View source for XiphWiki:Features

Recently this Wiki, which is powered by MediaWiki, was updated to [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.24 MediaWiki 1.24] (the previous version we used was 1.16).<br />
This was a huge update, as 1.16 was released in the end of 2010 (it was nearly 5 years old!).

== New Features ==
With the update to the new MediaWiki version, there are some new features which are explained in detail in this section.

=== Skin ===
One of the most noticeable new ‘features’ is probably the new design.

We used to have an old custom version of the MonoBook skin, which was hacked together a bit and I was unable to migrate it to the new version. Therefore we are currently using the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Skin:Vector Vector] skin with a squared version of the Xiph.Org logo. It's an SVG so that it looks nice on HiDPI screens. If anyone discovers any problems with it, please leave a note on the [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discussion]] for this article. Please note that '''the current Skin is not the final version''' and will be adapted to look more Xiph-like. This is a very controversial topic, as design choices always are, so some feedback about it on the [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discussion]] would be nice. If a lot of people really want the old Design back, it could be recreated based on MonoBook, but if you only want a more flat-ish look, just switch to MonoBook in your [[Special:Preferences|preferences]].

=== HiDPI Images ===
Everyone that has a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_Display HiDPI (Retina)] Display can enjoy the new [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/HiDPI_display_support HiDPI Display Support]!

What does that mean? MediaWiki will generate scaled images, as you might know. It used to only generate them with normal DPI, with HiDPI it will generate these scaled images in a high resolution version, so that they display nicely on screens that can handle them. This is done using the ''srcset'' attribute of the image tag. If you are running a not so ancient browser, it is likely to work just fine and choose the correct image for you.

=== Syntax Highlighting ===
Yes, finally the Wiki is able to do syntax highlighting.

This is done using the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SyntaxHighlight_GeSHi SyntaxHighlight GeSHi] extension, which is bundled since some time with MediaWiki now. If you want to insert syntax-highlighted code, use the following:
  
<pre><nowiki><syntaxhighlight lang="php">
<?php $coolcode = false; ?>
</syntaxhighlight></nowiki></pre>

which would produce following output:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
<?php $coolcode = false; ?>
</syntaxhighlight>

As you can see there are specific parameters you pass as attributes/values, one is the <code>lang</code>, which specifies the language. For a list of supported languages and more parameters that you can use, please refer to the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SyntaxHighlight_GeSHi#Supported_languages SyntaxHighlight GeSHi Wiki Page].

=== Mobile View ===
I installed the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:MobileFrontend MobileFrontend] extension, which provides a mobile Version of the Wiki for Smartphones, which is much easier to read than with the normal Vector Skin. It currently uses the default configuration.

=== License Notes ===
I have set-up license information according to the [[XiphWiki:Copyrights|Copyrights]] page, so now there is the license information on any page footer and in the editor when you are writing a new page.

== Changed behavior ==
With the new Version, some things that were possible before are not possible anymore, this section details on those things. If you think, any of the changes below are a critical impact on the Wiki behavior, leave a note on the [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discussion]] and we can investigate how to solve it.

=== Visitor count ===
Every page now again has a visitor count which displays the number of people that have visited the Page. This was turned off in the old configuration, but as the configuration option to do this is now deprecated, it is turned on again.

=== News Channel removed ===
The [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:News_Channel News Channel] Extension was removed, as I couldn't find any page that was actually using it. The category for which it was configured was empty, therefore it did not made much sense to keep it around. Additionally I wasn't able to find a proper download source which I fully trusted.

=== Ogg Media Player removed ===
The [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:OggHandler OggHandler] extension which provided a Java Media Player (who does use Java anymore anyway?) and some information about Ogg Media files that are uploaded to the Wiki. As this extension now is obsolete I did not install it, the extension suggested as replacement is very complicated and I think it does more than we could ever need. One of the main problems is that Xiph doesn't support non-free media formats, so it is not possible to use TimedMediaHandler anyway. (The OggHandler was not configured properly as well, it seems.)

== Administration Information ==
This section is intended for anyone that needs to ever update the Wiki to a new version or wants to change it's config or add a new Skin or Extension.

All configuration changes must be done in the LocalSettings.php file, nowhere else! If you change something or add something, please add it to the right location, I tried to structure the file in a meaningful way using a lot of comments to make it as easy as possible to edit it. If you can't find a section your config option that needs to be adjusted fits in, add it at the end in front of the Extension includes/config part!
Write a short comment about what the option you add does and, if it is not clear, why this is needed.

If you install a new extension, make sure it is really needed and that it is supported (check the MediaWiki Extension Page) for the current MediaWiki Version. If in doubt of it's quality, possibly have a quick look at the code for any suspicious things like bad code quality (wrong indentation, no comments at all…) or weird eval's!

Some notes about the Apache configuration: It is a bit horrible (sorry). I just kept the old one and added the needed new files as it hardcodes all php files and folders that need to be accessed, even two times. (One time for SSL and another time for non-SSL) this should be improved by someone that has good Apache config skills (I am more familiar with nginx).

Thanks for reading! Happy Wiki-editing.