User:Aeric/Overview

Terminology

wiki

a collection of pages that are both displayed and edited online, and which allows for easy interlinking and transclusion of material, for reuse.

dev wiki

The pre-release (or "development") version of the wiki, containing information on features that are not yet released. Location: /usr/share/mediawiki/aadev

production wiki

The most current and up-to-date version of the wiki that is visible to customers. Documents all platform features currently available in the cloud. Location: /usr/share/mediawiki/aawiki

backup

A dated zip file that contains database content (in a .sql file) and all wiki files for either the production or dev versions of the wiki. E.g. dev_backup_<date>.zip

version or versioned wiki

A point-in-time copy of the production wiki that snapshots the features available in the platform installable, for reference by an on-premise installation of that platform version.

archive

A zip file containing database content and wiki files for a wiki version. E.g. aa90.zip

How the Wiki Works

Major concepts:

• Mediawiki consists of a MySQL database, plus a collection of PHP scripts and supporting files in the Wiki directory.
• The textual Wiki content is contained in a database.
• Image files are stored in a hashed system of nested directory folders under {wiki}/images. (The database contains links to them.)
• Together, the database plus the files and scripts contained in the wiki's directory folder make up the Wiki that the user sees.

The main configuration script:

LocalSettings.php

• $wgDBname - The variable that names the database in the MySQL space,

accompanied by the login information and the mysql "secret key" for the space

• $wgScriptPath - This variable is used to generate Wiki links. E.g. "/wiki".

The wiki will start if it's wrong, but all of the links it generates will point to this location. Much internal processing will look there for scripts, as well.

Standard directories:

extensions/

MediaWiki plug-ins that have been downloaded and "installed" by referencing them in LocalSettings.php. (Since pages are loaded dynamically, once the extension is present, it is automatically part of the Wiki. No restart needed.)

images/

A directory hierarchy that contains the image files after they have been uploaded. The Wiki stores them there when you upload an image, and keeps a pointer to them in the database.

skins/

The images and CSS files that create the "wrapper context" (headers, nav pane, etc.) for the wiki content. (The lj7monobook skin was customized to make the nav pane wider.)

Added directories:

_v16_skins/

A copy of the skins that came with MW 1.16.5, before the nav pane was widened. Saved so that a diff tool can be used to identify those changes and any others.

custom_images/

Header images and favicons used by the browser for bookmarks and tabs.

download/

A directory we added to hold files we want to reference in the wiki. (Only image files can be uploaded to the Wiki. But that's ok. Image loads are done painfully, one at a time. Files in the download/ folder can be easily updated en mass. (Image files need to be uploaded so that "links" to them coded in the wiki cause the image to be displayed.)

How Links to the Wiki Work

The mapping of URLs to Wiki's is set up in the mediawiki.conf file.

Current Version Links

These URLS point to the latest released (cloud) version of the Support Wiki:

http://{subdomain}.agileappscloud.info/wiki - AgileApps Live support wiki

http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/wiki - LongJump wiki

Those are the best links to send to current customers, as they’ll always point to the latest pages. And they will always stay at the top of the Google search rankings, by virtue of being the most heavily accessed Wiki pages.

Versioned links

Customers with an on-premise installation need to refer to a version of the wiki that matches their installation:

http://{subdomain}.agileappscloud.info/aa90

http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/lj82

Use scripts/versionProductionWiki to create an versioned copy of the production wiki when an installable version is released.

Pre-Release Links

To review a pre-release version of AAL content, use this link:

http://{subdomain}.agileappscloud.info/aadev

That link points to the "development" (pre-release) version of the wiki.

(Since updates happen every three or four weeks, customers will rarely need it.)