MediaWiki

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MediaWiki is most well-known for being the software behind Wikipedia. It is also the software that runs this site.

You can use the DreamHost Control Panel to install your own MediaWiki-based wiki. It's under Goodies Control Panel > One-Click Installs. By using the more advanced options, you can make it even more flexible and customizable. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but once you figure out the basics, it can potentially feel like a fairly efficient system to use.

Contents

Getting Started

You can use the DreamHost Control Panel to install your own MediaWiki-based wiki. It's under Goodies Control Panel > One-Click Installs

Basically, you put all mediawiki files in your chosen directory (either via the DreamHost script or by FTP), create a mysql database and user, then point your browser at http://your.install.directory/config where you fill-in a large configuration form.

Execute the form, move the newly generated LocalSettings.php to the parent directory, and delete the config directory with its content.

Troubleshooting

As of mediawiki 1.8.2 be sure to select "use backward-compatible UTF-8" in the configuration form's mysql section. "UTF-8 experimental" does not work and it causes the install script to fail silently without generating LocalSettings.php . This is mediawiki bug 6085 that depends on buggy MySQL support of UTF-8. See http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6085

In the MediaWiki 1.8.2 installation process, the configuration form will ask for a "database host" which defaults to "localhost". It seems you must change this to an answer that looks like "mysql.<yourdomain.net>".

Using Tex Markup

MediaWiki can use Latex Markup for Mathematics, to use it you must go to your wikiInstallationDirectory/math and run make. To do this, you first must set the user account to Enabling Shell Access, and then login to your account using an SSH shell client. Once logged in, use Unix Commands to navigate yourself to the math directory stated above, and then run the make command. The required executable will then be compiled. Once compilation has compiled, set $wgUseTeX = true; in your LocalSettings.php and then markup like 

<math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>

will show up as an image in your MediaWiki.

Permissions

Under the default one-click dreamhost install under Goodies, you CAN set all files and subdirectories under the wiki root directory to group writeable. This is helpful if you want to share administrative/patching and other duties with other accounts in your group. You can use a custom group to scope permissions properly. MediaWiki will still execute just fine with group writeableness turned on.

Google Analytics

For those using Google Analytics (now free and openly available), here is the short and simple way to modify your code to be recognized by Google's site tracker:

In the MonoBook.php file (or your skin file of choice), insert the following code right before the "</body>" tag (no quotes): 

<script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
_uacct = "UA-XXXXXX-1";
urchinTracker();
</script>

Where you would replace the "XXXXXX" with the tracker number associated with your Analytics account.

Google Maps

To add google maps to your wiki, install the Google Maps Extension

MediaWiki licensing

When MediaWiki is installed the installer selects the appropriate licensing (usually, GFDL or Creative Commons). Changes to the licensing can be made in LocalSettings.php .

See MediaWiki licensing settings for settings and detailed intructions.

Topical index

See Also

External Links

Retrieved from "http://wiki.dreamhost.com/MediaWiki"
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