Category:MediaWiki: Difference between revisions

|language        = Multilingual<!--for interface only, e.g. English, Multilingual, Japanese etc; not for support or meta wiki-->

<big>'''MediaWiki'''</big> ('''MW''') is the {{tag|wiki engine}} software package that runs or 'powers' this [[WikiIndex]] wiki site.  Originally designed, created, and developed for the then fledgling [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]] wiki site in {{tag|Founded in 2002|2002}} (though <u>not</u> the original wiki engine that powered the [[Nostalgia Wikipedia|original Wikipedia]] from [[:Category:Founded in 2001|2001]]; that was the [[:Category:Perl|Perl]]-based [[:Category:UseMod Wiki|UseMod Wiki]] software); MediaWiki [[:Category:Software|software]] is now used by the most active and [[Wikis with the most pages|largest wiki sites]].  MediaWiki is also used extensively, ''and'' exclusively by all other wiki sites hosted by the {{tag|Wikimedia Foundation}} (WMF) (including all of their wiki '{{WMF-Meta|Wikimedia projects|projects}}'); along with many, <u>many</u> other [[:Category:Independent|independently]]-hosted [[:Category:All|wiki sites]].  MediaWiki is also the software of first choice to power many different [[:Category:Free MediaWiki wiki farm|free]] and commercial [[:Category:MediaWiki wiki farm|wiki farms]].

After it was discovered that the [[:Category:UseMod Wiki|UseMod Wiki]] software was not adequate nor appropriate to power a wiki-based [[:Category:Encyclopedia|encyclopedia]], a new software solution was required for [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]].  The initial 'pre-version' software (known as 'Phase II (2) software' in Wikipedia circles) was created by [[Magnus Manske]], and was used on all available Wikipedia versions from 25 January {{tag|Founded in 2002|2002}}.  A 'Phase III (3) software' became the first 'official' <u>'''MediaWiki'''</u> software, and this was a substantial re-write of Phase II by [[Lee Daniel Crocker]]; this new 'MediaWiki' software was first used on the [[English Wikipedia]] on 20 July 2002.

MediaWiki is compiled and written in the {{tag|PHP}} programming language, and is probably one of the most widely deployed wiki engines in the global [[wikisphere]].  Some might argue that a [[WhatIsWiki|wiki]] should be more simplistic, with fewer features; however, MediaWikis' design,<!--avoids many of the clutter / feature–creep problems that can appear in other mature wiki engines--> and its prolific success speaks for itself.  MediaWiki has spawned many clones, or '[[:Category:Fork|forks]]', the most notable being [[:Category:Wikia|Wikia]] (now branded as Fandom), along with [[:Category:GetWiki|GetWiki]] (created for [[Wikinfo|Wikinfo.org]]).  MediaWiki is extremely highly (and constantly) developed, it is feature-rich, {{tag|open source}}, and is now very complex {{tag|free software}}, that is released under version 2 of the {{tag|GNU General Public License}} (GNU GPL v2).  MediaWiki requires either [[:Category:MySQL|MySQL 5.0.2+]], [[:Category:PostgreSQL|PostgreSQL]], or [[:Category:SQLite|SQLite]] for data storage; it can <u>not</u> use 'flat-file' data storage.

In December [[:Category:Founded in 2008|2008]], a guy found [[Archive.org:20130121165457/http://CS.Brown.edu/~pavlo/mediawiki|all open installs]] ([[Archive.org]] link) of the MediaWiki code.  And until mid-[[:Category:Founded in 2013|2013]], there used to be the [[Archive.org:20130508132829/http://MWusers.com/forums/forum.php|MediaWiki Users forums]] (Archive.org link).

:add <tt>/Special:Statistics</tt> at the end of the URL – [[Cambridge-Dictionary:eg|e.g.]] <code><nowiki>https://YourWikiURL.org/wiki/Special:Statistics</nowiki></code> (non-English [[:Category:Wiki Language|language]] interface versions will automatically convert this to their actual language).  Dependent on MW software {{Mw|version}}, there is a number called 'Content pages', or on earlier MW versions 'pages that are probably legitimate content pages'; use <u>that</u> lower number.  Ignore the (often much larger) 'all pages in the wiki, including redirects' number.  It is also possible to [https://wiki.S23.org/wiki/Wikistats/Add_private_wiki add a private MediaWiki site] entry to the WikiStats by S23 [[Archive.org:20200205103323/http://S23.org/wikistats/mediawikis_html.php?sort=good_desc,total_desc&th=0&lines=1500|list of MediaWiki sites]] system (at [[S23-Wiki]]), which tracks various statistics of MediaWiki-powered wiki sites.

:go to the <tt>/Special:PopularPages</tt> page of the wiki – e.g. <code><nowiki>http://YourWikiURL.org/wiki/Special:PopularPages</nowiki></code>.

:Note: from around {{Mw|MediaWiki 1.24|MediaWiki version 1.24}}, the then included standard internal tool which provided the 'page views' output and [[popular pages]] list rankings was globally disabled (removed) from all future releases of MediaWiki.  It is still possible to use the 'Special:PopularPages' link, but <u>only</u> if the wiki site [[owner]] or server-side system [[administrator]] subsequently added {{Mw|Extension: HitCounters}}, available from MediaWiki.org.  If popular pages is no longer available, it is acceptable to use an archived value of wikiFactor, supported by an appropriate archived Special:PopularPages URL.

*[[:Category: MediaWiki wiki farm]] — hosting services (typically 'paid-for' commercial) for wiki sites which use MediaWiki

*[[:Category: Free MediaWiki wiki farm]] — hosting services for wiki sites which use MediaWiki without charge or fee (typically funded by inclusion of advertising)

*[https://wiki.S23.org/wiki/Wikistats Wikistats] — at wiki.S23.org, the new site of [[S23-Wiki]], now hosted by Miraheze

The [[wiki]] sites and / or other [[article]]s listed below in this [[Special:Categories|category]] and sub-[[categories]] here on WikiIndex are powered by, or refer to the '''MediaWiki''' wiki engine software.

[[Category:Wiki English]]<!--English is the original, default, and primary language of the MediaWiki interface, so keep top.  A-Z by anglophile full name sort for remainder.-->