[GNHLUG] "Hey, Wiki, you're so fine..." CentraLUG, 7 June 2010, Hopkinton Public Library

[Ted Roche]

On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 10:08 AM, Benjamin Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  Counterpoint: As a wiki user/editor, I don't care what the backend
> is, anymore than I care what brand of hard disk is used in the server
> hosting it.
>

Absolutely true. Users shouldn't care about who manufactured the tires
on their Explorer, the gas pedals on their toyota, or the cpu in their
computer. Usually when they do, it's because it's not up to their
expectations.

OTOH, as the owner/administrator, having a back-end store with greater
capabilities may mean you can do more with the documents that are
built.

With wikis, common information requests are "What changed?" and "How
do I revert this article to the previous version?," two tasks that are
essentially version control. With a backend of text files on disk, you
have to save multiple copies. With an RDBMS as a backend, you have to
invent the mechanisms of document/version control.

You _can_ use a spreadsheet as a word processor, or a hammer as a
screwdriver. The results usually show the poor choice of tool,
however.

-- 
Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com