Wikitech-l March 2024

34 participants
44 discussions

Database dumps
by Byrial Jensen 17 Apr '25

17 Apr '25

Until some weeks ago http://dumps.wikimedia.org/backup-index.html used to show 4 dumps in progress at the same time. That meant that new database dumps normally was available within about 3 weeks for all databases except for enwiki and maybe dewiki where the dump process due to size took longer time. However the 4 dumps processes at one time become 3 some weeks ago. And after massive failures at June 4, only one dump has been in progress at the same time. So at the current speed it will take several months to come thru all dumps. Is it possible to speed up the process again using several dump processes at the same time? Thank you, Byrial

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User-Agent:
by Domas Mituzas 17 Apr '25

17 Apr '25

Hi! from now on specific per-bot/per-software/per-client User-Agent header is mandatory for contacting Wikimedia sites. Domas

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API issue
by ovskmendov＠proton.me 17 Apr '25

17 Apr '25

Whenever I access the API, I get "Wikimedia Error: Our servers are currently under maintenance or experiencing a technical problem." Sometimes if I wait a bit, I'll get a few good requests, but it will shortly go back to the previous message. My code was working just fine a few days ago and I didn't change anything. Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/) secure email.

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Acquiring list of templates including external links
by Takashi OTA 17 Apr '25

17 Apr '25

Hoi, This is an inquiry from my friend in academia, researching about Wikipedia. He would like to know whether there's a way to acquire a list of templates including external links. Here are some examples including external links. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:JOI/doc https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Twitter/doc Such links are stored in externallinks.sql.gz, in an expanded form. When you want to check increase/decrease of linked domains in chronological order through edit history, you have to check pages-meta-history1.xml etc. In a such case, traditional links and links by templates are mixed, Therefore, the latter ones (links by templates) should be expanded to traditional link forms. Sorry if what I am saying does not make sense. Thanks in advance, --Takashi Ota [[U:Takot]]

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EBNF grammar project status?
by Steve Bennett 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

What's the status of the project to create a grammar for Wikitext in EBNF? There are two pages: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikitext_Metasyntax http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Markup_spec Nothing seems to have happened since January this year. Also the comments on the latter page seem to indicate a lack of clear goal: is this just a fun project, is it to improve the existing parser, or is it to facilititate a new parser? It's obviously a lot of work, so it needs to be of clear benefit. Brion requested the grammar IIRC (and there's a comment to that effect at http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7 ), so I'm wondering what became of it. Is there still a goal of replacing the parser? Or is there some alternative plan? Steve

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User style to reduce Gerritbot comments on Phabricator
by Bartosz Dziewoński 25 Mar '25

25 Mar '25

Do your eyes glaze over when trying to make sense of Phabricator tasks with a long and troubled history of patches? Do you struggle to find the real people in the sea of automated bot comments? I've made myself a user style to compact the Gerritbot comments on Phabricator. You might like it too: https://userstyles.world/style/13140/wikimedia-phabricator-reduce-gerritbot… (See screenshots and installation instructions there.) -- Bartosz Dziewoński

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Phabricator upstream shutdown
by Brian Wolff 21 Mar '25

21 Mar '25

It sounds like phabricator upstream is going away: https://admin.phacility.com/phame/post/view/11/phacility_is_winding_down_op… Just curious, are we planning to continue using it long term or move to something else? -- Brian

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[Google Season of Docs] Call for documentation projects and technical writers
by Alexandra Paskulin 27 Nov '24

27 Nov '24

Hi all, We’re excited to announce Wikimedia’s participation in Google Season of Docs! 🎉 For the first time since 2020, Wikimedia is applying for Google Season of Docs[1]: a program that provides grants to technical writers to work on documentation for open-source projects. This year, we’ll be selecting one Wikimedia documentation project and, if accepted by Google, hiring one technical writer to complete the project. For details about the program and how to apply, see the wiki page[2]. Here's how you can get involved: - [Until March 22] Propose a project, share feedback on a project, or volunteer to help support a project[3]. - [Until April 28] Apply as a technical writer. We highly encourage Wikimedians to apply! Even if you’re not a professional technical writer, we value experience working on wikis. Our goal is to use this program to improve MediaWiki.org and other Wikimedia technical documentation, supplementing the work done by volunteers and staff. We’re hoping to use this year’s edition as a model to expand the program to multiple projects in future years. Let's make this a successful season of documentation together! 📚 Best, - Alex and Onyinyechi [1] - https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs [2] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Season_of_Docs/2024 [3] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Season_of_Docs/2024#Volunteering_to_support_… -- Alex Paskulin Technical Writer Wikimedia Foundation

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Changes to JavaScript documentation tools
by Alexandra Paskulin 12 Nov '24

12 Nov '24

Hi everyone, tl;dr The tools we use to document Wikimedia JavaScript code are changing. In the short term, you can read the complete MediaWiki core JavaScript docs using the 1.41 version[0] while we migrate to the new system[1]. If you use JavaScript documentation on doc.wikimedia.org, please share your feedback on wiki[2]. Wikimedia JavaScript codebases are switching from using JSDuck[3] to JSDoc[4] for documentation. Started in 2016, this migration is necessary because JSDuck is currently unmaintained and does not support the ES6 standard[5]. Several Wikimedia JavaScript codebases, including Vector and GlobalWatchlist, already use JSDoc, while several others, such as VisualEditor and MediaWiki core, still use JSDuck. The migration project consists of two parts: changing the codebases to support JSDoc and improving the usability of the JSDoc WMF theme. For more information, see phab:T138401[6]. == Migrating MediaWiki core to JSDoc == We are migrating MediaWiki core to JSDoc incrementally. While the migration is in progress, the master branch docs will be incomplete, containing only those modules that have been migrated. To read the old JSDuck docs, see the MediaWiki 1.41 docs[0]. To help with migration, choose a module from the list in phab:T352308[7], and follow the guide on phab:T138401[6] to translate the tags from JSDuck to JSDoc. == Migrating other codebases == You can find a list of codebases that use JSDuck on phab:T138401[6]. (Please add any that are missing.) To help migrate a codebase that uses JSDuck, follow the instructions to set up JSDoc[8], and use the guide in phab:T138401[6] to translate the tags from JSDuck to JSDoc. == Improving the JSDoc WMF theme == One of the biggest differences between JSDuck and JSDoc is the HTML interface for reading the docs. The WMF theme for JSDoc is not as full-featured as the JSDuck theme, but to support this migration, the Wikimedia Foundation Web, Design Systems, and Technical Documentation teams are working to prioritize and complete a set of improvements to the JSDoc theme, with the goal of releasing version 1 of jsdoc-wmf-theme in 2024. If you use JavaScript documentation on doc.wikimedia.org, please leave a comment on the JSDoc WMF theme talk page[2] and let us know how you use the docs and which features of the theme are the most important to you. Thank you for reading! Alex, Kamil, Jon, Roan, and Anne [0]: https://doc.wikimedia.org/mediawiki-core/REL1_41/js/ [1]: https://doc.wikimedia.org/mediawiki-core/master/js/ [2]: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:JSDoc_WMF_theme [3]: https://github.com/senchalabs/jsduck [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSDoc [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript [6]: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T138401 [7]: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T352308 [8]: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/JSDoc -- Alex Paskulin Technical Writer Wikimedia Foundation

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Missing Section Headings
by Marc Riddell 12 Sep '24

12 Sep '24

Hello, I have been a WP editor since 2006. I hope you can help me. For some reason I no longer have Section Heading titles showing in the Articles. This is true of all Headings including the one that carries the Article subject's name. When there is a Table of Contents, it appears fine and, when I click on a particular Section, it goes to that Section, but all that is there is a straight line separating the Sections. There is also no button to edit a Section. If I edit the page and remove the "== ==" markers from the Section Titles, the Title then shows up, but not as a Section Heading. Also, I don't have any Date separators on my Want List. This started 2 days ago. Any thoughts? Thanks, Marc Riddell [[User:Michael David]]

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Wikitech-l March 2024