[pmwiki-users] Disambiguating Configuration and Customization

[H. Fox]

[These are my answers.  They're not necessarily authoritative.]

On 3/23/06, Bellave Jayaram <bellavejayaram at cox.net> wrote:
>
> I am trying to understand what these two terms mean in the context of PmWiki
> and when to use or not use either term.
>
> The term 'configuration' is used in the following contexts:
>
> 1. the release directories and release files (the 'release configuration'
> being the state of these directories and files as packaged with a given
> version of PmWiki)

This phrase isn't used on pmwiki.org, but it sounds like a synonym for
"default configuration", referring to a chosen default value for a
setting and all settings in aggregate.  For example, $EnablePathInfo
is disabled by default, so the so-called default configuration has
$EnablePathInfo disabled.

A wiki with no local/config.php file is using the default
configuration.  Likewise, a farm that only defines $FarmPubDirUrl in
farmconfig.php is using the default configuration.

> 2. the config.php file and its contents (the 'configuration file' and
> 'configuration file settings' as packaged with a given version of PmWiki)

local/config.php is a wiki's local configuration file.  Individual
groups and pages can also have their own local configuration files in
the form of GroupName.php and GroupName.PageName.php.

farmconfig.php is the farm-wide configuration file.  Any setting
(besides $FarmPubDirUrl) in farmconfig.php changes the default
configuration for wikis in a farm.

No configuration file is packaged with PmWiki aside from docs/sample-config.php

> 3. any server requirements in order to use PmWiki (the 'server
> configuration' being the files and settings that configure a web server to
> serve content managed by a given version of PmWiki)
>
> 4. any browser options in order to use PmWiki (the 'browser configuration'
> being the settings that configure a web browser to display data sent to it
> by a given version of PmWiki)

#1 and #2 refer to PmWiki configuration.  Server configuration and
browser configuration refer to how the server and browser are
configured.  A browser might be configured with JavaScript enabled or
disabled.  A server may be configured with URL rewriting enabled or
disabled.

> The term 'customization' (sometimes used as 'pmwiki customization') is used
> in the following contexts:
>
> 1. additions and deletions to the release directories and release files
> (such additions and deletions are said to be part of 'release configuration
> customization')

Not deletion, just addition.  (If you delete something, it will be
added back when you upgrade.)  Not "release configuration
customization", but local or farm-wide customization, where
customization is varying from the default configuration.

> 2. additions and deletions to the config.php file (such additions and
> deletions are said to be part of 'configuration file customization')
>
> The term 'local customization' is used in the context of:

I think "local customization" refers to any deviation from the default
configuration.  A related phrase is "farm-wide customization".

> This brings up a few questions:
>
> Do the concepts of local configuration and global configuration exist? If
> so, what do they mean?

Farm-wide configuration is (conceptually) global configuration for a
farm, but I prefer to think of it as changing the default
configuration for the farm's wikis.

> Why do we have a local customization and not another type - for e.g., global
> customization? What is 'local' referring to?

Farm-wide => changes the default for all wikis in a WikiFarm
Local => affects one wiki (part of a farm or not)
Per-group =>affects one group.
Per-page => affects on page.

Hagan