Wikimania05/Workshop-TG3

This page is part of the Proceedings of Wikimania 2005, Frankfurt, Germany.

Workshop - Getlets: extending the interwiki concept beyond any limits

About the leader(s): Developer of Enotif, e-mail notification for changed and new pages of MediaWiki

Abstract: Getlets extend the Interwiki technology to allow users the access of other servers' data such as google, sourceforge, national telephonbooks, wikipedia and many more, merely limited by copyright restrictions. They can be best seen as shortcuts with a simplified syntax for queries. Parts of the Getlet are translated on the wiki server to perform a predetermined action on a foreign server. Getlets are designed to fetch and integrate data into the wiki page, but hide the technical details at the same time.

Abstract

Getlets extend the Interwiki technology, allowing users to access the data of other servers, such as Google, SourceForge, national telephone books, Wikipedia, and many more, merely limited by copyright restrictions. They can be best seen as shortcuts, with a simplified syntax for queries. Parts of the Getlet are translated on the wiki server to perform a predetermined action on a foreign server. Getlets are designed to fetch and integrate data into the wiki page, but hide the technical details at the same time: the wiki server may use complicated wget or curl actions to retrieve the foreign contents, but the user only has to write get:server:item (get:shortcutforserver:searchitem). These contents can dynamically - or as an alternative (user option -p for permanent) - statically be added to the wiki page bearing the Getlet.

As an option for the whole wiki, the content delivering foreign servers are advertised by so-called InterwikiIcons (IntersiteIcons): favicons of the target servers are shown in front of the Getlets or with the delivered contents in order to indicate the information source and link target.

Copyrights and intellectual property rights need to be respected when using Getlet technology, InterwikiIcons, and content copying from other servers.

(1) Getlets, which can copy contents of foreign pages, have only limited applications in the free content-based Wikipedia.

Presentation

• Presentation slides (PDF) published 05.08.2005

Annex: references and further reading

• Getlets

Getlets project page on Sourceforge (under construction)

• Interwikis (getlets extend interwikis)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interwiki

• Intermap (Interwiki map):

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Interwiki_map

• Editable Interwiki map (MeatBall):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileReplacement

• Wibisa/QS/QuickSource disclosure (akin to interwiki concept of [[shortcut:searchitem]] with a wiki-principle based table map)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/wibisa

• IntersiteIcons:

http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiPatches/InterSiteIcons

http://bugzilla.wikipedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1254

• MediaWiki extension for RSS integration (akin to the getlet proposal: dynamic foreign content display)

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mafs/RSS

• MediaWiki extension for Googlemap integration (akin to the getlet proposal: dynamic foreign content display)

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mafs/GoogleMapExtension

• MediaWiki Template Substitution {{subst:something}} (akin to getlet proposal, static (local, not foreign) content integration)

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Template#subst

Updated information 21.05.2011

Dates are written indicated here in DD.MM.YYYY form.

• US patent application US2006/074846 Feinberg et al. Interpage reference and calculation on a Web site filed on 06.10.2004 and published on 06.04.2006 describes a similar concept using and rendering first and second pages with wiki technology.

The US patent application filed om 06.10.2004 must be seen in the light of techniques some of which were already known at this date:

• Permanent inclusion (Transclusion) or temporary rendering of MediaWiki Templates by using or not using the subst: keyword, published at or before 12.09.2004
• "Including RSS Feeds" in OddMuse-Wiki (oldest publication date 20.06.2003)
• Integration of RSS Feeds into Wiki pages by the User:Mafs, User:Duesentrieb and user:Mutante RSS extensions (oldest publication date currently 25.03.2005)
• [1] disclosing online spreadsheet calculation on wiki pages 29.10.2004
• WIBISA: Wiki-based shortcut and bookmark tool published on 10 Nov 2004 16:01 UTC as Research Disclosure RD488004:

"...the algorithm being dynamically controlled by the dynamic contents of the first table [..], the second table [..], and the third table [..], these tables being realised as one, two or three wiki pages on an Intranet or on the Internet [..]"

• Google Maps integration into MediaWiki pages (publication date currently unkown)
• Detailed proposal to allow Field-value pairs in MediaWiki articles by Evan first published on 07.12.2003
• Further publications:

• Detailed proposal to allow Series of articles navigational links rendered automatically on one MediaWiki page by Hashar first published 30.11.2003

• JSPWiki ExtendedIncludePagePlugin includes arbitrary other web pages (oldest publication date 02.04.2004).

• US patent application US20060288329 Gandhi; Amar S. et al.: Content syndication platform filed 21.06.2005
• US patent application US20060288011 Gandhi; Amar S. et al.: Finding and consuming web subscriptions in a web browser filed 21.06.2005