InterPageLinks - Revision history

Wordman: This finally works

2010-04-21T15:43:31Z

This finally works

Conversion script: link fix

2010-04-06T01:16:24Z

link fix

Conversion script: link fix

2010-04-06T00:36:09Z

link fix

Conversion script: link fix

2010-04-05T08:07:02Z

link fix

Conversion script: link fix

2010-04-03T09:03:33Z

link fix

Wordman: Patchable

2009-06-30T20:56:31Z

Patchable

New page

In rereading ReaderCentricDesign, I realized that items on individual pages is not a minimum condition for it. The minimum condition is ''individual references''. That is, there can be many items on a given page, as long as it is possible to link directly to them from other pages. This is possible with interpage linking, which allows a web link to target a specific section of a page, provided that section is marked in a special way.

Interpage linking is trivial to accomplish with raw HTML, as you can embed named anchors on pages with <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt> tags. If a page like <tt>foo</tt> has such a tag in a section, then a URL containing <tt>foo#anchorname</tt> will lead right to this section.

UseModWiki has a syntax for supporting the addition of named anchors. Prior to a header line (i.e. one using syntax similar to <tt><nowiki>=== Header ===</nowiki></tt>), you can embed a tag like so <tt><nowiki>[#anchorname]</nowiki></tt>. Unfortunately, the rest of the implementation of this feature is so colossally stupid that it isn't really worth using.

In the first place, the above wiki syntax translates not into <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt>, but <tt><nowiki><a name="#anchorname"></nowiki></tt>. This means the URL to access it must be <tt>foo##anchorname</tt>. This would not be so bad, but it turns out to be very hard to convince UseModWiki to actually build a link like this.

For example, I have placed name anchors on the ReaderCentricDesign page. One of these is for the "Going Forward" section, marked using the wiki code <tt><nowiki>[#goingforward]</nowiki></tt>. You would think that at least one of the following might generate links to this section, but none of them do:

:''markup'' -> ''result''
:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward
:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward
:<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]]
:<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]]
:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]
:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]
:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign%23goingforward]
:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward]

The only syntax I can get to work is:

:<tt><nowiki>[http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/wiki.pl?ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward this one]</nowiki></tt> -> [http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/wiki.pl?ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward this one]

That's right. It ''requires'' a full server path, and gets marked as an external link. This design choice is so foolish that it makes me want to track down the source, print out 1000 copies, bind them into a big book, find the programmer and bludgeon him with it. Why even bother releasing the feature at that point.

(MediaWiki, by the way, generates sensible name anchors for all header tags automatically.)

-- [[Wordman]]

I tracked down the source for this. It is trivial to fix. Basically, the code is largely written correctly. The problem is the code that generates the <tt><nowiki><a name="#anchorname"></nowiki></tt> tag. If this were change to generate <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt> instead, a wiki-word link like <tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward</nowiki></tt> would work. This is a single character change in the source code, I think. It's tough to test, because I don't know which version of the code this site uses.

-- [[Wordman]]

There is an [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiPatches/AnchorsInFreeLinkBugFix official patch] for this problem created July 14, 2008. -- [[Wordman]]

Wordman: *

2007-02-02T15:41:36Z

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Interpage linking is trivial to accomplish with raw HTML, as you can embed named anchors on pages with <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt> tags. If a page like <tt>foo</tt> has such a tag in a section, then a URL containing <tt>foo#anchorname</tt> will lead right to this section.
-[[UseModWiki]] has a syntax for supporting the addition of named anchors. Prior to a header line (i.e. one using syntax similar to <tt><nowiki>=== Header ===</nowiki></tt>), you can embed a tag like so <tt><nowiki>[#anchorname]</nowiki></tt>. Unfortunately, the rest of the implementation of this feature is so colossally stupid that it isn't really worth using.
+Fortunately, now that [[UseModWiki]] has been ditched, this type of linking is quite simple. Any time you use a section header in a page, MediaWiki software automatically creates a named anchor for it (with the name set to the text of the header). Further, the linking markup contains a shorthand for linking to these anchors.
-In the first place, the above wiki syntax translates not into <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt>, but <tt><nowiki><a name="#anchorname"></nowiki></tt>. This means the URL to access it must be <tt>foo##anchorname</tt>. This would not be so bad, but it turns out to be very hard to convince [[UseModWiki]] to actually build a link like this.
+For example, the [[ReaderCentricDesign]] page contains sections, including one called "Going Forward" section. Any of the following will link directly to that section:
-For example, I have placed name anchors on the [[ReaderCentricDesign]] page. One of these is for the "Going Forward" section, marked using the wiki code <tt><nowiki>[#goingforward]</nowiki></tt>. You would think that at least one of the following might generate links to this section, but none of them do:
+:<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign#Going Forward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign#Going Forward]]
+:<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign#Going Forward|how to go forward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign#Going Forward|how to go forward]]

← Older revision	Revision as of 01:16, 6 April 2010
(No difference)

← Older revision	Revision as of 00:36, 6 April 2010
(No difference)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-In rereading ReaderCentricDesign, I realized that items on individual pages is not a minimum condition for it. The minimum condition is ''individual references''. That is, there can be many items on a given page, as long as it is possible to link directly to them from other pages. This is possible with interpage linking, which allows a web link to target a specific section of a page, provided that section is marked in a special way.
+In rereading [[ReaderCentricDesign]], I realized that items on individual pages is not a minimum condition for it. The minimum condition is ''individual references''. That is, there can be many items on a given page, as long as it is possible to link directly to them from other pages. This is possible with interpage linking, which allows a web link to target a specific section of a page, provided that section is marked in a special way.
 Interpage linking is trivial to accomplish with raw HTML, as you can embed named anchors on pages with <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt> tags. If a page like <tt>foo</tt> has such a tag in a section, then a URL containing <tt>foo#anchorname</tt> will lead right to this section.
-UseModWiki has a syntax for supporting the addition of named anchors. Prior to a header line (i.e. one using syntax similar to <tt><nowiki>=== Header ===</nowiki></tt>), you can embed a tag like so <tt><nowiki>[#anchorname]</nowiki></tt>. Unfortunately, the rest of the implementation of this feature is so colossally stupid that it isn't really worth using.
+[[UseModWiki]] has a syntax for supporting the addition of named anchors. Prior to a header line (i.e. one using syntax similar to <tt><nowiki>=== Header ===</nowiki></tt>), you can embed a tag like so <tt><nowiki>[#anchorname]</nowiki></tt>. Unfortunately, the rest of the implementation of this feature is so colossally stupid that it isn't really worth using.
-In the first place, the above wiki syntax translates not into <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt>, but <tt><nowiki><a name="#anchorname"></nowiki></tt>. This means the URL to access it must be <tt>foo##anchorname</tt>. This would not be so bad, but it turns out to be very hard to convince UseModWiki to actually build a link like this.
+In the first place, the above wiki syntax translates not into <tt><nowiki><a name="anchorname"></nowiki></tt>, but <tt><nowiki><a name="#anchorname"></nowiki></tt>. This means the URL to access it must be <tt>foo##anchorname</tt>. This would not be so bad, but it turns out to be very hard to convince [[UseModWiki]] to actually build a link like this.
-For example, I have placed name anchors on the ReaderCentricDesign page. One of these is for the "Going Forward" section, marked using the wiki code <tt><nowiki>[#goingforward]</nowiki></tt>. You would think that at least one of the following might generate links to this section, but none of them do:
+For example, I have placed name anchors on the [[ReaderCentricDesign]] page. One of these is for the "Going Forward" section, marked using the wiki code <tt><nowiki>[#goingforward]</nowiki></tt>. You would think that at least one of the following might generate links to this section, but none of them do:
 :''markup'' -> ''result''
-:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward
+:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign]]#goingforward
-:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward
+:<tt><nowiki>ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign]]##goingforward
 :<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]]
 :<tt><nowiki>[[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]]</nowiki></tt> -> [[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]]
-:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]
+:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign#goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [[[ReaderCentricDesign]]#goingforward]
-:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]
+:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign##goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [[[ReaderCentricDesign]]##goingforward]
-:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign%23goingforward]
+:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [[[ReaderCentricDesign]]%23goingforward]
-:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward]
+:<tt><nowiki>[ReaderCentricDesign%23%23goingforward]</nowiki></tt> -> [[[ReaderCentricDesign]]%23%23goingforward]
 The only syntax I can get to work is:
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 That's right. It ''requires'' a full server path, and gets marked as an external link. This design choice is so foolish that it makes me want to track down the source, print out 1000 copies, bind them into a big book, find the programmer and bludgeon him with it. Why even bother releasing the feature at that point.
-(MediaWiki, by the way, generates sensible name anchors for all header tags automatically.)
+([[MediaWiki]], by the way, generates sensible name anchors for all header tags automatically.)
 -- [[Wordman]]
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 -- [[Wordman]]