site:MediaWiki

This wiki is powered by the MediaWiki engine. It is quite famous for running Wikipedia.

Please start by reviewing the Special:Version page for extensions install and their versions. It will answer a lot.

After that, the remainder of this page is a running log of the custom configuration for this site. For example, MediaWiki is setup to run in the root of a website. This required a number of special configurations on IIS 7.5, as listed below.

Customization Overview
This 730x.org website had some very specific needs.

To achieve this, I selected MediaWiki for its extensive list of extensions, very natural mobile and mobile api support, and documentation. I will attempt to keep a running list of all customizations listed in this page.

Strong, simple mobile support
One of the most impressive mobile sites I've used is Wikipedia's mobile site. It is outstandingly simple, well laid out, and gets the point across to you quickly. To use it, I have the configuration below.

Extensions
In my rush to get up and running, I needed a platform with a large number of working extensions. MediaWiki easily answers that with the community of extensions available.

To see a list of extensions installed on this site, please see the Special:Version page for information on this install, as well as the enabled extensions.

LocalSettings.php
The following has been set on this site: # MediaWiki in root!: $wgScriptPath      = ""; $wgArticlePath     = "/$1"; $wgUsePathInfo     = true; # Lowercase names $wgCapitalLinks = false; $wgAllowDisplayTitle = true; $wgRestrictDisplayTitle = false; # GnuWin32's diff3 $wgDiff3 = "..."; $wgMimeDetectorCommand = "..."; # Captcha - special info hidden: $wgCaptchaClass = 'QuestyCaptcha'; # Images $wgAllowExternalImages = true;

Extensions Modifications
A few tweaks have been made to the PHP files to get the site to behave as expected.

MobileFrontend
This extension was modified to use the Extension:MobileDetect listed in Special:Version per the customization outlined in this suggestion for more stable device detection.

Do note that the file has been moved to /extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/MobileContext.php.

IIS 7.5 "MediaWiki in Root" settings
The two MediaWiki pages here and [[here] tries to get MediaWiki working in the root of a website, but do not work completely. Below is my configuration that seems to be working on this very site, supporting mobile from the same site.

web.config
One of the key changes is the root web.config. I run my wiki in a sub folder, /wiki/, and use IIS to map the three core php files. The web.config settings are listed below, and detailed afte wards.

List Inbound Roles
List the inbound rules and conditions.

Outbound Rules
List the outbound rules.

Entire web.config
List the entire web.config, so anyone can copy the entire file.

MediaWiki Core Changes
Due to some bugs in the version in use, I've had to tweak a few files.

CURL_SETOPT_ARRAY error
Applied the patch located in this thread to fix an SSL error.

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Thread:Project:Support_desk/PHP_Notice:_curl_setopt_array:_CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST_set_to_true

Skins Added
Below are a list of some skins of interest.

WPtouch
WPtouch is a port of the Wordpress WPtouch theme.

To Do
Here is a list of remaining items to do with these software. I am listing items here as I think of them, basically for my own personal list.


 * Enable WURFL support in IIS to append X-Device header: MobileFrontend supports this header out of the box.  Currently, I have a hack in place to use the Extension:MobileDetect for inline detection.  I can remove this extension, once I have WURFL enabled in IIS (if available) from any instructions here: http://wurfl.sourceforge.net/
 * Verify caching: Currently, even though I have caching enabled, I have no idea if it is working.
 * SEO: Add more SEO with robots and sitemap.
 * Create page site:Posting_Guidelines for instructions on using short url names, in addition to the DISPLAYTITLE keyword to control SEO (title and h1).
 * Create Feedback page on Desktop view. Currently, only shows in Mobile version at Special:MobileFeedback
 * Add more areas from main site to Mobile view. The current navigation is very bland.
 * Add ability to edit from Mobile view. THere is no way to edit articles with mobile view right now.

I will add more as I go.