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The name of Wiki instantly brings to mind the vast resources available through Wikipedia; however there is much more to this word than that. The name Wiki is a Hawaiian word that means ‘’fast’ or ‘’quick’. Wiki is also referred to a particular segment of websites in which you can create an assembly of several web pages. These pages will be interlinked through a single web browser. Also used will be a markup language in the form of a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) text editor. These websites are also powered with the inclusion of Wiki software features and applications from the same source. These can be used by different people simultaneously; also important to note is the combined usability of most of these applications which will be available.
Collaborative usability of Wiki software applications is one of its key features and also its biggest advantage that is available for the users. Examples of this collaborative use can be seen through websites for community exchanges and social interactions; corporate intranets and websites for knowledge management are active names among those in a list of users of the software options. If you are into activities like personal notetaking there are several applications which will be well suited for the purpose. Wiki software has several uses and reasons which makes them popular and frequently referred to as well. These are often instrumental in providing you with access at different levels of functions and operations within the website; for instance with its applications you can access rights to make edits and modifications in content and images within the web pages. In some cases access is enabled without any permission and controls of checks for the same. However customisations are possible with the use of these applications too. You may incorporate controls and access restrictions for specific tasks like content changes and modifications while allowing access for other areas of operations.
The first developer of this software was Ward Cunningham. It was WikiWikiWeb that was his brainchild and has also earned the name of being one of the ‘simplest online database that could work’. Cunningham had developed this in the year 1994 in Oregon, USA; it was installed and incorporated within the internet domain c2.com in the following year in 1995. There are a few basic characteristics and features of Wiki that needs a clear understanding prior to its implementation and installation. This set of software developments that has taken place since the initial development by Cunningham are capable of a set of specific tasks helpful for many in their area of work; for instance with the use of this software you can easily edit a web page or even create a new one within a Wiki website. For this you may only have to use the plain-vanilla browser. Apart from this there will be no more add-on software or features necessary.
The next advantage that comes with its usage is a convenient and a meaningful setup of page linkage. This enables you to link pages that are more relevant in content easily. The software also helps you with its own references and insight about the existence of a page that is more relevant and if at all that exists. It will not only make your task easier but foolproof. Wiki websites are designed and structured in a way that has the potential to turn a casual visitor into a more focused one. Greater involvement of the average visitor is convincingly channelized towards a more creative and collaborative website environment. This brings out a newer look of the website on a periodic basis and gives rise to newer ideas as well. Websites are often made interesting by their changed and modified looks. However in this case there are many involved in the creative efforts besides you.
A distinct feature of Wiki is its simplistic form of web browsers and use of markup language. Users and visitors will thus need to have ability to write on such simplistic form of documents software. And this can also be used within a collaborative environment which makes multiple users possible even for the same page. The single web pages within a Wiki website are also known as Wiki Page; the varied pages within a single website is collectively referred to as the Wiki. These pages are all interlinked with hyperlinks. It helps to create a sort of database or a knowledge bank of data and information on specific topics of discussion. Ample scope is also available within these sites for improvement of the information by users who can modify and create new information bases within the pages. Researchers, students and even knowledge enthusiasts can easily access their required information at the click of a mouse now; and be assured of accurate and relevant information too. There is scope and provisions for users to open their minds here and ask questions to refute statements and express their point of view if they can substantiate information with different facts.
One of the key reasons for the popularity among users and frequency of usage can be safely attributed to the ease and comfort with which Wiki Pages can be created; likewise it is also easy for maintenance and update modifications. You will however not find any reviews available for perusal after you have made modifications. They are directly accepted and updated. In most cases of Wiki websites the users have the option of making changes and modifications within the content. For this the user does not even require to be a registered user or the member of a website. You can make any number of changes and modifications and see the same reflected within the content immediately. Users can refresh the page and see these changes for themselves. However this is also capable of initiating certain abuses within the system; for this there are private Wiki servers that ask for user authentication from users before allowing them to edit and make changes within the content of a web page. You will also find certain websites asking for similar information before allowing users to read through their content. It has been widely accepted and understood that one of the basic characteristics of Wiki pages is its openness and candid interaction with users; likewise this has also been one of the main reasons behind the abusive treatment of content modifications. Though this results in the creation of better and higher standards of content in its place, chances of false representations of data and information is also possible. Certain users will always access these features to make changes within accurate content and include their version of truth which is generally unacceptable; and till this is again changed back to an accurate and acceptable version there are several thousands of readers who will be exposed to such defaced data. Thus ironically one of the chief advantages and uniqueness of Wiki pages is also one of its greatest weakness.
In the sphere of editing the content on wiki pages there are several procedures that have been implemented by users. You will find a simple markup language being used for structuring and the formatting of the content on this type of web pages. You will find ample set of wikitext which refers to an asterisk that is presented at the start of a line ahead of a set of bulleted points. The style of language settings and the grammatical structure are always found to be different among the contents of different wiki pages. In some of these pages there is a use of HTML tags. HTML scripts usually contain cryptic tags that makes editing difficult which is why Wiki Pages are an easier solution for web designers. Here you can access plain text editing. Wikis are also enabling WYSIWYG editing applications available for designers and users. This is however not complete in itself with all the underlying features available in Wiki content. Another important aspect of Wiki pages is a complete record of all edits and modifications that have been made within its content. There are separate versions stored within each page of a website. This makes it easier to refer or even revert to facts and data almost instantly in case of an unauthorised change being made. Applications like MediaWiki has a edit summary in which a user has to summarise the nature of changes they have made within the content. This is an appendage that acts as a quick reference to the nature of changes made and the specific reasons behind them.
Wiki hosting services are also referred to as a wiki farm; this is a server that has several user friendly software tools and applications. At times the same reference is also used for an array of servers offering the same set of services. With the tools and applications one can implement in the development and structuring of Wikis. By this reference is made to the websites that are created. There was a time when Wiki farms were not in vogue and in existence; at such points of time people who designed and created Wiki websites had to use certain software installations handle the operations of servers on their own. However now with the popular use of Wiki farms there are servers in centralised locations where a complete administrative setup is already available for maintenance, upkeep and operations; they will install the core wiki software and the relevant codes on the server for your website uploads. There is an entire team of professionals available at these centers that will undertake complete responsibility of your website operations. They also ensure that adequate and enough space has been created within a server for your wiki website and its contents. This needs to be taken care of when there is a shared core code operating within the wiki websites. Another unique feature of Wiki farms is the presence of commercial and non-commercial facilities; these are available for both online communities and individual users. In a Wiki farm users are free to open their own Wiki without any hindrance of regulations. In case of some farms there are restrictions which need to be followed. Similarly for the sake of their revenue generation there are Wiki farms that offer commercial advertisement spaces for companies and others; however there are others who do not allow advertisements and promotions of an kind but impose a fixed monthly fee among users.
Wiki hosting services are available for free as well as in some cases for a price. There are companies that are engaged in the sphere of commercial Wiki hosting and thus there will be a price attached for their service ranges. This also stands for a state of the art range of technologies offered for your web hosting facilitated with high standards of efficiency. Moreover there are complicated programs and software applications like PHP, Apache, MySQL and Ruby on Rails that will be worked upon by professionals. Companies have a round the clock team of professional experts in the field who look into every aspect of operations and handling of your website management. It will be worthy of mention here that website owners and companies should be completely aware of the terms and conditions of the web hosting company. There are service providers who even delete your wiki without any prior notices or warnings. It’s vital that you have an appropriate system of backup of files and content created for your website. With some companies there are easy downloads of software applications with which you will be able to operate your wiki in any other location as well; for this you will need an opensource wiki engine where you will also be provided with complete backups of your data including the history of changes and modifications made at different points of time. However there are Wiki server hosts who provide proprietary markup languages and Wiki engines. There are several software applications available that are widely used by Wiki websites. Here is a brief discussion on a few among the commonly used ones.
Over the years there have been multiple companies that have used MediaWiki as part of their website management system. Companies like Novell has found this exceptionally useful when it comes to management of websites experiencing high volumes of visitors and internet surfers. Media Wiki has been found to be an effective solutions for groups and teams thus encouraging collaborative work environments; it has been put to use by students and professionals alike. The basic aspects of the software has been its effective capacity to manage websites at all levels regardless of their terabytes of content. Likewise this is also capable of handling several thousand clicks of website visitors per second. It is an incredible record especially for websites that experience high volumes of visitors; it is fully customizable too. Websites can set configurations depending on the kind of extensions and changes required for their work. There are amazing features that include bots and other semi-automatic tools useful for editing and modifications.
With this software you will be able to access a wide range of applications that are also available in any CMS package; the use of a browser based interface makes it even easier to carry out website management functions like maintenance of user accounts and personal information supplied through the same. Management menus and options along with RSS feeds and formatting options of page layouts on the basis of your requirements along with basic website administration are other added features available through TikiWiki. Within a single package there are multiple features available that is aimed at a wide range of functionalities. Compared to the core+extensions modeled software packages within other content management systems this is more effective and useful. As a result of multiple features being available at the same time there is a basic advantage of upgrades being carried out on all of them for better performance in the coming future; however you will also have to deal with an extended codebase that will be more than 1000,000 lines.
Among other advantages TikiWiki can be operated on any platform and is compatible with a web server with PHP5 as well as MySQL database for storage of configuration settings and other content of a website. There are four basic segments of the TikiWiki software. These are content creation and management tools, communication tools, configuration and administration tools and content organization tools and navigation aids. These are effective in the management and handling of website content. Webmasters as well as users alike are in greater control of user-friendly features with which they can communicate more effectively. There are large numbers of visual themes as well that users can choose from in TikiWiki. These are usable with the help of CSS and Smarty template engine. In case of customized requirements by companies for brand development you can create additional themes too with the help of TikiWiki administrator features.
PmWiki has a basic feature of using regular files in the function of content storage. On the web server there is a file for each Wiki in which the contents of the same are stored. The format used is ASCII and can be modified by the Wiki administrator directly. Another advantage of PmWiki is its compatibility on different systems and formats. You can not only store the data in them but even retrieve and access them. However the software is incapable of database compatibility on its default system. This can be easily achieved with the help of plug-ins – databases like MySQL and SQLite can be used for storage of data. The software is also compatible with different kinds of attachments on its Wiki pages. You can upload attachments in various ways onto your Wiki like attaching them to a group of pages or even each page individually; you can carry out the same process on the entire website. It will depend only on one aspect – the nature of your requirements and functional necessities. A well managed system also allows you with easy management capabilities of your uploaded files and attachments.
Another important feature that is noteworthy in PmWiki is the presence of web pages within Wiki Groups. Each group can be configured on the basis of its available options along with plug-ins, skins and sidebar menus, access controls, content language and the interface. In this software you will find an inbuilt hierarchical arrangement of the web pages. However if you wish to have a flat surface you can initiate customization to that effect without the presence of Wiki Groups. Some of the Wiki Groups that will be seen in PmWiki are Site and SiteAdmin along with Category; these contain documentation and configuration data and templates.
Normally in case of several Wiki engines you will find some of default features available as an inbuilt components. In case of WikkaWiki however there is a different aim with which it has been structured; and that is to keep the core of the software as simple and uncomplicated as possible. But that is in no way restrictive of the extent of services and functional features that the software has within its architecture. There are several add-on plug-ins with which the concept of extensibility can be supported. WikkaWiki is also supported by the use of MySQL relational database with which it offers high speed and extremely secure connectivity. In the month of March in 2011 the 1.3.1 version of the software was released. This is the latest that has been launched and includes several new features and applications of the software. Bug fixes and security up gradation of technology are a few of these new features.
Several distinctive features make WikkaWiki stand out along with others of the Wiki group of software applications. Primarily the software has a compatibility for various embedded aspects of the systems; these include images, HTML codes, RSS feeds, tabular data, Flash, i-frames and mindmaps among others. Secondly users will also experience greater access control in this software. It comes with more user-friendly management of websites with features like user ids and passwords for secured access along with user profiles and also access control lists within every page of the website. Webmasters and management staff members can use administration modules with which they can efficiently manage the web pages and their users. Tools such as those for operations like user removal and page reversion are available that makes heavy work easier and less time consuming. There are features and functional features related to web pages that are also some of its highlights. These include complete revision control and categorization of the web pages and their contents. Features like comments and text searching for your chosen topics along with applications like those of file uploads and downloading of contents are also incorporated. You will also find the GUI page editor which is a significantly useful applications.
The software is compatible with the use of different kinds of themes along with compliance for CSS, W3C and XHTML 1.0 transitional. Tools related to web page publications are also included. There are the latest RSS feeds with regards to the recent changes and modifications made within a web page; another important aspect is the WikiPing client operation features; in this aplication any change in a web page is reflected through and even followed through the WikiPing server which is usually at a different location. You will also find the SmartTitle feature in this software. This is an application that creates SEO friendly and viable page titles. There is a web based wizard that is used for the purpose of installation of the software package onto your system. Regular updates are also available from WakkaWiki. Within this software you will be able to locate user contributed or third party plug-ins too. This is a large collection that has been developed by users and are usually found to be largely useful and practical solutions to your requirements.
This is an overview of the exceptional range of Wiki software packages. Many of these are extremely popular among their users for various reasons of compatibility and functional extensibility. Besides the basic aspects of their operations there are several add-on features in each one of them which serve to be of profitable usefulness for websites – commercial and non commercial ones alike.
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