My List of things which could be improved in, or added at Wikka

(the items are listed in descending priority)

1. I18n, L10n=> WikkaInternationalization, HandlingUTF8

1. a better System for Categorys => CategorySystemOverhaul

1. E-Mail and => WikkaAndEmail

1. Toc (Table of Content)

1. User-to-User-Messages-System (working on this...see MailBox...the code (so far) is there....feel free to play with it - GmBowen)

1. Access to the Config.php through a wikka-interface

1. Footnotes (http://www.istitutocolli.org/uniwakka/FootNote)

1. LaTex support (http://www.istitutocolli.org/uniwakka/MathInsert)

1. OpenOffice import/export

1. Smilys (http://www.istitutocolli.org/uniwakka/TablesAndSmileys)

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My thoughts about Wikka

Although WikkaWiki is now a very interesting pice of software, there are always things which could be done better. And because I do not want to talk only, I made some contributions to wikka in the three fields which seem the most important to me:

Documentation

There's no good representation without good documentation

The most important part for every project is a good documentation. This occurs to software, too. Not only for developers, but also for administrators and end-users. A documentation is only good if there are no questions remaining after reading it!

Configurability

Since people use wikka for many different purposes, wikka needs a maximum of configurability. My additions to that goal:

1. UserRegistration: An admin can choose if registration is disallowed, allowed only if you know a register-code, or allowed for everyone. This option (and the registration code) are stored in the config

1. StayingLoggedIn: Let the user choose if he wants to have permanent cookies with his name and password or only a session-based cookie (to be logged out when all browser windows are closed)

1. AutomaticUserPageCreation let an admin choose to create the page of a new user after his creation. As a template any wikkapage can be used.

Compatibility

To use Wikka to store informations it is necessary to be as compatible to other programms (and older versions of wikka) as possible. So that wikka becomes no information-oneway, but a "croissing point" ;-) My addition to that goal:

1. HandleCsvData is a library which shall contain functions for, well, handling (reading, writing, sorting etc..) data from and to *.csv files

1. ShowCsv is the first action using this library. It shows the content of a *.csv file as a html-table.

to be continued...

To do

to have an oversight about what has to be done and what needs attention, more ore less orderd after priority

1. cleaning up WikkaDevelopment+write more about "adding software" see below

1. look at the release-notes and update the documentation where necessary (see also AdminReleaseCheckList)

1. begin with ActionsInfo see below

1. finish ShowCsv

1. document HandleCsv

1. make a concept for ExportToPdf

1. finish the texts above (+rewrite)

1. the installer!!

1. well, the eventmanager and the emailsystem (if i ever find the time)

First Draft for an actions-howto

WikkaDocumentation Wikka Documentation

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How to write your own actions

You are missing functionality in wikka? Something which maybe important to you but not to all wikka users? Why don't write yor own action? This HowTo wants to give you some help and hints for this.

Planning

At first, you should think about what you want to do and if an action is the best choice for it.

Action vs. Handler

Mostly you will have to choose between action and handler. You can easily seperate them with the following question:
Do you add something to a page, or do you want to do something with the page?

1. for an addition to a page (the google-form, a weather-forecast, a table), an action should be your choise

1. for doing something to a page (like cloning, deleting, editing...), use a handler

Let others do your work... ;-)

Since there are many people connected to the internet, it is highly possible that someone needed the same functionality as you and has already written it. You surely have looked at the (offical) WikkaFeatures and the Development-Category, but have you also seen the (inoffical) CodeContributions and the UserContributions-category?

It may take you some time to search all this places, but it is better than doing the same work twice.

... or at least help you

When you have started working on your action, announce this at PluginsInDevelopment, perhaps someone else would like to work on that, too.

Security

Since you can do a lot with actions, some caution while using them seems right.

Accessing actions

if you save the php-file in the actions-folder, everyone can use it, by typing in between the two double-brackets. You may, on the other hand, find it usefull to restrict access to an action to registered users/admins. You can solve this by putting your action between the folllowing structure:

if ACESS
here goes your action
ELSE
here comes your text why someone has no acess

1. limiting the access to registered (and logged-in) users

1. limiting the access to admins

- searching the internet for code
- security (actions are open for everyone, solutions for [logged-in-user/Admin only])
- validity (xhtml, main sources for errors)
- parameters (how to get them, need of standard-values, proof of type...)
- errorhandling
- problems occuring with the writing
- generell part about html/php?
- box avout xhtml?
- test about libraries and using wikka-functions

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CategoryUsers