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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the concept. For its use as a nickname, see Wikipedia. For
other uses, see Wiki (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Wiiki or WIKY.
refer to caption
Editing display showing MediaWiki markup language
A wiki (/'w?ki/ ? WICK-ee) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which
is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web
browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the
public or limited to use within an organization for maintaining its internal
knowledge base.
A photo of the MediaWiki homepage, a wiki software

Wikis are powered by wiki software, also known as wiki engines. Being a form of
content management system, these differ from other web-based systems such as blog
software or static site generators in that the content is created without any
defined owner or leader. Wikis have little inherent structure, allowing one to
emerge according to the needs of the users.[1] Wiki engines usually allow content
to be written using a lightweight markup language and sometimes edited with the
help of a rich-text editor.[2] There are dozens of different wiki engines in use,
both standalone and part of other software, such as bug tracking systems. Some wiki
engines are free and open-source, whereas others are proprietary. Some permit
control over different functions (levels of access); for example, editing rights
may permit changing, adding, or removing material. Others may permit access without
enforcing access control. Further rules may be imposed to organize content. In
addition to hosting user-authored content, wikis allow those users to interact,
hold discussions, and collaborate.[3]
There are hundreds of thousands of wikis in use, both public and private, including
wikis functioning as knowledge management resources, note-taking tools, community
websites, and intranets. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software,
WikiWikiWeb, originally described wiki as "the simplest online database that could
possibly work".[4] "Wiki" (pronounced [wiki][note 1]) is a Hawaiian word meaning
"quick".[5][6][7]
The online encyclopedia project Wikipedia is the most popular wiki-based website,
as well being one of the internet's most popular websites, having been ranked
consistently as such since at least 2007.[8] Wikipedia is not a single wiki but
rather a collection of hundreds of wikis, with each one pertaining to a specific
language. The English-language Wikipedia has the largest collection of articles,
standing at 6,926,554 as of December 2024.[9]
Characteristics
Ward Cunningham
In their 2001 book The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web, Cunningham and co-
author Bo Leuf described the essence of the wiki concept:[10][11]
"A wiki invites all users�not just experts�to edit any page or to create new pages
within the wiki website, using only a standard 'plain-vanilla' Web browser without
any extra add-ons."
"Wiki promotes meaningful topic associations between different pages by making page
link creation intuitively easy and showing whether an intended target page exists
or not."
"A wiki is not a carefully crafted site created by experts and professional writers
and designed for casual visitors. Instead, it seeks to involve the typical
visitor/user in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly
changes the website landscape."
Editing
"Wikitext" redirects here. For the Wikipedia help page, see Help:Wikitext.
Source editing
Some wikis will present users with an edit button or link directly on the page
being viewed. This will open an interface for writing, formatting, and structuring
page content. The interface may be a source editor, which is text-based and employs
a lightweight markup language (also known as wikitext, wiki markup, or wikicode),
or a visual editor. For example, in a source editor, starting lines of text with
asterisks could create a bulleted list.
The syntax and features of wiki markup languages for denoting style and structure
can vary greatly among implementations. Some allow the use of HTMLTooltip Hypertext
Markup Language and CSSTooltip Cascading Style Sheets,[12] while others prevent the
use of these to foster uniformity in appearance.
Example of syntax
A short section of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland rendered in wiki markup:
Wiki markup Equivalent in HTML Output shown to readers

"Take some more [[tea]]," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
"I've had '''nothing''' yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take
more."
"You mean you can't take ''less''," said the Hatter. "It's very easy to take
''more'' than nothing."
"Take some more <a href="/wiki/Tea" title="Tea">tea</a>," the March Hare said to
Alice, very earnestly.
"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so
I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter. "It's very easy to
take

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Wiki markup Equivalent in HTML Output shown to readers

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