This is a general, non-technical introduction to the WikiMedia software.
== Feature list ==
You may wonder if you should use [[m:MediaWiki]] for your own wiki. This depends on what kind of wiki you want to run. Wikipedia's software has many useful features that grew out of the needs of the users and the ideas of the developers -- but features also mean complexity. The functionality can be overwhelming, even though we try to do everything we can to keep things easy to use. Complexity also means that there are lots of places where you may have to customize the script for your own use.
Before you decide to use the Wikipedia script, please do take a look at other Wiki Engines and see if one of them might meet your requirements better. For small wikis, [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl UseMod] is always a safe bet -- it supports <nowiki>[[free links]]</nowiki> (as opposed to [[m::en:CamelCase|CamelCase]]) and does not need (or support) a database. This is, of course, also a bottleneck in terms of functionality.
=== Multimedia and extensions ===
*'''File upload feature''' allows the upload of graphics or sound files, see [[m:special:Upload]]. Uploaded files are listed on Recent Changes and they are also logged on [[m:log:Uploads]].
* '''Mathematical formulas using LaTeX syntax''': see [[m:texvc]]
* '''Automatic resizing''' of images using ImageMagick or libgd, simple syntax for image captions and image alignment
=== Keeping track of edits ===
*'''Watchlist''' Every page has a link "Watch this article for me". Use [[m:special:Watchlist]] to track changes on the articles you declared an interest in; watched articles are also bolded in the [[m:Special:Recentchanges|Recent changes]] list .
*'''User contributions''' in the sidebar of each user page list all articles the user has worked on, according to the database.
* '''Extended recent changes''' with dynamic collapsing of edits to the same article and quick links to diff the edit, show the article history, show the user page, show the user talk page, or block the user (for sysops)
*'''"Related changes":''' View a filtered version of Recent Changes to the pages linked from the current page.
*'''Side-by-side diffs''' - the diffs are shown side-by-side, and changed portions of lines are highlighted, making it much easier to see what's what. Additionally, a diff is shown during an edit conflict so you can see exactly what you need to reintegrate.
=== Structure and syntax ===
* '''Editing syntax based on UseMod''', with support for mixing wiki-syntax and HTML. Only free links are supported for linking, not CamelCase (deliberate design decision).
*'''Namespaces''' allow content separation (to address the namespace, use the <nowiki>[[Namespace:Page title]]</nowiki> syntax). Discussion pages are separate from article pages, "meta" project pages can be separated from content pages, image pages are used for image descriptions.
*'''Word-extension linking''': If you include a link of the form <nowiki>[[war]]s</nowiki>, or <nowiki>[[war]]time</nowiki>, the system will automatically display it as if you had typed <nowiki>[[war|wars]]</nowiki> or <nowiki>[[war|wartime]]</nowiki>, respectively, saving some typing.
*'''Parenthetical hiding''' If you include a link of the form <nowiki>[[kernel (mathematics)|]]</nowiki>, the parenthetical portion will be hidden in the link: [[m:kernel (mathematics)|kernel]]. This is useful for disambiguating different meanings of a word without making linking too difficult or cluttering up the text of articles. This also works with cropping out namespaces when you want a cleaner-looking link: <nowiki>[[Wikipedia:copyrights|]]</nowiki> at English Wikipedia becomes [[w:en:Project:copyrights|copyrights]]
*'''Link to individual sections''' of an article, e.g. [[m:MediaWiki roadmap#Version 1.4]] (these links may become invalid if sections are retitled or removed)
*Support for '''subpages''' (link to "Foo/Bar" from "Foo" by just typing "/Bar", "Foo/Bar" contains a backlink to "Foo"), these can be enabled or disabled by namespace (e.g., Wikipedia currently supports subpages on discussion pages, to make archiving easy, and on user pages, to give users space for personal pages)
=== Editing ===
* '''Section editing.''' Users can enable an option that allows them to edit individual sections of an article (separated by headlines) instead of loading the entire article.
*'''Edit toolbar''' (JavaScript-based) for formatting text as bold, italic etc. (fully works in Mozilla and IE, other browsers use it to show the syntax, but cannot format text inside the textarea because their JavaScript implementation does not support it). If JavaScript is disabled, the toolbar is not shown.
* '''Edit summary''' which is shown in "Recent changes"
*'''Double click editing''': Users can enable an option that allows them to edit articles by double clicking them.
*'''Edit preview''' (can be shown before or after edit box)
*Handle '''edit conflicts''' (page being saved by a user while still being edited by another one, then saved again)
*Mark edits as '''minor'''; users can decide to hide such edits from the Recent Changes list. Only signed in users can mark edits as minor.
=== Discussions ===
*'''Talk pages''': Each user (including every anonymous user) and every article has an associated page where messages can be left. These are separate namespaces (see above), "Talk:" and "User talk:".
*'''Message notification''' (user gets a "You have new messages" notice if someone else has edited his user discussion page); this also works for anonymous users
*'''Automatic signature''': Just type three tildes (~) when you edit, and on saving the page, it will be replaced with your user name and a link to your user page. If you use four tildes, the current date will be added as well. Mainly intended for Talk pages.
* Support for '''emailing users''' through the wiki (email address not shown to the user)
=== Backend ===
* '''Database-driven''' (MySQL, no other databases currently supported)
* '''Smart caching''': rendered pages are (optionally) saved as static HTML files and served as such unless modified; support for Squid proxies
*'''Cookie-based''' account and login system, but anonymous users can also edit pages.
*'''All revisions''' of an article are stored (optionally compressed).
=== Permissions ===
*'''Different rights''' for anonymous users, signed in users, sysops, bureaucrats and developers.
*'''Signed in users''' can:
**move and rename pages
**upload files
*'''Sysops''' can:
**protect pages from editing
**delete and undelete pages
**edit protected pages
**ban users by IP address
**ban users by username, if this option is enabled
**run SQL queries on the database, if this option is enabled
*'''"Bureaucrats"''' can:
**create sysops
*'''Developers (admins)''' can:
**lock the database
**run various maintenance tasks
* '''Other permission schemes''' (e.g. only signed in users can edit pages) can be configured
=== Search and Queries ===
* '''Full text search'''
* '''"Go" button''' allows direct viewing of a specified article's contents (tries near match if no exact hit)
* '''"What links here":''' View pages that link to the current page (backlinks)
* '''Special report pages:'''
**New pages: List of newly created articles
**Ancient pages: Articles sorted by timestamp, ascending
**List of images
**List of users
**Site statistics
**Orphaned articles (articles that have no links pointing to them)
**Orphaned images
**Popular articles (articles by number of visits, works only if counters are enabled)
**Most wanted articles (non-existent articles sorted by number of links pointing to them)
**Short articles
**Long articles
**List of all pages by title
=== Misc. ===
* '''Random article''' display function
* Users can configure their '''timezone''', which is used on all report timestamps
* The attributes of many report pages ('''number of results''' etc.) can be set in the user preferences
== Structure: Orientation on the Web Site(s) ==