>>>> "EF" == Eike Frost
<wikipedia(a)kefro.st> writes:
EF> A line has to be drawn somewhere. It's impossible to support
EF> all/all/all. Now, where that line should be drawn is a subject
EF> of hot debate :)
Well, for read-only browsing, MediaWiki uses:
* Paragraphs
* Italic
* Bold
* Links
* Images
I think HTML 2.0 or above should handle these. For Wiki participation,
and searching, we use:
* HTML forms
Which I think is also in HTML 2.0.
MediaWiki markup can produce tables, so we also need to support
tables. Tables come in some time around HTML 3.0, I believe.
We use cookies for authentication. To have a user account, you need
cookies. That's an HTTP thing, and I have no clue when Netscape and
buddies started the whole shebang. Netscape 3.0, I think? Anyways,
HTTP/1.1 supports cookies, but lots of HTTP/1.0 processors also
support cookies as a custom extension.
Pretty much none of the Javascript, CSS, or what have you are
necessary for using Wikipedia. They make things look nicer, or easier,
but they're not mainline crucial.
Anyways, if I was going to do a formula, I'd say:
HTML 2.0 (Base)
Tables
Cookies
...should be enough to make you a constructive participant in
MediaWiki wikis. Yeah, that sets the bar pretty damn low, I know.
~ESP
--
Evan Prodromou <evan(a)wikitravel.org>
Wikitravel -
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