Do you know that MediaWiki is the software that powers Gyaanipedia is running on this software? In fact, most of the wikis around the world, including Wikipedia, are running on the MediaWiki software, as it is the most popular software in the online wiki world. So let’s see 50 amazing facts about MediaWiki.
MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software package.
It was originally developed for use on Wikipedia.
The software was first released in 2002.
It is written primarily in the PHP programming language.
MediaWiki uses a relational database like MySQL or PostgreSQL to store content.
The name “MediaWiki” is a play on the name of the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts Wikipedia.
The software was a complete rewrite of the earlier UseModWiki software.
It is developed by the Wikimedia Foundation and the global community.
Its mascot is a stylized puzzle globe logo.
The first version was called “Phase III” before being renamed MediaWiki.
MediaWiki uses its own simple markup language called wikitext.
Wikitext is designed to be easily readable and editable without needing HTML knowledge.
The most common way to edit is through the VisualEditor or the Source Editor.
It uses a system of “double brackets” [[...]] to create internal links.
Every page has an edit history that tracks every change made.
The history allows any user to revert a page to a previous version.
Watchlists enable users to track changes to specific pages they care about.
Templates are used to insert standardized, reusable content blocks across pages.
Pages can be organized into categories for better navigation.