[Mediawiki-l] Variables in Wikitext & Browser Caching

[Wolfe, Jeff]

I'd like to drill on this a little further.  First, let me point out that we
have disabled the parser cache ($wgEnableParserCache = false;).  I'd like to
generalize and point out that the Mediawiki's wikitext has multiple
codes/tags that can be used to yank external content into the wikitext of an
article.  My original example was for a site variable.  Another good example
is a template.  I compared the behavior of the two inclusion techniques.
When I update a template, all articles that include the template are
rendered with the latest page.  In contrast, when a system variable changes,
the pages are not rendered with the latest content.  Is there anyway to get
the template's caching behavior with the variables?  I really don't want to
turn off browser-side caching in it's entirety as I'm sure it will kill
performance.

Thanks again,
Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: mediawiki-l-bounces at Wikimedia.org
[mailto:mediawiki-l-bounces at Wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Zigger
Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 12:21 AM
To: MediaWiki announcements and site admin list
Subject: Re: [Mediawiki-l] Variables in Wikitext & Browser Caching

The "caching problem" is by design, for performance reasons.

With the parser cache on and current, the same value will always be
returned, unless "&action=purge" is appended to a query-style URL.

With the parser cache off or expired, as you found, the browser can request
a forced refresh e.g. via Ctrl-F5.  Alternatively, browser-side caching can
be disabled site-wide for all users ($wgCachePages), per logged-in-user
(Special:Preferences), or as a user-preference default
($wgDefaultUserOptions['nocache']).

For an example of using an extension to get dynamic content by
time-tricking, see http://www.islandseeds.org/wiki/Test:Fortune  and
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_FAQ#How_do_I_add_my_own_dynamic_con
tent_to_MediaWiki.3F


-- Zigger


On 6/11/05, Wolfe, Jeff wrote:
>...
> The main page of my wiki has the variable {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} on it.  I'm
> having a problem with multiple client browsers caching this page and not
> reloading when the variable changes.  If I force a reload, the number is
> rendered correctly.  If I change the wikitext, the page is reloaded.
> Otherwise, I can press F5 all day and not get the latest copy if only the
> variable has changed.  I have verified this with both IE 6.0 and Firefox
> 1.0.1.  I'm running MediaWiki 1.4.1 with a 'recent changes' patch.
> 
> Any ideas?  Seems like a caching problem with variables.  Can I disable
> caching for this page only?
>...
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