<s>
MediaWiki	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
wiki	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
is	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
PHP	B-Application
programming	I-Application
language	I-Application
and	O
stores	O
all	O
text	O
content	O
into	O
a	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
Wikipedia	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
largest	O
websites	O
,	O
achieving	O
scalability	B-Architecture
through	O
multiple	O
layers	O
of	O
caching	B-General_Concept
and	O
database	B-General_Concept
replication	I-General_Concept
has	O
been	O
a	O
major	O
concern	O
for	O
developers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
its	O
use	O
on	O
Wikimedia	O
sites	O
,	O
MediaWiki	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
knowledge	O
management	O
and	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
on	O
websites	O
such	O
as	O
Fandom	O
,	O
wikiHow	O
,	O
and	O
major	O
internal	O
installations	O
like	O
Intellipedia	O
and	O
Diplopedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
is	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
and	O
is	O
distributed	O
under	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
version	O
2	O
or	O
any	O
later	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
the	O
manuals	O
and	O
other	O
content	O
at	O
MediaWiki.org	O
are	O
Creative	O
Commons-licensed	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
set	O
of	O
help	O
pages	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
freely	O
copied	O
into	O
fresh	O
wiki	B-Protocol
installations	O
and/or	O
distributed	O
with	O
MediaWiki	O
software	O
is	O
public	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
done	O
to	O
eliminate	O
legal	O
issues	O
arising	O
from	O
the	O
help	O
pages	O
being	O
imported	O
into	O
wikis	B-Protocol
with	O
licenses	O
that	O
are	O
incompatible	O
with	O
the	O
Creative	O
Commons	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
who	O
have	O
made	O
meaningful	O
contributions	O
to	O
the	O
project	O
by	O
submitting	O
patches	O
are	O
generally	O
,	O
upon	O
request	O
,	O
granted	O
access	O
to	O
commit	O
revisions	O
to	O
the	O
project	O
's	O
Git/Gerrit	O
repository	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
paid	O
programmers	B-Application
who	O
primarily	O
develop	O
projects	O
for	O
the	O
Wikimedia	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
developers	B-Application
participate	O
in	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Summer	I-Application
of	I-Application
Code	I-Application
by	O
facilitating	O
the	O
assignment	O
of	O
mentors	O
to	O
students	O
wishing	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
MediaWiki	O
core	O
and	O
extension	B-Application
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
year	O
prior	O
to	O
November	O
2012	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
about	O
two	O
hundred	O
developers	B-Application
who	O
had	O
committed	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
MediaWiki	O
core	O
or	O
extensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
MediaWiki	O
releases	O
are	O
generated	O
approximately	O
every	O
six	O
months	O
by	O
taking	O
snapshots	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
branch	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
kept	O
continuously	O
in	O
a	O
runnable	O
state	O
;	O
minor	B-General_Concept
releases	I-General_Concept
,	O
or	O
point	O
releases	O
,	O
are	O
issued	O
as	O
needed	O
to	O
correct	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
(	O
especially	O
security	O
problems	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
also	O
has	O
a	O
public	O
bug	B-Application
tracker	I-Application
,	O
phabricator.wikimedia.org,	O
which	O
runs	O
Phabricator	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
feature	B-Architecture
and	O
enhancement	B-Architecture
requests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Wikipedia	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
January	O
2001	O
,	O
it	O
ran	O
on	O
an	O
existing	O
wiki	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
system	O
,	O
UseModWiki	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
UseModWiki	B-Language
is	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
Perl	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
and	O
stores	O
all	O
wiki	B-Protocol
pages	O
in	O
text	O
(	O
.txt	B-General_Concept
)	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid-2001	O
,	O
Magnus	O
Manske	O
—	O
a	O
developer	B-Application
and	O
student	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Cologne	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
Wikipedia	O
editor	O
—	O
began	O
working	O
on	O
new	O
software	O
that	O
would	O
replace	O
UseModWiki	B-Language
,	O
specifically	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
Wikipedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
software	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
PHP	B-Application
scripting	O
language	O
,	O
and	O
stored	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
information	O
in	O
a	O
MySQL	B-Application
engine	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
software	O
was	O
largely	O
developed	O
by	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
2001	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
test	O
wiki	B-Protocol
for	O
it	O
was	O
established	O
shortly	O
thereafter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Manske	O
was	O
apprehensive	O
about	O
any	O
potential	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
harming	O
the	O
nascent	O
website	O
during	O
the	O
period	O
of	O
the	O
final	O
exams	O
he	O
had	O
to	O
complete	O
immediately	O
prior	O
to	O
Christmas	O
;	O
this	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
launch	O
on	O
the	O
English-language	O
Wikipedia	O
being	O
delayed	O
until	O
January	O
25	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
software	O
was	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
PHP	B-Application
script	I-Application
"	O
and	O
as	O
"	O
phase	O
II	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
phase	O
I	O
"	O
,	O
retroactively	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
UseModWiki	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
new	O
software	O
was	O
also	O
written	O
in	O
PHP	B-Application
,	O
with	O
a	O
MySQL	B-Application
backend	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
kept	O
the	O
basic	O
interface	O
of	O
the	O
phase	O
II	O
software	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
the	O
added	O
functionality	O
of	O
a	O
wider	O
scalability	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
old	O
product	B-Device
logo	I-Device
was	O
created	O
by	O
Erik	O
Möller	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
flower	O
photograph	O
taken	O
by	O
Florence	O
Nibart-Devouard	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
originally	O
submitted	O
to	O
the	O
logo	B-Device
contest	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
Wikipedia	O
logo	B-Device
,	O
held	O
from	O
July	O
20	O
to	O
August	O
27	O
,	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
logo	B-Device
came	O
in	O
third	O
place	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
chosen	O
to	O
represent	O
MediaWiki	O
rather	O
than	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
second	O
place	O
logo	B-Device
being	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
Wikimedia	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
double	O
square	O
brackets	O
(	O
)	O
symbolize	O
the	O
syntax	O
MediaWiki	O
uses	O
for	O
creating	O
hyperlinks	O
to	O
other	O
wiki	B-Protocol
pages	O
;	O
while	O
the	O
sunflower	O
represents	O
the	O
diversity	O
of	O
content	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
the	O
constant	O
growth	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
the	O
wildness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
,	O
the	O
Chief	O
Technical	O
Officer	O
of	O
the	O
Wikimedia	O
Foundation	O
,	O
took	O
up	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Release	O
Manager	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
most	O
active	O
Developer	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
milestones	O
in	O
MediaWiki	O
's	O
development	O
have	O
included	O
:	O
the	O
categorization	O
system	O
(	O
2004	O
)	O
;	O
parser	O
functions	O
,	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
;	O
Flagged	B-Application
Revisions	I-Application
,	O
(	O
2008	O
)	O
;	O
the	O
"	O
ResourceLoader	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
delivery	O
system	O
for	O
CSS	B-Language
and	O
JavaScript	B-Language
(	O
2011	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
VisualEditor	B-Application
,	O
a	O
"	O
what	B-Application
you	I-Application
see	I-Application
is	I-Application
what	I-Application
you	I-Application
get	I-Application
"	O
(	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
)	O
editing	O
platform	O
(	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
contest	O
of	O
designing	O
a	O
new	O
logo	B-Device
was	O
initiated	O
on	O
June	O
22	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
old	O
logo	B-Device
was	O
a	O
bitmap	O
image	O
and	O
had	O
"	O
high	O
details	O
"	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
problems	O
when	O
rendering	O
at	O
high	O
and	O
low	O
resolutions	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
two	O
rounds	O
of	O
voting	O
,	O
the	O
new	O
and	O
current	O
MediaWiki	O
logo	B-Device
designed	O
by	O
Serhio	O
Magpie	O
was	O
selected	O
on	O
October	O
24	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
and	O
officially	O
adopted	O
on	O
April	O
1	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fandom	O
,	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
hosting	O
service	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
Wikia	O
,	O
runs	O
on	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
public	O
wikis	B-Protocol
that	O
run	O
on	O
MediaWiki	O
include	O
wikiHow	O
and	O
SNPedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WikiLeaks	O
began	O
as	O
a	O
MediaWiki-based	O
site	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
alternative	O
wiki	B-Protocol
encyclopedias	O
to	O
Wikipedia	O
run	O
on	O
MediaWiki	O
,	O
including	O
Citizendium	O
,	O
Metapedia	O
,	O
Scholarpedia	O
and	O
Conservapedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
United	O
Nations	O
agencies	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
United	O
Nations	O
Development	O
Programme	O
and	O
INSTRAW	O
chose	O
to	O
implement	O
their	O
wikis	B-Protocol
using	O
MediaWiki	O
,	O
because	O
"	O
this	O
software	O
runs	O
Wikipedia	O
and	O
is	O
therefore	O
guaranteed	O
to	O
be	O
thoroughly	O
tested	O
,	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
well	O
into	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
and	O
future	O
technicians	O
on	O
these	O
wikis	B-Protocol
will	O
be	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
have	O
exposure	O
to	O
MediaWiki	O
than	O
any	O
other	O
wiki	O
software.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
uses	O
MediaWiki	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
LibrePlanet	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
provides	O
a	O
rich	O
core	O
feature	B-Architecture
set	O
and	O
a	O
mechanism	O
to	O
attach	O
extensions	O
to	O
provide	O
additional	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
strong	O
emphasis	O
on	O
multilingualism	O
in	O
the	O
Wikimedia	O
projects	O
,	O
internationalization	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
localization	I-General_Concept
has	O
received	O
significant	O
attention	O
by	O
developers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
interface	O
has	O
been	O
fully	O
or	O
partially	O
translated	O
into	O
more	O
than	O
300	O
languages	O
on	O
translatewiki.net,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
further	O
customized	O
by	O
site	O
administrators	O
(	O
the	O
entire	O
interface	O
is	O
editable	O
through	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
extensions	O
,	O
most	O
notably	O
those	O
collected	O
in	O
the	O
MediaWiki	O
Language	O
Extension	B-Application
Bundle	O
,	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
further	O
enhance	O
the	O
multilingualism	O
and	O
internationalization	O
of	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installation	O
of	O
MediaWiki	O
requires	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
have	O
administrative	B-Application
privileges	I-Application
on	O
a	O
server	B-Application
running	O
both	O
PHP	B-Application
and	O
a	O
compatible	O
type	O
of	O
SQL	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
users	O
find	O
that	O
setting	O
up	O
a	O
virtual	O
host	O
is	O
helpful	O
if	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
one	O
's	O
site	O
runs	O
under	O
a	O
framework	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Zope	B-Language
or	O
Ruby	B-Application
on	I-Application
Rails	I-Application
)	O
that	O
is	O
largely	O
incompatible	O
with	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud	B-Architecture
hosting	I-Architecture
can	O
eliminate	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
deploy	O
a	O
new	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
installation	O
PHP	B-Application
script	I-Application
is	O
accessed	O
via	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
to	O
initialize	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
's	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
prompts	O
the	O
user	O
for	O
a	O
minimal	O
set	O
of	O
required	O
parameters	O
,	O
leaving	O
further	O
changes	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
enabling	O
uploads	O
,	O
adding	O
a	O
site	O
logo	B-Device
,	O
and	O
installing	O
extensions	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
by	O
modifying	O
configuration	O
settings	O
contained	O
in	O
a	O
file	O
called	O
LocalSettings.php	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
aspects	O
of	O
MediaWiki	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
through	O
special	O
pages	O
or	O
by	O
editing	O
certain	O
pages	O
;	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
abuse	O
filters	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
through	O
a	O
special	O
page	O
,	O
and	O
certain	O
gadgets	O
can	O
be	O
added	O
by	O
creating	O
JavaScript	B-Language
pages	O
in	O
the	O
MediaWiki	O
namespace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
differences	O
between	O
MediaWiki	O
(	O
and	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
UseModWiki	B-Language
)	O
and	O
other	O
wiki	B-Protocol
engines	I-Protocol
was	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
free	O
links	O
"	O
instead	O
of	O
CamelCase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
MediaWiki	O
was	O
created	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
typical	O
for	O
wikis	B-Protocol
to	O
require	O
text	O
like	O
"	O
WorldWideWeb	O
"	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
page	O
about	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
;	O
links	O
in	O
MediaWiki	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
are	O
created	O
by	O
surrounding	O
words	O
with	O
double	O
square	O
brackets	O
,	O
and	O
any	O
spaces	O
between	O
them	O
are	O
left	O
intact	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
uses	O
an	O
extensible	B-Architecture
lightweight	B-Protocol
wiki	B-Protocol
markup	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
easier	O
to	O
use	O
and	O
learn	O
than	O
HTML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tools	O
exist	O
for	O
converting	O
content	O
such	O
as	O
tables	B-Application
between	O
MediaWiki	O
markup	O
and	O
HTML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
side-by-side	O
comparison	O
illustrates	O
the	O
differences	O
between	O
wiki	B-Protocol
markup	O
and	O
HTML	B-Language
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
survey	O
of	O
students	O
assigned	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
MediaWiki-based	O
wiki	B-Protocol
found	O
that	O
when	O
they	O
were	O
asked	O
an	O
open	O
question	O
about	O
main	O
problems	O
with	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
,	O
24%	O
cited	O
technical	O
problems	O
with	O
formatting	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
first	O
user	O
attempts	O
to	O
save	O
the	O
page	O
,	O
an	O
edit	B-Operating_System
conflict	I-Operating_System
occurs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
language	O
for	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
content	O
itself	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
set	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Content-Language	O
"	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
header	O
and	O
"	O
lang	O
"	O
HTML	B-General_Concept
attribute	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
has	O
an	O
extensible	B-Architecture
web	B-General_Concept
API	I-General_Concept
(	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interface	I-Application
)	O
that	O
provides	O
direct	O
,	O
high-level	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
data	O
contained	O
in	O
the	O
MediaWiki	O
databases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client	O
programs	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
API	B-Application
to	O
log	O
in	O
,	O
get	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
post	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
supports	O
thin	O
web-based	O
JavaScript	B-Language
clients	O
and	O
end-user	O
applications	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
vandal-fighting	O
tools	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
the	O
backend	B-Architecture
of	O
another	O
web	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
extensive	O
Python	B-Language
bot	B-Protocol
library	O
,	O
Pywikibot	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
popular	O
semi-automated	O
tool	O
called	O
AutoWikiBrowser	O
,	O
also	O
interface	O
with	O
the	O
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
is	O
accessed	O
via	O
URLs	O
such	O
as	O
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&list=recentchanges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
perceived	O
advantages	O
of	O
the	O
API	B-Application
is	O
its	O
language	O
independence	O
;	O
it	O
listens	O
for	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
connections	O
from	O
clients	O
and	O
can	O
send	O
a	O
response	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
formats	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
XML	B-Protocol
,	O
serialized	O
PHP	B-Application
,	O
or	O
JSON	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client	B-Operating_System
code	I-Operating_System
has	O
been	O
developed	O
to	O
provide	O
layers	O
of	O
abstraction	B-Application
to	O
the	O
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
comes	O
with	O
optional	O
support	O
for	O
rendering	O
mathematical	O
formulas	O
using	O
LaTeX	B-Application
and	O
a	O
special	O
parser	O
written	O
in	O
OCaml	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
functionality	O
for	O
other	O
content	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
graphical	O
timelines	O
over	O
mathematical	O
plotting	B-Application
and	O
musical	O
scores	O
to	O
Egyptian	O
hieroglyphs	O
,	O
is	O
available	O
via	O
extensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
editing	O
,	O
VisualEditor	B-Application
is	O
available	O
to	O
use	O
in	O
MediaWiki	O
which	O
simplifying	O
editing	O
process	O
for	O
editors	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
bundled	O
since	O
MediaWiki	O
1.35	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
extensions	O
exist	O
for	O
handling	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
editing	O
to	O
different	O
degrees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
MediaWiki	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
tracking	O
edits	O
is	O
a	O
Recent	O
Changes	O
feature	B-Architecture
that	O
provides	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
recent	O
edits	O
to	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
more	O
active	O
wikis	B-Protocol
,	O
so	O
many	O
edits	O
occur	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
hard	O
to	O
track	O
Recent	O
Changes	O
manually	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Anti-vandal	O
software	O
,	O
including	O
user-assisted	O
tools	O
,	O
is	O
sometimes	O
employed	O
on	O
such	O
wikis	B-Protocol
to	O
process	O
Recent	O
Changes	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Server	B-Application
load	O
can	O
be	O
reduced	O
by	O
sending	O
a	O
continuous	O
feed	O
of	O
Recent	O
Changes	O
to	O
an	O
IRC	O
channel	O
that	O
these	O
tools	O
can	O
monitor	O
,	O
eliminating	O
their	O
need	O
to	O
send	O
requests	O
for	O
a	O
refreshed	O
Recent	O
Changes	O
feed	O
to	O
the	O
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Navigation	O
through	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
is	O
largely	O
through	O
internal	O
wikilinks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
's	O
wikilinks	O
implement	O
page	O
existence	O
detection	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
link	O
is	O
colored	O
blue	O
if	O
the	O
target	O
page	O
exists	O
on	O
the	O
local	O
wiki	B-Protocol
and	O
red	O
if	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interlanguage	O
links	O
are	O
the	O
small	O
navigation	O
links	O
that	O
show	O
up	O
in	O
the	O
sidebar	O
in	O
most	O
MediaWiki	O
skins	B-Application
that	O
connect	O
an	O
article	O
with	O
related	O
articles	O
in	O
other	O
languages	O
within	O
the	O
same	O
Wiki	B-Protocol
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
provide	O
language-specific	O
communities	O
connected	O
by	O
a	O
larger	O
context	O
,	O
with	O
all	O
wikis	B-Protocol
on	O
the	O
same	O
server	B-Application
or	O
each	O
on	O
its	O
own	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
specific	O
tabs	O
displayed	O
depend	O
on	O
whether	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
logged	O
into	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
and	O
whether	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
sysop	O
privileges	O
on	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
administrator	O
can	O
add	O
or	O
remove	O
tabs	O
by	O
using	O
JavaScript	B-Language
or	O
installing	O
extensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
page	O
has	O
an	O
associated	O
history	O
page	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
access	O
every	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
page	O
that	O
has	O
ever	O
existed	O
and	O
generate	O
diffs	B-Application
between	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
his	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2004	O
article	O
,	O
Carl	O
Challborn	O
and	O
Teresa	O
Reimann	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
While	O
this	O
feature	B-Architecture
may	O
be	O
a	O
slight	O
deviation	O
from	O
the	O
collaborative	O
,	O
'	O
ego-less	O
'	O
spirit	O
of	O
wiki	B-Protocol
purists	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
very	O
useful	O
for	O
educators	O
who	O
need	O
to	O
assess	O
the	O
contribution	O
and	O
participation	O
of	O
individual	O
student	O
users.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
a	O
page	O
titled	O
""	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
default	O
namespace	O
,	O
could	O
describe	O
the	B-General_Concept
1984	I-General_Concept
movie	I-General_Concept
starring	O
Arnold	O
Schwarzenegger	O
,	O
while	O
a	O
page	O
titled	O
""	O
could	O
be	O
a	O
profile	O
describing	O
a	O
user	O
who	O
chooses	O
this	O
name	O
as	O
a	O
pseudonym	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
simple	O
feature	B-Architecture
provides	O
automatic	O
breadcrumbs	O
of	O
the	O
pattern	O
from	O
the	O
page	O
after	O
the	O
slash	O
(	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
"	O
Subpage	O
title	O
"	O
)	O
to	O
the	O
page	O
before	O
the	O
slash	O
(	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
"	O
Page	O
title	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
feature	B-Architecture
is	O
enabled	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
customize	O
their	O
stylesheets	O
and	O
configure	O
client-side	B-Operating_System
JavaScript	B-Language
to	O
be	O
executed	O
with	O
every	O
pageview	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
this	O
has	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
additional	O
tools	O
and	O
helpers	O
developed	O
through	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
and	O
shared	O
among	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
navigation	O
popups	O
is	O
a	O
custom	O
JavaScript	B-Language
tool	O
that	O
shows	O
previews	O
of	O
articles	O
when	O
the	O
user	O
hovers	O
over	O
links	O
and	O
also	O
provides	O
shortcuts	O
for	O
common	O
maintenance	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
entire	O
MediaWiki	O
user	O
interface	O
can	O
be	O
edited	O
through	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
itself	O
by	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
necessary	O
permissions	O
(	O
typically	O
called	O
"	O
administrators	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
possible	O
for	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
create	O
personal	O
scripts	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
choose	O
whether	O
certain	O
sitewide	O
scripts	O
should	O
apply	O
to	O
them	O
by	O
toggling	O
the	O
appropriate	O
options	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
preferences	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Templates	O
are	O
structured	O
documents	O
containing	O
attribute	B-Application
–	I-Application
value	I-Application
pairs	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
parameter	O
is	O
delimited	B-Algorithm
from	O
the	O
value	O
by	O
an	O
equals	O
sign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
related	O
method	O
,	O
called	O
template	O
substitution	O
(	O
called	O
by	O
adding	O
subst	O
:	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
a	O
template	O
link	O
)	O
inserts	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
the	O
template	O
into	O
the	O
target	O
page	O
(	O
like	O
a	O
copy	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
paste	I-General_Concept
operation	O
)	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
loading	O
the	O
template	O
contents	O
dynamically	O
whenever	O
the	O
page	O
is	O
loaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
lead	O
to	O
inconsistency	O
when	O
using	O
templates	O
,	O
but	O
may	O
be	O
useful	O
in	O
certain	O
cases	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
most	O
cases	O
requires	O
fewer	O
server	B-Application
resources	O
(	O
the	O
actual	O
amount	O
of	O
savings	O
can	O
vary	O
depending	O
on	O
wiki	B-Protocol
configuration	O
and	O
the	O
complexity	O
of	O
the	O
template	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Templates	O
enable	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
complex	O
table	O
layouts	O
that	O
are	O
used	O
consistently	O
across	O
multiple	O
pages	O
,	O
and	O
where	O
only	O
the	O
content	O
of	O
the	O
tables	B-Application
gets	O
inserted	O
using	O
template	O
parameters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
this	O
interferes	O
with	O
page	O
existence	O
detection	O
,	O
unless	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
is	O
installed	O
to	O
treat	O
blanked	O
pages	O
as	O
though	O
they	O
were	O
nonexistent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
possible	O
,	O
using	O
certain	O
extensions	O
,	O
to	O
remove	O
content	O
from	O
being	O
viewed	O
through	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
normal	O
channels	O
on	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
even	O
to	O
completely	O
delete	O
revisions	O
from	O
the	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
with	O
minimal	O
exceptions	O
(	O
related	O
to	O
specific	O
tools	O
and	O
their	O
related	O
"	O
Special	O
"	O
pages	O
)	O
,	O
page	O
access	O
control	O
has	O
never	O
been	O
a	O
high	O
priority	O
in	O
core	O
development	O
and	O
developers	B-Application
have	O
stated	O
that	O
users	O
requiring	O
secure	O
user	O
access	O
and	O
authorization	O
controls	O
should	O
not	O
rely	O
on	O
MediaWiki	O
,	O
since	O
it	O
was	O
never	O
designed	O
for	O
these	O
kinds	O
of	O
situations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
extremely	O
difficult	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
where	O
only	O
certain	O
users	O
can	O
read	O
and	O
access	O
some	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Here	O
,	O
wiki	B-Protocol
engines	I-Protocol
like	O
Foswiki	B-Language
,	O
MoinMoin	B-Application
and	O
Confluence	B-Protocol
provide	O
more	O
flexibility	O
by	O
supporting	O
advanced	O
security	O
mechanisms	O
like	O
access	O
control	O
lists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MediaWiki	O
codebase	O
contains	O
various	O
hooks	O
using	O
callback	O
functions	O
to	O
add	O
additional	O
PHP	B-Application
code	O
in	O
an	O
extensible	B-Architecture
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
developers	B-Application
to	O
write	O
extensions	O
without	O
necessarily	O
needing	O
to	O
modify	O
the	O
core	O
or	O
having	O
to	O
submit	O
their	O
code	O
for	O
review	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installing	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
typically	O
consists	O
of	O
adding	O
a	O
line	O
to	O
the	O
configuration	O
file	O
,	O
though	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
additional	O
changes	O
such	O
as	O
database	O
updates	O
or	O
core	O
patches	O
are	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Five	O
main	O
extension	B-Application
points	O
were	O
created	O
to	O
allow	O
developers	B-Application
to	O
add	O
features	O
and	O
functionalities	O
to	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
by	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
that	O
notifies	O
selected	O
users	O
whenever	O
a	O
page	O
edit	O
occurs	O
on	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
from	O
new	O
or	O
anonymous	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skins	B-Application
allow	O
users	O
to	O
customize	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
minor	O
extension	B-Application
point	O
allows	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Amazon	B-General_Concept
S3	I-General_Concept
to	O
host	O
image	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wikimedia	O
Foundation	O
operates	O
a	O
Git	B-Application
server	B-Application
where	O
many	O
extensions	O
host	O
their	O
repository	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
code	O
review	O
was	O
itself	O
historically	O
facilitated	O
through	O
a	O
MediaWiki	O
extension	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
done	O
through	O
Gerrit	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
version	O
1.16	O
,	O
MediaWiki	O
uses	O
the	O
jQuery	B-Language
library	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
extensions	O
is	O
a	O
parser	O
function	O
extension	B-Application
,	O
ParserFunctions	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
different	O
content	O
to	O
be	O
rendered	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
result	O
of	O
conditional	B-Language
statements	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
conditional	B-Language
statements	I-Language
can	O
perform	O
functions	O
such	O
as	O
evaluating	O
whether	O
a	O
parameter	O
is	O
empty	O
,	O
comparing	O
strings	O
,	O
evaluating	O
mathematical	O
expressions	O
,	O
and	O
returning	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
values	O
depending	O
on	O
whether	O
a	O
page	O
exists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schindler	O
recounts	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
ParserFunctions	O
extension	B-Application
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
parser	O
functions	O
extension	B-Application
,	O
StringFunctions	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
to	O
allow	O
evaluation	O
of	O
string	O
length	O
,	O
string	O
position	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
its	O
functionality	O
was	O
eventually	O
integrated	O
into	O
the	O
ParserFunctions	O
extension	B-Application
,	O
albeit	O
disabled	O
by	O
default	O
and	O
accompanied	O
by	O
a	O
warning	O
from	O
Tim	O
Starling	O
that	O
enabling	O
string	O
functions	O
would	O
allow	O
users	O
"	O
to	O
implement	O
their	O
own	O
parsers	O
in	O
the	O
ugliest	O
,	O
most	O
inefficient	O
programming	O
language	O
known	O
to	O
man	O
:	O
MediaWiki	O
wikitext	O
with	O
ParserFunctions.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2012	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
,	O
Scribunto	O
,	O
has	O
existed	O
that	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
"	O
modules	O
"	O
—	O
wiki	B-Protocol
pages	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
scripting	O
language	O
Lua	B-Language
—	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
run	O
within	O
templates	O
and	O
standard	O
wiki	B-Protocol
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
very	O
popular	O
extension	B-Application
is	O
a	O
citation	O
extension	B-Application
that	O
enables	O
footnotes	O
to	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
pages	O
using	O
inline	O
references	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
extension	B-Application
has	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
being	O
difficult	O
to	O
use	O
and	O
requiring	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
memorize	O
complex	O
syntax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
has	O
some	O
extensions	O
that	O
are	O
well-suited	O
for	O
academia	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
mathematics	O
extensions	O
and	O
an	O
extension	B-Application
that	O
allows	O
molecules	O
to	O
be	O
rendered	O
in	O
3D	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
generic	O
Widgets	O
extension	B-Application
exists	O
that	O
allows	O
MediaWiki	O
to	O
integrate	O
with	O
virtually	O
anything	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
examples	O
of	O
extensions	O
that	O
could	O
improve	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
are	O
category	O
suggestion	O
extensions	O
and	O
extensions	O
for	O
inclusion	O
of	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
Videos	I-Operating_System
,	O
YouTube	O
videos	O
,	O
and	O
RSS	O
feeds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metavid	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
site	O
that	O
archives	O
video	O
footage	O
of	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Senate	O
and	O
House	O
floor	O
proceedings	O
,	O
was	O
created	O
using	O
code	O
extending	O
MediaWiki	O
into	O
the	O
domain	O
of	O
collaborative	O
video	O
authoring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
spambots	B-Protocol
that	O
search	O
the	O
web	O
for	O
MediaWiki	O
installations	O
and	O
add	O
linkspam	O
to	O
them	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
MediaWiki	O
uses	O
the	O
nofollow	B-Application
attribute	O
to	O
discourage	O
such	O
attempts	O
at	O
search	O
engine	O
optimization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Part	O
of	O
the	O
problem	O
is	O
that	O
third	O
party	O
republishers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
mirrors	O
,	O
may	O
not	O
independently	O
implement	O
the	O
nofollow	B-Application
tag	O
on	O
their	O
websites	O
,	O
so	O
marketers	O
can	O
still	O
get	O
PageRank	B-Algorithm
benefit	O
by	O
inserting	O
links	O
into	O
pages	O
when	O
those	O
entries	O
appear	O
on	O
third	O
party	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extensions	O
exist	O
to	O
let	O
MediaWiki	O
use	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
third-party	O
search	O
engines	O
,	O
including	O
Elasticsearch	B-Application
(	O
which	O
since	O
2014	O
has	O
been	O
in	O
use	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
)	O
,	O
Lucene	B-Language
and	O
Sphinx	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
MediaWiki	O
extensions	O
have	O
also	O
been	O
created	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
more	O
complex	O
,	O
faceted	O
search	O
,	O
on	O
both	O
data	O
entered	O
within	O
the	O
wiki	B-Protocol
and	O
on	O
metadata	O
such	O
as	O
pages	O
 '	O
revision	O
history	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Semantic	B-Protocol
MediaWiki	I-Protocol
is	O
one	O
such	O
extension	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
can	O
use	O
either	O
the	O
MySQL/MariaDB	O
,	O
PostgreSQL	B-Application
or	O
SQLite	B-Language
relational	B-Application
database	I-Application
management	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
Oracle	B-General_Concept
Database	I-General_Concept
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
SQL	I-Application
Server	I-Application
has	O
been	O
dropped	O
since	O
MediaWiki	O
1.34	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
MediaWiki	O
database	O
contains	O
several	O
dozen	O
tables	B-Application
,	O
including	O
a	O
page	O
table	O
that	O
contains	O
page	O
titles	O
,	O
page	O
ids	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
metadata	O
;	O
and	O
a	O
revision	O
table	O
to	O
which	O
is	O
added	O
a	O
new	O
row	O
every	O
time	O
an	O
edit	O
is	O
made	O
,	O
containing	O
the	O
page	O
id	O
,	O
a	O
brief	O
textual	O
summary	O
of	O
the	O
change	O
performed	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
article	O
editor	O
(	O
or	O
its	O
IP	O
address	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
an	O
unregistered	O
user	O
)	O
and	O
a	O
timestamp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
4½	O
year	O
period	O
prior	O
to	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
MediaWiki	O
database	O
had	O
170	O
schema	B-Application
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Possibly	O
the	O
largest	O
schema	B-Application
change	O
was	O
done	O
in	O
2005	O
with	O
MediaWiki	O
1.5	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
storage	O
of	O
metadata	O
was	O
separated	O
from	O
that	O
of	O
content	O
,	O
to	O
improve	O
performance	O
flexibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
this	O
upgrade	O
was	O
applied	O
to	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
was	O
locked	O
for	O
editing	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
schema	B-Application
was	O
converted	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
in	O
about	O
22	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
software	B-Architecture
enhancement	I-Architecture
proposals	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
proposal	O
to	O
allow	O
sections	O
of	O
articles	O
to	O
be	O
watched	O
via	O
watchlist	O
,	O
have	O
been	O
rejected	O
because	O
the	O
necessary	O
schema	B-Application
changes	O
would	O
have	O
required	O
excessive	O
Wikipedia	O
downtime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
run	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
highest-traffic	O
sites	O
on	O
the	O
Web	O
,	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
MediaWiki	O
's	O
performance	O
and	O
scalability	B-Architecture
have	O
been	O
highly	O
optimized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
supports	O
Squid	B-Protocol
,	O
load-balanced	B-Application
database	B-General_Concept
replication	I-General_Concept
,	O
client-side	B-Operating_System
caching	B-General_Concept
,	O
memcached	B-Application
or	O
table-based	O
caching	B-General_Concept
for	O
frequently	O
accessed	O
processing	O
of	O
query	O
results	O
,	O
a	O
simple	O
static	O
file	O
cache	O
,	O
feature-reduced	O
operation	O
,	O
revision	O
compression	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
job	O
queue	O
for	O
database	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
developers	B-Application
have	O
attempted	O
to	O
optimize	O
the	O
software	O
by	O
avoiding	O
expensive	O
algorithms	O
,	O
database	O
queries	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
caching	B-General_Concept
every	O
result	O
that	O
is	O
expensive	O
and	O
has	O
temporal	O
locality	O
of	O
reference	O
,	O
and	O
focusing	O
on	O
the	O
hot	O
spots	O
in	O
the	O
code	O
through	O
profiling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
)	O
,	O
user	O
accounts	O
and	O
settings	O
can	O
be	O
stored	O
in	O
core	O
databases	O
and	O
cached	O
;	O
the	O
actual	O
revision	O
text	O
,	O
being	O
more	O
rarely	O
used	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
stored	O
as	O
append-only	O
blobs	B-General_Concept
in	O
external	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
is	O
suitable	O
for	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
large-scale	O
wiki	B-Protocol
farms	O
such	O
as	O
Wikimedia	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
about	O
800	O
wikis	B-Protocol
as	O
of	O
August	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
subsequent	O
revisions	O
of	O
an	O
article	O
can	O
be	O
concatenated	O
and	O
then	O
compressed	O
,	O
achieving	O
very	O
high	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
ratios	I-General_Concept
of	O
up	O
to	O
100x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
this	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
formal	O
definition	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
difficult	O
to	O
create	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
editors	I-Application
for	O
MediaWiki	O
,	O
although	O
several	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
extensions	O
do	O
exist	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
popular	O
VisualEditor	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
is	O
not	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
suitable	O
replacement	O
for	O
dedicated	O
online	B-Application
forum	I-Application
or	O
blogging	O
software	O
,	O
although	O
extensions	O
do	O
exist	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
both	O
of	O
these	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
the	O
format	O
of	O
these	O
discussion	O
pages	O
has	O
been	O
cited	O
as	O
a	O
strength	O
by	O
one	O
educator	O
,	O
who	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
provides	O
more	O
fine-grain	O
capabilities	O
for	O
discussion	O
than	O
traditional	O
threaded	O
discussion	B-Application
forums	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
'	O
replying	O
 '	O
to	O
an	O
entire	O
message	O
,	O
the	O
participant	O
in	O
a	O
discussion	O
can	O
create	O
a	O
hyperlink	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
wiki	B-Protocol
page	O
on	O
any	O
word	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discussions	O
are	O
easier	O
to	O
follow	O
since	O
the	O
content	O
is	O
available	O
via	O
hyperlinked	O
wiki	B-Protocol
page	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
reply	O
messages	O
on	O
a	O
traditional	O
threaded	O
discussion	B-Application
forum	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Semantic	B-Protocol
MediaWiki	I-Protocol
extension	B-Application
provides	O
these	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
developers	B-Application
have	O
enacted	O
security	O
standards	O
,	O
both	O
for	O
core	O
code	O
and	O
extensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SQL	B-Language
queries	I-Language
and	O
HTML	B-Language
output	O
are	O
usually	O
done	O
through	O
wrapper	O
functions	O
that	O
handle	O
validation	O
,	O
escaping	O
,	O
filtering	O
for	O
prevention	O
of	O
cross-site	O
scripting	O
and	O
SQL	B-Language
injection	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaWiki	O
developers	B-Application
are	O
spread	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
though	O
with	O
a	O
majority	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Face-to-face	O
meetings	O
and	O
programming	O
sessions	O
for	O
MediaWiki	O
developers	B-Application
have	O
been	O
held	O
once	O
or	O
several	O
times	O
a	O
year	O
since	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
of	O
online	O
collaboration	B-Application
software	I-Application
are	O
familiar	O
with	O
MediaWiki	O
's	O
functions	O
and	O
layout	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
noted	O
use	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2006	O
overview	O
of	O
social	O
software	O
in	O
academia	O
observed	O
that	O
"	O
Compared	O
to	O
other	O
wikis	B-Protocol
,	O
MediaWiki	O
is	O
also	O
fairly	O
aesthetically	O
pleasing	O
,	O
though	O
simple	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
an	O
easily	O
customized	O
side	O
menu	O
and	O
stylesheet.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
one	O
assessment	O
in	O
2006	O
,	O
Confluence	B-Protocol
was	O
deemed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
superior	O
product	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
very	O
usable	O
API	B-Application
and	O
ability	O
to	O
better	O
support	O
multiple	O
wikis	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2009	O
study	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
compared	O
TWiki	B-Language
to	O
MediaWiki	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
authors	O
noted	O
that	O
TWiki	B-Language
has	O
been	O
considered	O
as	O
a	O
collaborative	B-Application
tool	I-Application
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
educational	O
papers	O
and	O
technical	O
projects	O
,	O
whereas	O
MediaWiki	O
's	O
most	O
noted	O
use	O
is	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
both	O
platforms	O
allow	O
discussion	O
and	O
tracking	O
of	O
progress	O
,	O
TWiki	B-Language
has	O
a	O
"	O
Report	O
"	O
part	O
that	O
MediaWiki	O
lacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
perceived	O
MediaWiki	O
as	O
being	O
easier	O
to	O
use	O
and	O
more	O
enjoyable	O
than	O
TWiki	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
TWiki	B-Language
and	O
MediaWiki	O
both	O
have	O
flexible	O
plug-in	B-Application
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2009	O
study	O
that	O
compared	O
students	O
 '	O
experience	O
with	O
MediaWiki	O
to	O
that	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
found	O
that	O
students	O
gave	O
the	O
latter	O
a	O
much	O
higher	O
rating	O
on	O
user-friendly	O
layout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2021	O
study	O
conducted	O
by	O
the	O
Brazilian	O
Nuclear	O
Engineering	O
Institute	O
compared	O
a	O
MediaWiki-based	O
knowledge	O
management	O
system	O
against	O
two	O
others	O
that	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
DSpace	B-Language
and	O
Open	B-Protocol
Journal	I-Protocol
Systems	I-Protocol
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
highlighted	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
as	O
an	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
MediaWiki-based	O
system	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
because	O
the	O
Wikimedia	O
Foundation	O
had	O
been	O
developing	O
MediaWiki	O
for	O
a	O
site	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
(	O
Wikipedia	O
)	O
,	O
"	O
its	O
user	O
interface	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
user-friendly	O
from	O
start	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
received	O
large	O
user	O
feedback	O
over	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
"	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
DSpace	B-Language
's	O
and	O
OJS	B-Protocol
's	O
focus	O
on	O
niche	O
audiences	O
.	O
</s>
