Difference between revisions of "Wikispooks:Semantic Mediawiki"
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===Integrating with Mediawiki=== | ===Integrating with Mediawiki=== | ||
| − | Mediawiki's main organisational tools for arranging pages are the ''namespace'' and the ''category''. | + | Mediawiki's main organisational tools for arranging pages are the ''namespace'' and the ''category''. Manually assigned categories are still used for [[templates]], but are not recommended for ordinary pages, since SMW is easier to maintain and provides a superior user experience. There is a possibility of greatly expanding the use of namespaces to reflect the structure of objects defined (i.e. having separate namespaces for {{t|Person:}}, {{t|Event:}}, {{t|Book:}}, {{t|Nation:}} etc. Input is welcome about this on this talk page. |
==Known Issues== | ==Known Issues== | ||
Revision as of 02:20, 23 July 2014
Semantic Mediawiki (SMW) extends the basic Mediawiki software by providing semantic definition and querying capabilities. This offers two main benefits to the site - (i) a richer set of ways to organise and use the information, (ii) the possibility to define site feeds to export the data in a predictable format, for others to build on.
Contents
Using the SMW Framework
Thankfully, using the SMW framework (like using Mediawiki) does not require understanding how it works. Behind the scenes, SMW is doing a lot of work organising and cross-referencing pages, but all you really need to know as a user is the magic word {{SMWDocs}}. This calls Template:SMWDocs, which automatically makes a table of any relevant documents and pages, which should be placed just above the "references" section.
Understanding SMW
Semantic Mediawiki may seem to present quite a steep learning curve for non-computer scientists, as the idea of 'semantic data' may is not intuitive to most. Robin has volunteered to try to answer any and all SMW queries and to give to beginners help where needed. If you want to get to grips with the syntax, there is a lot of help online about this, and a useful guide to the syntax - which also gives an idea of the range of SMW - is the quick reference guide, available here. Note that you don't actually need to understand any syntax to get started - if you can fill in a form, then you can fill in semantic data!
Use on Wikispooks
SMW is installed on Wikispooks together with a bunch of associated extensions (Semantic Bundle). Increasing use of them is being made since November 2013 and in 2014 is visibly enhancing functionality. The approach is to:
- Define a core set of semantic objects for structuring the data, with their own sets of properties and interrelationships
- Creating a set of semantic templates to present these objects and their interrelationships
- Creating a set of semantic forms to present these objects and their interrelationships
- Processing the existing content to fit it into these structures
- Allowing for seamless creation of these structures on new pages by non-SMW aware users (i.e. through semantic forms)
Semantic Objects
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Objects
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Objects
A key set of objects is emerging which are being used to structure the existing WikiSpooks data, together with a set of forms, templates and properties to interrelate them.
Semantic Properties
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Properties
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Properties
A property is the basic type of semantic data. Wikispooks currently has 259 properties in use, each of which is documented using Template:Property.
Semantic Templates
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Templates
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Templates
If you can code ordinary Templates, then you should find it no trouble to code Semantic Templates. All the structure and syntax from ordinary Mediawiki applies, as does the template standardisation policy. In addition there are a couple of parser functions to provide access to the semantic properties.
Semantic Forms
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Forms
- Full article: WikiSpooks:Semantic Forms
A form is just what it sounds like - a set of boxes and checkboxes to be filled in. The 'semantic' aspect is that each of these fields is tied to particular parameters in a template. Wikispooks currently has only a few semantic forms in use, because the first priority is defining the objects and templates.
Best Practice
- Full article: Wikispooks:SMW Best Practice
- Full article: Wikispooks:SMW Best Practice
Policy and practices in this area are currently fluid as Wikispooks editors are still learning how to get the best out of the software, and simultaneously developing a framework for its use on the site. Some best practices are however emerging, such as the use of templates for all semantic markup.
Integrating with Mediawiki
Mediawiki's main organisational tools for arranging pages are the namespace and the category. Manually assigned categories are still used for templates, but are not recommended for ordinary pages, since SMW is easier to maintain and provides a superior user experience. There is a possibility of greatly expanding the use of namespaces to reflect the structure of objects defined (i.e. having separate namespaces for Person:, Event:, Book:, Nation: etc. Input is welcome about this on this talk page.
Known Issues
- Full article: Wikispooks:SMW Known Issues
- Full article: Wikispooks:SMW Known Issues
Semantic Mediawiki is undergoing active development and as such, not without problems. If important, these will likely be resolved in time by the software's developers. This page is for reporting and discussion of any such issues.
See Also
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