[Pmwiki-users] WikiEditor

Patrick R. Michaud pmichaud at sci.tamucc.edu
Fri Oct 25 15:15:14 CDT 2002


On Fri, 25 Oct 2002, Davis, James C. wrote:

> >   3.  Editors can only work when the underlying document (markup) language
> >       is extremely stable and widely standardized.  
> 
> Here is where I have another idea. What about a dynamic editor that can
> adapt to changes in the underlying markup language? If the editor is
> integrated into the system as it is with wiki, it can be written so that it
> will know about any changes to the markup language. 

Touche' -- what an interesting idea!  I'll have to think about this some
more to see if I think it's really do-able or not; the translation
between PHP and Javascript code might be a bit of a challenge, however.  :-)

> On a side note: When are we going to see client-side perl widely supported
> in browsers? JavaScript is sometimes a royal pain in the @$$.

Um, I suspect not anytime soon.  Browsers tend to change in response
to companies' perceived marketing needs (which are different than market
needs), so browser improvements only happen when Microsoft and/or AOL
see that it's to their competitive advantage to include them.

> I think I will abandon the idea of hiding the markup. ...
> ... I still, however, think
> that real-time previewing would be useful if it can be dynamic and actually
> be a true preview. I don't know if anyone else ever got WikiEditor to work,
> but when it does it updates the preview with each keystroke. I think this
> would be a great tool for people who are new to wiki and trying to learn the
> markup. 

I agree, this part is pretty cool.  

> This is more useful, I guess, for people or organizations who are using wiki
> for actual web sites rather than just for collaboration. I know that this
> was not the original intent for wiki, but I believe in exploiting technology
> to the fullest extent. 

Actually, collaborative editing and updates of websites *is* one of
PmWiki's stated goals (PmWikiPhilosophy #4), even if it's not a goal for
wikis in general.  

Keep up the good work--let me know where I can assist.

Pm





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