WikiPortland

Wiki Collaborative Document Server with Portland State Extensions. 12/23/1997

W. Robert Daasch, EE, Portland State University

The Wiki Collaborative Document Server is based upon Ward Cunningham's work which can be found at http://c2.com/cgi/wikibase?FrontPage.

Wiki concepts and basic structure are

• Simple format markup rules that are translated into a consistent HTML format.

• New pages can be added at any time, by any user with database access, by a simple forward reference.

• Pages new or old can be edited by anyone with access permission.

• Pages are owned by default WWW user, typically nobody.

Portland State Additions, Changes and Modifications

The Portland State version added a new, wiki command similar to the the original Wiki Search and URL facilities.

Collate - Any number of pages in a single database can be organized into a single page based on a user determined order. This was helpful when a completed document was needed as hard copy.

The Portland State version separates the embedded capitals of the page names in the HTML. This made the pages easier on the eye.

The Portland State version replaced the dbm database with a database using a common subdirectory. This eliminated a 4096 byte page restriction. To keep the connection simple and transparent

There is a one to one correspondence between a specific wiki .cgi script and a specific database. The .cgi script name is used to derive the name of its subdirectory.

This means that there is some duplication of support pages. This was a design decision for the simplicity of the day-to-day activity of writing and creating wiki documents.

The PSU Wiki also includes support utilities for access control.