Magnus Manske wrote:
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I've asked this before, and got some vaguely positive answers, so I'll try again...
Whould we add tables to the database that store the values of variables passed to templates for each page? Like:
template_used : ID of page, ID of template page, unique ID template_values : ID of template_used, variable name, value name
This would allow for searching the meta data that is stored in the templates. My prime example would be the "Personendaten" (person data) template on the German wikipedia. For "Albert Einstein", it looks like this:
{{Personendaten| NAME=Einstein, Albert |ALTERNATIVNAMEN= |KURZBESCHREIBUNG=[[Physiker]] |GEBURTSDATUM=[[14. März]] [[1879]] |GEBURTSORT=[[Ulm]] |STERBEDATUM=[[18. April]] [[1955]] |STERBEORT=[[Princeton (New Jersey)|Princeton]], [[USA]] }}
so one could generate a list of all people sorted by *last* name, with key information like description, alternative names, time and place of birth/death.
I thought of this again when I was contacted yesterday about a way to improve wiktionary. I gathered that short of rewriting the whole MediaWiki, one could (by default) change the edit function to display a "real" input form, in contrast to the Big Text Box (tm) for a more data-driven wiki site like wiktionary. The form info could then be merged into a single text using a template, and taken apart again when the page is edited further.
Hoi, At this moment in time Erik Moeller is working on Wikidata and this in turn will enable the "Ultimate Wiktionary" and a functional Wikispecies... This system is not based on templates but it uses a database to store information. What is needed for an enhanced Wiktionary functionality is a bit more than flat file functionality. If I understand well what you propose, I do not see what the added value of your proposal is given that Wikidata is being developped. One of the things your proposed functionality does not provide is a potential to localise the information or use information in more than one project or language. Thanks, GerardM