* Patch from James Westby to add a template for the search form.

[git.ikiwiki.info.git] / doc / features.mdwn

diff --git a/doc/features.mdwn b/doc/features.mdwn
index f63122edfa49726d5f5e2168c888efdabc7164b2..92773f3c98dafb03137148953223eb251f7f0b89 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/features.mdwn
+++ b/doc/features.mdwn
@@ -1,56 +1,69 @@
 Some of ikiwiki's features:
 
 Some of ikiwiki's features:
 

-* [[Subversion]]
+* Uses a real RCS

 
   Rather than implement its own system for storing page histories etc,
 
   Rather than implement its own system for storing page histories etc,

-  ikiwiki simply uses subversion. (Supporting other revision control
-  systems is also possible, ikiwiki only needs $FOO add, $FOO commit, and
-  $FOO log).
+  ikiwiki uses a real RCS. This isn't because we're lazy, it's because a
+  real RCS is a good thing to have, and there are advantages to using one
+  that are not possible with a standard wiki.

 
   Instead of editing pages in a stupid web form, you can use vim and commit
   changes via svn. Or work disconnected using svk and push your changes out
 
   Instead of editing pages in a stupid web form, you can use vim and commit
   changes via svn. Or work disconnected using svk and push your changes out

-  when you come online.
+  when you come online. Or use git to work in a distributed fashion all the
+  time. (It's also possible to [[plugins/write]] a plugin to support other
+  systems.)

 
   ikiwiki can be run from a [[post-commit]] hook to update your wiki
   immediately whenever you commit.
 
 
   ikiwiki can be run from a [[post-commit]] hook to update your wiki
   immediately whenever you commit.
 

-  Note that ikiwiki does not require subversion to function. If you want to
+  Note that ikiwiki does not require a RCS to function. If you want to

   run a simple wiki without page history, it can do that too.
 
   run a simple wiki without page history, it can do that too.
 

-* [[MarkDown]]
+* Supports many markup languages

 
 

-  ikiwiki supports pages using [[MarkDown]] as their markup language. Any
-  page with a filename ending in ".mdwn" is converted from markdown to html
+  By default, pages in the wiki are written using the [[MarkDown]] format.
+  Any page with a filename ending in ".mdwn" is converted from markdown to html

   by ikiwiki. Markdown understands text formatted as it would be in an email,
   and is quite smart about converting it to html. The only additional markup
   by ikiwiki. Markdown understands text formatted as it would be in an email,
   and is quite smart about converting it to html. The only additional markup

-  provided by ikiwiki aside from regular markdown is the [[WikiLink]] and 
-  [[PreprocessorDirective]]
+  provided by ikiwiki on top of regular markdown is the [[WikiLink]] and 
+  [[PreprocessorDirective]].
+
+  If you prefer to use some other markup language, ikiwiki allows others to
+  easily be added by [[plugins]]. For example it also supports traditional
+  [[plugins/WikiText]] formatted pages, pages written as pure
+  [[plugins/HTML]], or pages written in [[reStructuredText|plugins/rst]].

 
 * support for other file types
 
 
 * support for other file types
 

-  ikiwiki also supports files of any other type, including raw html, text,
+  ikiwiki also supports files of any other type, including plain text,

   images, etc. These are not converted to wiki pages, they are just copied
   unchanged by ikiwiki as it builds your wiki. So you can check in an image,
   program, or other special file and link to it from your wiki pages.
 
   images, etc. These are not converted to wiki pages, they are just copied
   unchanged by ikiwiki as it builds your wiki. So you can check in an image,
   program, or other special file and link to it from your wiki pages.
 

-* [[SubPage]]s
+* Fast compiler

 
 

-  Arbitrarily deep hierarchies of pages with fairly simple and useful [[SubPage/LinkingRules]]
+  ikiwiki is fast and smart about updating a wiki, it only builds pages
+  that have changed (and tracks things like creation of new pages and links
+  that can indirectly cause a page to need a rebuild)

 
 

-* [[blog]]s
+* [[blogging|blog]]

 
 

-  You can turn any page in the wiki into a [[blog]]. Pages with names 
-  matching a specified [[GlobList]] will be displayed as a weblog within
-  the blog page. And an RSS feed can be generated to follow the blog.
+  You can turn any page in the wiki into a [[blog]]. Pages matching a
+  specified [[PageSpec]] will be displayed as a weblog within the blog
+  page. And an RSS feed can be generated to follow the blog.

 
 

-  Ikiwikit's own [[TODO]] and [[news]] pages are good examples of some of
-  the flexible ways that this can be used.
+  Ikiwiki's own [[TODO]], [[news]], and [[plugins]] pages are good examples
+  of some of the flexible ways that this can be used.

 
 

-* Fast compiler
+  Ikiwiki can also [[plugins/aggregate]] external blogs, feeding them into
+  the wiki. This can be used to create a Planet type site that aggregates
+  interesting feeds.

 
 

-  ikiwiki is fast and smart about updating a wiki, it only builds pages
-  that have changed (and tracks things like creation of new pages and links
-  that can indirectly cause a page to need a rebuild)
+* [[tags]]
+
+  You can tag pages and use these tags in various ways. Tags will show
+  up in the ways you'd expect, like at the bottom of pages, in blogs, and
+  in rss feeds.

 
 * valid html and css
 
 
 * valid html and css
 


@@ -59,6 +72,11 @@ Some of ikiwiki's features:
   ikiwiki generates html using [[templates]], and uses css, so you can 
   change the look and layout of all pages in any way you would like.
 
   ikiwiki generates html using [[templates]], and uses css, so you can 
   change the look and layout of all pages in any way you would like.
 

+* [[SubPages|SubPage]]
+
+  Arbitrarily deep hierarchies of pages with fairly simple and useful
+  [[SubPage/LinkingRules]]
+

 * [[BackLinks]]
 
   Automatically included on pages. Rather faster than eg MoinMoin and
 * [[BackLinks]]
 
   Automatically included on pages. Rather faster than eg MoinMoin and


@@ -67,7 +85,7 @@ Some of ikiwiki's features:
 * [[PageHistory]]
 
   Well, sorta. Rather than implementing YA history browser, it can link to
 * [[PageHistory]]
 
   Well, sorta. Rather than implementing YA history browser, it can link to

-  [[ViewCVS]] or the link to browse the history of a wiki page.
+  [[ViewCVS]] or the like to browse the history of a wiki page.

 
 * [[RecentChanges]], editing pages in a web browser
 
 
 * [[RecentChanges]], editing pages in a web browser
 


@@ -88,20 +106,17 @@ Some of ikiwiki's features:
 
 * Smart merging and conflict resolution in your web browser
 
 
 * Smart merging and conflict resolution in your web browser
 

-  Since it uses subversion, ikiwiki takes advantage of its smart merging to
+  Since it uses a real RCS, ikiwiki takes advantage of its smart merging to

   avoid any conflicts when two people edit different parts of the same page
   at the same time. No annoying warnings about other editors, or locking,
   etc, instead the other person's changes will be automatically merged with
   yours when you commit.
 
   In the rare cases where automatic merging fails due to the same part of a
   avoid any conflicts when two people edit different parts of the same page
   at the same time. No annoying warnings about other editors, or locking,
   etc, instead the other person's changes will be automatically merged with
   yours when you commit.
 
   In the rare cases where automatic merging fails due to the same part of a

-  page being concurrently edited, regular subversion commit markers are
+  page being concurrently edited, regular commit conflict markers are

   shown in the file to resolve the conflict, so if you're already familiar
   with that there's no new commit marker syntax to learn.
 
   shown in the file to resolve the conflict, so if you're already familiar
   with that there's no new commit marker syntax to learn.
 

-  For all the gory details of how ikiwiki handles this behind the scenes,
-  see [[commit-internals]].
-

 * page locking
 
   Wiki admins can lock pages so that only other admins can edit them.
 * page locking
 
   Wiki admins can lock pages so that only other admins can edit them.


@@ -118,7 +133,22 @@ Some of ikiwiki's features:
 
 * [[Plugins]]
 
 
 * [[Plugins]]
 

-  A plugin system allows extending ikiwiki in arbitrary ways.
+  Plugins can be used to add additional features to ikiwiki. The interface
+  is quite flexible, allowing plugins to implement additional markup
+  languages, register [[PreProcessorDirective]]s, hook into [[CGI]] mode,
+  and more. Most of ikiwiki's features are actually provided by plugins.
+  Ikiwiki's backend RCS support is also pluggable, so support for new
+  revision control systems can be added to ikiwiki. 
+
+* [[todo/utf8]]
+
+  After rather a lot of fiddling, we think that ikiwiki correctly and fully
+  supports utf8 everywhere.
+
+* [[w3mmode]]
+
+  Can be set up so that w3m can be used to browse a wiki and edit pages
+  without using a web server.

 
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