Wiki

A wiki is a hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience directly using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project and may be either open to the public or limited to use within an organization for maintaining its internal knowledge base. Wikis are enabled by wiki software, otherwise known as wiki engines.

About Wiki in brief

Summary Wiki A wiki is a hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience directly using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project and may be either open to the public or limited to use within an organization for maintaining its internal knowledge base. Wikis are enabled by wiki software, otherwise known as wiki engines. Wikipedia is the most popular wiki-based website, and is one of the most widely viewed sites in the world, having been ranked in the top ten since 2007. The English-language Wikipedia has the largest collection of articles: as of February 2020, it has over 6 million articles. There are hundreds of thousands of other wikis in use, both public and private, including wikis functioning as knowledge management resources, notetaking tools, community websites, and intranets. Some Wikis have an Edit button or link directly on the page being viewed, if the user has permission to edit the page. This can lead to a text-based editing page where participants create lines of text with a simplified markup language, sometimes known as Wikitexts. For example, with asterisks a bulleted list could create a starting line of text or a starting point. The style and syntax of wiki pages can vary greatly among implementations, some of which allow plain-text editing with fewer and simpler conventions than HTML, indicating style and structure. Sheets limits user ability to alter the structure and structure of wikis. Limited access to CSS promotes consistency in the look and feel and prevents a user from implementing code that may limit access from other users’ access to a user’s content.

Maged N. Boulos, Cito Maramba, and Steve Wheeler write that the open wikis produce a process of Social Darwinism… because of the openness and rapidity that Wiki pages can be edited, the pages undergo an evolutionary selection process not unlike that which nature subjects to living organisms. ‘Unfit’ sentences and sections are ruthlessly culled, edited and replaced if they are not considered ‘fit’, which hopefully results in the evolution of a higher quality and more relevant page. Some wiki engines are open source, whereas others are proprietary. Some permit control over different functions ; for example, editing rights may permit changing, adding, or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules may be imposed to organize content. Many Wikis can be made in real-time and appear almost instantly online, but this feature facilitates abuse of the system. There are dozens of different wiki engines in use,. both standalone and part of other software, such as bug tracking systems. A wiki is essentially a database for creating, browsing, and searching through information. A wiki allows non-linear, evolving, complex, and networked text, while also allowing for editor argument, debate, and interaction regarding the content and formatting. A single page in a wiki website is referred to as a \”wiki page\”, while the entire collection of pages, which are usually well-interconnected by hyperlinks, is \”the wiki\”.