Wiki? What??

What is a Wiki and Why Do I Care?

A wiki is a specialized web software platform that provides easy access for viewing and collaborative editing of content. All actions are performed through a web browser. No additional software is required on the desktop.

Wiki Platforms

Hundreds of wiki platforms are available, with varying capabilities. However, two wikis, Foswiki and TWiki, are optimized for use in Enterprise (corporate) environments. Enterprise features include access control, programming capability, and much more.

From the user's point of view, Foswiki and TWiki are quite compatible. (For administrative differences, see the project web sites.) This wiki site uses Foswiki as its wiki platform.

This site could just as easily on either Foswiki or TWiki. So, from now on, we'll simply refer to the "wiki platform" or "wiki", as appropriate.

Webs

A project area (an area of collaboration) is called a web. Think of a web as a shared folder (e.g., for use by a particular project).

A single page, referenced by a unique URL, is called a topic. Webs can contain dozens, hundreds, or thousands of topics. You can create, edit, rename, and delete topics yourself, usually without restriction or the need to ask permission.

Summary

• A wiki platform is a suite of programs for running wikis.
  Foswiki and TWiki are two (very similar) wiki platforms.

• A web is an area within the wiki where work is done. A web is like a folder.

• A topic is a single web page (i.e., file) in the wiki.

References

• What Is Wiki?

• Teacxhers First: Wiki Walk-Through

• 7 Things You Should Know ABout Wikis (PDF)

• Wikis in Plain English (VIDEO)

• What are Wikis, and Why Should You Use Them?

-- VickiBrown