as many of the concepts of pure hypertext as can be implemented simply on the Web, including the handy ability to include bits of wiki content from other pages, a technique called Transclusion.

• Moin Moin (excellent, if you have Python): a simple to set up, powerful Wiki, if your Web host has Python support. MoinMoin also has user management support. The MoinMoin Wiki has more information on installing MoinMoin on the Install Documentation page.

• PHP Wiki (nice, if you have a database server, but complex): If you want a PHP Wiki, then PHP Wiki may be just what you want. It requires a SQL-based relational database server like MySQL or PostgreSQL to run. It has many features, including user authentication. Like TWiki, PHP Wiki has many features and can seem a bit complicated if you just want a simple wiki. Unlike most wikis, PHP Wiki has template support. Templates are hard to create and require a good understanding of PHP object oriented programming.

• TWiki (many features but somewhat confusing): Twiki is great because it has so many features, but at the same time, the amazing number of features also makes it confusing. If you have a lot of time, Twiki is immensely rewarding; if you don't, you will likely get lost. Twiki is often used by companies and workgroups because it has permissions systems, categorizing features, and even progress bars on TODO lists. Twiki is written in Perl as well; you can download it from Twiki's release page.

Tasks in this lesson

1. Which wikis software do you like most?

2. Post your ideas about these wikis softwares on the class wikis page.

Reflection

Discussion:Do you have any ideas when using these wikis software?