3DGC:Design
3D Game Comparison - Game vs. game. No hype; just facts.™
| Revision as of 06:00, 30 July 2007 (edit) Eep² (t|c) Semantic MediaWiki, intro, header size reduction ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 11:33, 31 July 2007 (edit) (undo) Eep² (t|c) →Classification - subpages, intro, DPL/SMW note Next diff → |
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| Originally designed for a [http://tnlc.com/eep/compare/database.html database], conversion to MediaWiki presents some problems: | Originally designed for a [http://tnlc.com/eep/compare/database.html database], conversion to MediaWiki presents some problems: | ||
| + | |||
| + | This page is MediaWiki-specific but see http://tnlc.com/eep/compare/database.html for general design ideas. | ||
| ==Classification== | ==Classification== | ||
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| ===Categories=== | ===Categories=== | ||
| - | The most obvious classification system is with categories. Unfortunately, these can quickly clutter up the bottom of pages if there are too many. Categories could be named like namespaces (i.e. ''Game:Tomb Raider'') but why not just use namespaces then to reduce having to type the link ('':Category:Game:Tomb Raider'' vs. ''Game:Tomb Raider'')? | + | The most obvious is with categories. Unfortunately, these can quickly clutter up the bottom of pages if there are too many. Categories could be named like namespaces (i.e. ''Game:Tomb Raider'') but why not just use namespaces then to reduce having to type the link ('':Category:Game:Tomb Raider'' vs. ''Game:Tomb Raider'')? |
| ===Namespaces=== | ===Namespaces=== | ||
| - | Perhaps the next most obvious classification system is with namespaces for games (''game:''), companies (''company:''), engines (''engine:''), characters (''character:''), effects (''effect:''), etc. | + | Perhaps the next most obvious is with namespaces for games (''game:''), companies (''company:''), engines (''engine:''), characters (''character:''), effects (''effect:''), etc. |
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| + | ===Subpages=== | ||
| + | Less obvious is using subpages (''games/Tomb Raider'') but they may be easier to manage than namespaces, although I'm not sure how DPL (see next section) can handle them. Additionally, subpages are automatically transcludable via template calls (''<nowiki>{{/Tomb Raider}}</nowiki>''). | ||
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| + | ===Extensions=== | ||
| + | :''Note: DPL and SMW appear to cause pages to load slower (lots of server calls, flashing the web browser statusbar like mad most of the time).'' | ||
| - | ===[[mw:Dynamic Page List|Dynamic Page List]]=== | + | ====[[mw:Dynamic Page List|Dynamic Page List (DPL)]]==== |
| Using DPL, lists of pages linking to other pages (as well as pages in categories and namespaces) are possible. This may be the best option that will allow all classification schemes to be included/used. | Using DPL, lists of pages linking to other pages (as well as pages in categories and namespaces) are possible. This may be the best option that will allow all classification schemes to be included/used. | ||
| - | ===[[mw:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]]=== | + | ====[[mw:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki (SMW)]]==== |
| This extension is similar to DPL in outputting lists of pages in categories and namespaces, but also allows more complex relationships between things. Unfortunatley, it's a ''lot'' more complicated to use (even moreso than DPL), which makes it a last resort. Programmers still code for programmers, apparently...even if they claim to be "semantic"--try being "intuitive" and "user-friendly" instead. | This extension is similar to DPL in outputting lists of pages in categories and namespaces, but also allows more complex relationships between things. Unfortunatley, it's a ''lot'' more complicated to use (even moreso than DPL), which makes it a last resort. Programmers still code for programmers, apparently...even if they claim to be "semantic"--try being "intuitive" and "user-friendly" instead. | ||
| ==Comparison table== | ==Comparison table== | ||
| So far I've tried 2 extensions for the [[comparison table]] but one is easy-to-use but very limited and the other is more difficult to use and more customizable (but still not enough for my needs). | So far I've tried 2 extensions for the [[comparison table]] but one is easy-to-use but very limited and the other is more difficult to use and more customizable (but still not enough for my needs). | ||
Revision as of 11:33, 31 July 2007
Originally designed for a database, conversion to MediaWiki presents some problems:
This page is MediaWiki-specific but see http://tnlc.com/eep/compare/database.html for general design ideas.
Contents |
Classification
There are different ways of designing this "database"'s classification system using MediaWiki.
Categories
The most obvious is with categories. Unfortunately, these can quickly clutter up the bottom of pages if there are too many. Categories could be named like namespaces (i.e. Game:Tomb Raider) but why not just use namespaces then to reduce having to type the link (:Category:Game:Tomb Raider vs. Game:Tomb Raider)?
Namespaces
Perhaps the next most obvious is with namespaces for games (game:), companies (company:), engines (engine:), characters (character:), effects (effect:), etc.
Subpages
Less obvious is using subpages (games/Tomb Raider) but they may be easier to manage than namespaces, although I'm not sure how DPL (see next section) can handle them. Additionally, subpages are automatically transcludable via template calls ({{/Tomb Raider}}).
Extensions
- Note: DPL and SMW appear to cause pages to load slower (lots of server calls, flashing the web browser statusbar like mad most of the time).
Dynamic Page List (DPL)
Using DPL, lists of pages linking to other pages (as well as pages in categories and namespaces) are possible. This may be the best option that will allow all classification schemes to be included/used.
Semantic MediaWiki (SMW)
This extension is similar to DPL in outputting lists of pages in categories and namespaces, but also allows more complex relationships between things. Unfortunatley, it's a lot more complicated to use (even moreso than DPL), which makes it a last resort. Programmers still code for programmers, apparently...even if they claim to be "semantic"--try being "intuitive" and "user-friendly" instead.
Comparison table
So far I've tried 2 extensions for the comparison table but one is easy-to-use but very limited and the other is more difficult to use and more customizable (but still not enough for my needs).
