Basics for creating a Wiki-like web application?

Question

Hi folks,

I need to implement wiki-like functionality within a website.

Problem is that I am not fully aware of what it might require and therefore predict a long set of refactoring till I actually nail a good version.

I tried looking for some guidelines, but haven't found much.

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Any ideas? Help would be wonderful

Answer 1

Is there a specific reason you cant utilise an off the shelf project? DokuWiki is PHP based and easy to set up, once you deploy you then can easily alter to fit your needs if you have knowledge of PHP...

Answer 2

http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/DjangoResources is listing several wiki applications for django.

You may be able to use one for your project as least as a source of inspiration.

I hope it helps

Answer 3

There's an industry standard there. If it was me and I was called upon to write a technical requirements document for a new Wiki, I'd start with the features page of Wikipedia. Then, I'd attempt to use the tools in a dev operation, determining the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation. Wikipedia is built for the masses, so there's certainly improvements you can make on the interface and layout that will better suit your needs if you choose to go this route.

Documentation and a roadmap is key to less factoring in development (regardless of language) If you go in without a plan, you'll inevitably cause yourself headaches and require yourself to go back to refactor. It's always better to build with a goal in mind and stick to a quality plan. Obviously, we all know in this industry that the other key is to realize that often those plans are well intentioned but woefully short, so those of us who are most able and willing to adapt are going to be the most likely to succeed.

Answer 4

Rather than re-invent the wheel, I'd suggest you have a long look at DokuWiki. Not only does it provide a very simple method for embedding PHP within Wiki apges (I've built several applications relying on just this) its easy to extend and the rendering engine is easy to embed into your own code. An easy way to use the rendering engine is to just write your app as a DokuWiki template.