DekiScript Special Pages
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Table of contents
- 1. Introduction
- 1.1. Purpose
- 1.2. Intended Audience
- 1.3. Additional information
- 1.4. References
- 2. Status
- 3. Use Cases
- 4. Functional Specification
- 5. Technical Specification
- 5.1. UI requirements
- 5.2. API requirements
- 6. Open questions
Introduction
DekiScript has evolved into a powerful language for mashing up content and even creating new functionality within MindTouch. In order to facilitate smoother integration, DekiScript special pages would enable dynamic applications to be generated with Admin oversight. Need an advanced search for your site? Special:AdvancedSearch, all driven by DekiScript. Want a global list of tags? Special:SiteTags.
Purpose
Adds the ability to extend wiki functionality without any internal code changes. No UI updates required; no API updates required. Additionally, this feature would open up workflow creation and productivity tool creation to the (potentially) all wiki users. If they want some functionality that doesn't exist and know how to hack at DekiScript, then, with Admin approval, the feature can be rolled out to the entire site.
Intended Audience
Targets for this feature are system integrators, situational application developers, and any advanced users that want to add new functionality within their installation.
Additional information
Misc notes
Status
Implemented in the Olympic release.
Use Cases
User wants to augment functionality
Functional Specification
User visits Special:Foo
- Special page exists in PHP => display the PHP special page
- Special page does not exist in PHP => follow normal page execution path
- Page does not exist: User must have admin to create the new special page
- Page exists: User privs determined by page permissions (default: must be admin to edit)
Admin wants to create a new Special page
- Navigates to new special page and the editor is opened to create the new page
- Admin defines a dekiscript special page that already exists in PHP
- Given that the API has no way to know if a special:foo already exists, PHP gets rendered first
Admin wants to grant all users access to a special page
- Using the built in permissioning system, users can be given read & edit privs to any DekiScript Special Pages
Technical Specification
UI requirements
When parsing a Special: namespace request, the UI will need to check if there is a plugin for the page. If no plugin is detected, then the normal page execution path is followed. All page restrictions are honored.
API requirements
The api will need to support pages in the Special namespace with additional permission checks. Only Admin? users should be able to create new DekiScript Special pages and then update the permissions, potentially allowing other user types to update the Special page's DekiScript. These pages are rendered with the normal page code path so other than the initial requirement to be an Admin for creation, no other special cases need to be addressed.
Open questions
Do special pages allow for attachments?
- Could be a useful feature if the page requires a javascript file/library or additional images to beautify the page. Increases the barrier for distribution. e.g. can't just copy the DekiScript code, would require the other files to be attached as well. (import/export?)
- Can Admins open up DekiScript page permissions for all users?
- Where do the permissions inherit from? Special:? Do we require this page to exist?
- Tag page
- What links here
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