Mediawiki

MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software platform, written in the PHP programming language. It was originally developed for use on Wikipedia and is now used by several other projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, as well as many other wikis around the world. MediaWiki is designed to allow large, collaborative editing projects to easily manage and publish their content.

Features

MediaWiki offers a wide range of features designed to facilitate collaborative editing. These include a simple yet powerful syntax for editing pages, a comprehensive revision history that tracks changes to each page, support for user management and permissions, and the ability to categorize pages for better organization. MediaWiki also supports the uploading and management of multimedia files, such as images and videos, which can be embedded in wiki pages.

Extensions

One of the strengths of MediaWiki is its extensible architecture, which allows developers to create extensions that add new features or modify existing functionality. There are extensions for a wide range of purposes, including but not limited to, advanced content management, user rights management, and visual editing interfaces. The VisualEditor extension, for example, provides a WYSIWYG editing experience, making it easier for users without knowledge of wiki markup to contribute.

Deployment

MediaWiki can be deployed on virtually any web server that supports PHP and a database, such as MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite. Its installation process is straightforward, and it comes with a configuration script that guides administrators through the setup process. MediaWiki's scalability allows it to serve anything from small projects to large, high-traffic sites like Wikipedia.

Usage

While MediaWiki is most commonly associated with Wikipedia, its use extends to a wide variety of projects outside the Wikimedia Foundation. Educational institutions, corporations, and private individuals use MediaWiki for documentation, internal knowledge bases, and community projects. Its flexibility and robust feature set make it suitable for compiling and organizing information in a collaborative environment.

Development

The development of MediaWiki is actively maintained by a community of volunteers and Wikimedia Foundation staff. The software is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which ensures that it remains free to use, modify, and distribute. Regular updates are released to improve functionality, add new features, and address security concerns.

See Also

• Wiki software
• Wikipedia
• Wikimedia Foundation