This page provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Related discussion pages include:
- Feedback - For support questions, comments, and other queries.
- Bug Reports - Please report any bugs on this page.
- Feature Requests - If there is a feature that you would like to see added please discuss it on this page. See the Roadmap for a list of planned features.
- How to Help - For those interested in implementing a specific feature.
- Roadmap - A list of planned features for future releases.
General Questions
What is a Wiki?
According to Wikipedia:
- A wiki is a type of website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring.
Sites like wikipedia.org and wikitravel.org have proven that the Wiki process can work to collaboratively create valuable content.
What is JAMWiki's reason for existence?
- If JAMWiki aims for "feature parity" with MediaWiki, what's its reason for existence? Just use of Java?
There are numerous reasons for JAMWiki to exist, but one of the most important is to provide a solid Wiki platform built with J2EE technologies. Every language has benefits and disadvantages, and Java is no different. At present Java has excellent support from application server vendors and database vendors that make it the preferred solution among commercial users. There is a large community that supports the Java language, allowing options that may not be available with a PHP-based system. JDBC for database compatibility, standardized tag libraries, support from numerous application servers, etc., are just a few reasons for choosing a Java-based Wiki.
As to why feature-parity with Mediawiki is important, at the present time Wikipedia is the largest Wiki site available, and thousands and thousands of users are already comfortable with the Mediawiki software. Mediawiki has had time to refine many features that are important for a successful Wiki, so following their lead seems like an excellent starting point. Feature-parity with Mediawiki does not mean that JAMWiki will not offer its own unique features (it already has many), but it is a good goal for defining what direction the software should be moving towards.
What Wiki syntax does JAMWiki use?
By default JAMWiki implements the same syntax as Mediawiki, the software that runs sites like Wikipedia and WikiTravel. While most of the Mediawiki syntax set is currently supported, some elements are not yet implemented - see the Roadmap for details. In addition, developers interested in adding support for an alternate parsing syntax can easily implement their own parser by creating a class that extends the AbstractParser class.
Does JAMWiki support MediaWiki's XYZ feature?
See MediaWiki Help for a guide to MediaWiki features that have and have not been implemented in JAMWiki. In addition, the Roadmap provides a rough plan on when un-implemented features will be implemented.
At the present time JAMWiki supports the majority of the Mediawiki syntax including:
- User watchlists.
- Mediawiki footnotes (references).
- Mediawiki templates.
- Mediawiki categories.
- Image support (including automatic image resizing).
- Topic delete / undelete.
- Topic versioning.
- Searching.
- Page move/redirect.
What languages has JAMWiki been translated into?
Currently translations are available for the following languages:
- English
- Chinese (traditional and simplified)
- Croatian
- Danish
- Dutch
- French
- Galician
- German
- Hungarian
- Japanese
- Polish
- Spanish
- Ukranian
Individuals interested in translating JAMWiki to their own language are encouraged to do so - see How to Help for details.
How do I delete a topic/page?
You must be logged-in as an administrator, after which you'll see a "Manage" tab at the top of the page. From that tab there is an option to delete the topic.
Is there any watch/notification capability for topics?
Logged-in users are provided a watchlist that functions like the Mediawiki watchlist. There is some documentation on this feature at wikipedia:Help:Watching pages. Note that email notifications are currently NOT supported (as of JAMWiki 0.6.0).
Administrator Questions
What are the prerequisites for JAMWiki?
At a minimum JAMWiki requires a web application server that supports JDK 1.4 or higher and servlet 2.4 or higher. Tomcat 4.x or greater is an example of an application server that meets these requirements. While JAMWiki can be run without an external database, for better performance an external database should be considered. See Supported Configurations for a partial list of configurations on which JAMWiki is known to work.
How do I install JAMWiki?
See Installation. A quick summary is that you can download the JAMWiki war file from Sourceforge and then install it as an exploded WAR file. JAMWiki will automatically begin the configuration process when you attempt to look at any page.
How do I upgrade JAMWiki?
See Installation#Upgrades for specific upgrade steps. The process for a JAMWiki upgrade and a JAMWiki installation are not the same! Be sure to follow the upgrade steps when upgrading to avoid losing data or breaking your wiki.
Note that it is possible to upgrade JAMWiki across multiple versions - for example, despite the fact that several intermediate versions exist, it is possible to upgrade a JAMWiki 0.4.1 installation by installing the JAMWiki 0.6.0 WAR file and following the upgrade steps. If you encounter any problems please report the error on the Feedback page.
How does JAMWiki store file data (images, text or binary)?
Files such as images, binary files, or text uploads are renamed with a unique name and path and stored directly on the file system under the web server or web application server docroot. The base docroot folder is configurable using the JAMWiki admin tool.
Is it possible to manage users with different permissions?
Permissions can be managed at the group level for anonymous users and logged-in users, and at the user level for individual users. Thus, it is possible to allow non-logged in users to view pages but prevent them from editing, or to allow only one or two trusted users to manage system settings. See the configuration guide for more information.
Does JAMWiki use the same database layout as MediaWiki?
Due to license differences between MediaWiki and JAMWiki (MediaWiki is GPL, JAMWiki is LGPL) the MediaWiki database schema was not examined during JAMWiki development, and as a result the two products most likely differ significantly in their database layout. XML import and XML export tools are being created to allow MediaWiki content to be imported into JAMWiki and vice-versa, but those tools are in their early stages. It may never be possibly to fully migrate a MediaWiki instance to JAMWiki, but it is hoped that at least some partial solutions can be created.
When using JAMWiki without a database, how are files stored in filesystem?
For installations that do not use an external database, JAMWiki ships with a pre-configured version of the HSQL database. Using this internal database requires no additional configuration from users and will store files on the local filesystem. These files are NOT stored as plain-text files.
Is it possible to use css-skins written for Mediawiki?
At the present time JAMWiki does not support the concept of skins, although it is possible to customize the look & feel of a site by modifying the StyleSheet, LeftMenu, TopArea and BottomArea. Support for skins will likely be added in the future, but it may not be possible to exactly copy Mediawiki's skin implementation due to licensing issues (Mediawiki is GPL while JAMWiki is licensed under the LGPL).
I've encountered a problem / bug / error with JAMWiki. Help!
Please report all bugs, errors, etc. on either the Bug Reports or Feedback pages. If possible include any relevant messages from your jamwiki.log file; the location of the jamwiki.log file is specified in the /WEB-INF/classes/logging.properties file by the org.jamwiki.pattern value - by default logs are written to your application server's temporary directory (for example /temp in Tomcat).
Is it possible to revert to an older JAMWiki version?
The only way to revert to a previous version of the JAMWiki software is to restore from backup. To revert a topic version, view the topic history by clicking on the "History" tab, select the version to be restored by clicking on the date for the given version, and then edit that version and re-save. The old version will now be current.
Can data be exported/migrated from the JAMWiki database?
As of JAMWiki 0.6.6 there is a new option to export JAMWiki data from either the HSQL internal database or any other database to another database instance. In addition, HSQL data can be exported to a CSV file. Both of these options are available from the Special:Maintenance screen, but it should be noted that they are currently experimental; feedback about success/failure while exporting is appreciated.
Development Questions
What features are planned for future JAMWiki releases?
The Roadmap has a list of features that are planned for future JAMWiki releases. If there is a particular feature that you feel is missing or that might be useful, please add a description of the feature on the Feature Requests page. If you are interested in helping to implement new features please see the How to Help page.
Is there any information available about JAMWiki's design?
Please see Tech:JAMWiki Design, which attempts to provide a high-level overview of the JAMWiki architecture. Javadoc is also available.
Why doesn't JAMWiki use features from the latest JDK?
One of JAMWiki's goals is to be able to run on older application servers, and as a result all JAMWiki code is JDK 1.4 and Servlet 2.4 compatible. Many businesses and institutions upgrade their application servers only when they have to, and as a result there is a large base of servers that will not support newer JDKs. There are plans to upgrade the JDK requirement to version 1.5, but this will not occur before JDK 1.4 completes its end-of-life period on 30-October-2008.
For Further Help
I have a question that isn't answered here
Feel free to post any new questions by clicking the "Edit" link and adding your question. For specific questions (those that aren't frequently asked questions) please use the Feedback page.