Wiki source code of Second Generation Wiki

Last modified by Thomas Mortagne on 2026/10/09 15:24

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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 1 A first generation wiki is focused on **content**. A second generation wiki adds **[[structure>>doc:documentation.xs.dev.data-model.WebHome]]**: the same Pages also hold typed data, which turns them into applications.
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 3 XWiki is a second generation wiki, so a single wiki holds both your notes and the applications your team runs on.
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 5 |=Generation|=Focused on|=What you get
Eleni Cojocariu 8.5 6 |First|Content|[[Page editing>>doc:documentation.xs.user.base.page.edit.WebHome]], [[version control>>doc:documentation.xs.user.base.page.view.history-tab.view-history.WebHome]], [[rights>>doc:documentation.xs.admin.rights.WebHome]], [[search>>extensions:Extension.Search Application]] and [[exports>>doc:documentation.xs.user.exports.WebHome]].
Thomas Mortagne 8.6 7 |Second|Structure and applications|Ready-made applications such as the [[Blog>>extensions:Extension.Blog Application.WebHome]], the [[File Manager>>extensions:Extension.File Manager Application]], [[Meetings>>extensions:Extension.Meeting Application]], [[Forums>>extensions:Extension.ForumApplication.WebHome]] and the [[Task Manager>>extensions:Extension.Task Manager Application]], plus the ones you build yourself with [[App Within Minutes>>extensions:Extension.App Within Minutes Application.WebHome]].
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 9 == Why it matters ==
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 11 Most of the small applications a team needs are never built: developing one the traditional way costs more than the problem is worth, and by the time it ships the need has moved on. Chris Anderson's [[Long Tail>>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail]] describes that same shape.
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 13 {{image reference="xwiki-long-tail.png" size="large" alt="A long tail chart of application cost against number of applications, with a small red area covered by the standard development process and a much larger yellow tail labelled as XWiki's market" caption="Applying the Long Tail to application development."/}}
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Eleni Cojocariu 8.1 15 The red area is what conventional development covers. The yellow tail, far larger, is the applications that are too small or needed too quickly to justify it. A second generation wiki puts that tail within reach of the people who need it.

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