Section D.3. Wikis

D.3. Wikis

A Wiki (or a WikiWikiWeb) is a web site where all the pages are editable via the browser. WikiWiki means quick in Hawaiian, which is what Wiki webs arequick to put together and quick to modify. More formally, Wiki webs are content management systems with very few hierarchies and controls. Wikis are well suited to building collaboration systems, since they have very flexible access controls and are easy to use. Wikis have simple text formatting rules that allow users to use rich markup tags without having to know any HTML. Wikis are implemented on a variety of platforms, with the LAMP platform leading the pack. Wikis use the filesystem or a small database as a content store and sometimes have a built-in caching layer.

In the enterprise context, Wikis can be used to provide a variety of solutions, including free-form collaboration sites, knowledge bases, and document management systems.

D.3.1. Wiki Capabilities

As you can see from the following subsections, Wikis have a variety of important capabilities in terms of content management and collaboration, as well as user management.

D.3.1.1 Basic features

• The ability to edit any page from a web browser

• Simple text formatting, the ability to create bold and italic words, and the ability to include hyperlinks to other Wiki pages and external web pages

• The ability to search across all Wiki pages

D.3.1.2 Content management and collaboration features

• The ability to attach files and build a simple document management process

• Revision control, which allows users to track changes to all files and attachments

• Templates and skins for changing the look and feel, headers, and footers of a collection of pages without affecting the content

• The ability to manage individual pages, and to delete and rename pages easily

• Topic locking, which keeps a page from being edited for a short time to prevent problems related to simultaneous page editing

D.3.1.3 User management features

• Access control, whereby users can control who gets access to different areas of the Wiki

• Web-based registration, with lost-password recovery

• Integration with existing authentication systems (e.g., Windows domain authentication or Active Directory)

D.3.1.4 Advanced usability feature

• Change notification of page updates through email or RSS

D.3.2. Recommended Open Source Wiki Projects

The Wiki software field is young, but at least one project is worth considering for every technology platform. Because Wikis get adopted in IT departments first, and because most installations undergo enhancements and customizations, the choice of platform is important. One particular flavor of Wiki stands out, in our opinion, especially in terms of features that make it a good fit for enterprises: TWiki (http://www.twiki.org/). Other projects to consider include MoinMoin, Media Wiki, and JSPWiki.

D.3.2.1 TWiki

TWiki is a flexible, powerful, and easy-to-use enterprise collaboration platform. It is a structured Wiki, typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet or on the Internet. Web content can be created collaboratively by using just a browser. Developers can create new web applications based on a plug-in API.

D.3.2.2 Product strengths

• It is fully useable from the browser.

• It is extensible via plug-ins. Many plug-ins are available.

D.3.2.3 Product weakness

• Its installation process is complicated.