RevisionControlBackend

The use or optional use of an external revision control system as the backend in which the versioned page database is stored.

Possibilities

Short list of some revision control systems

Some open source revision control systems include rcs, cvs, svn, darcs, mercurial, and others.

Users could edit pages using either the revision control system, OR the HTTP interface

Other features enabled

A RevisionControlBackend could help with the implementation of a lot of other features:

• WebDAV: This could fit in with exposing the PageDatabase via WebDAV + DeltaV.
• DelayedCommits
• StagedCommits
• CommunityProgrammableWiki (and also CodeHosting)
• WikiExport, MobileContent
• OfflineWiki
• VersionedImages
• UserArchive
• WikiWindow
• WikiMirror
• MassReverts
• WayBackMode
• MachineServices

All of these could be done by adding more revision control stuff to the WikiEngine internals, but at that point, you are writing a full-powered revision control program, so you may as well just use an existing one.

Distributed revision control systems (DVCS)

By using a distributed revision control system (DVCS – distributed version control system), there are even more possibilities:

• DistributedWiki
• FailSafeWiki
• TestBranches
• AtomicCommits
• ProposedChange
• MultiPosting
• (en mass, atomic) PageRenaming
• TestBranches
• Would help with CommunityProgrammableWiki

Note that you would be able to use other tools not originally designed to work with wikis, and use shell scripts etc to do interesting things.

Implementations

Implemented

• subversion: subwiki, ikiwiki,
• darcs: whatever this site uses
• mercurial: ikiwiki, Dandelion, twiki
• git: [ikiwiki], Smug, GitWiki, Wikiri
• tla: ikiwiki
• cvs: CvWiki
• rcs: ProWiki

Developing

• darcs: ikiwiki
• mercurial: MoinMoin

Intend to Develop

Considering

Rejected

TODO

go through the results of the WikiMatrix search provided by AlexSchroeder and put them into this more detailed table. In spring 2007 that list contained ErfurtWiki, JaWiki, JSPWiki, KeheiWiki, MicKI, MidgardWiki, MoniWiki, PhpWiki, PodWiki, ProWiki, SubWiki, TWiki and WikiSH.

Activity

ikiwiki is doing a lot of this.

BayleShanks and ChuckAdams are interested in this.

Terminology

Problems

See Also

Contributors

BayleShanks, AlexSchroeder (via a post elsewhere)

CategoryFeature CategoryInterWiki CategoryEditing