Review: Wiki on a Stick
It's time to confess: I'm a PC junkie. I travel around the country a lot - to see clients, friends, and family. I usually take one of my three laptops, or I get stuck using various nasty client machines. There's a standard chunk of material I regularly use, including a stack of bookmarked URLs. I also maintain several Web sites, for myself and others, that I'm migrating away from Dreamweaver templates. I decided a while ago that I need a cross between a content-management system, an electronic post-it note, and a Web-page editor - something portable, compact, cross-platform, free to run client-side, publishable to the Web and suitable for structuring my way. In other words, I need a Joomla-Tomboy-Quanta-Evolution hybrid.
I haven't included a wiki in this hybrid. You've probably used one on the Web - even if only Wikipedia. A wiki provides instant page editing in most Web browsers; simplified formatting using wiki syntax; linking between articles; and embedding of documents, code, and links. And it's publishable as a Web page. Although most wikis are 'server-side' programs that need to be hosted and administered on a server, some so-called 'personal' wikis are available. Among these are Tiddlywiki (and derivatives like Qwikiweb), Doxwiki, and my current favorite Wiki on a Stick (http://stickwiki.sourceforge.net/), commonly shortened to WoaS. I carry it around on a USB memory stick. You can see the default layout below. The software is available as a free download at http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=155218.
The personal wikis are glued together by the magic of JavaScript. I say "magic," because what you get is one HTML file containing all your data wrapped up in the JavaScript code that makes it all work--editing, formatting, searching, encryption, namespaces, printing, etc. Your content is structured, and hidden, until the JavaScript reveals it for presentation through the browser. It makes for a superbly portable mini-application, and I use several instances for different purposes.
Things I like about WoaS
You don't need to understand, write or edit JavaScript; just unpack it, erase the default pages (containing the core user instructions) and begin.
It works on its own terms; it genuinely is a standalone tool with built-in controls for permissions, settings, Cascading Style Sheets and so on.
You can edit the look and feel as much as you want. You can re-work the HTML and style sheets without messing up the JavaScript, which is how I made-over one instance of WoaS to use as my company Web page (below). Not all the personal wikis will render embedded formatting, much less layouts this complex.
You can use as much embedded HTML code as you want. The Edit window lets you mix and match HTML and wiki syntax--so I do (below).
WoaS automatically handles text searches (a strength of the personal wikis), so there is no need to manually index keywords; and it presents the results clearly.
It has edit-locking, and true AES encryption, to make it tamper-proof and secure. The encryption is, of course, especially valuable when a memory stick is lost or stolen.
But, like most things in life, WoaS is a compromise.
Limitations in WoaS to live with
WoaS is still a pre-production beta release--I'm on version 0.9.6B. It's maintained by one developer with a small but active community, whose forums are very helpful (http://woas.iragan.com/).
You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to display the page.
You can edit only your local copy, not one sitting on a remote server. Therefore you must remember which instance is your "master," keep it backed up, and republish it to the Web after all edits.
It's one single HTML file, not a content-management system, and definitely not a database. The JavaScript does a lot, and more features are planned. I've got five-thousand lines of code and content in one instance. Page editing in the browser is fine, but I have to be very alert (and patient) if I tinker with the wiki structure in GEdit. Did I mention keeping it backed up? Tiddlywiki will automatically keep file backups for you for free.
Things I won't do in WoaS
Tinker with the core JavaScript: I'm not good with code, and I don't want to break Daniele's masterpiece.
Embed images: I still think embedding image data (in a text file I'm editing) is asking for trouble. I even removed the default WoaS button images (though I do use my own). It's all HTML, so surfing (images/home.gif) for your own backgrounds and buttons works fine.
Embed large, complex documents: Remember, anything you embed will bloat the size of the text file. You won't want to embed your Full Circle PDF's!
Use the wiki as the home page on my Web site: It's a big file, and can take a while to download a cached copy into the browser. I keep a flat, fast, HTML banner page, and redirect to WoaS for my content pages. Hey, a two-page Web site isn't bad.
Conclusion
You can download any of the the personal wikis, create a blank instance, and start using it without changing a thing. In terms of size and editing capabilities, they are about even. They all employ dialects of the wiki syntax for links and format, but you need to know perhaps only four commands to create the basics. They all have wiki help pages, and healthy community forums. I prefer WoaS over the razzle-dazzle of Tiddlywiki. Although Tiddlywiki can do more, and has themes available, its code and structure is more complex. WoaS is deliberately tighter and simpler, yet it has some features - such as HTML export, and encryption - that the others lack. I'm finding it incredibly useful.
