Re: wiki.d.o on a git-backed engine

[Kunal Mehta]

Hi,

On 1/13/25 17:27, Ahmad Khalifa wrote:
Wikis have their own version control and they're meant for a much wider 
audience. I think general documentation definitely belongs on a wiki, 
not git. Edit, fix typo, done in 30 seconds :)


Agreed 100%, the openness for editing is really what makes wikis shine. 
It can be hard to accept, with many of us firmly set in Git's 
pre-approval style PR/MR workflows, to allow anyone with an account, to 
just change anything, but that empowerment is what makes wikis work and 
really blossom.


As one of the maintainers of the MediaWiki package in Debian[1] and a 
wholehearted wiki enthusiast (longtime Wikipedia admin, etc.), I have a 
lot of thoughts on this that I'll save for later, but I want to 
cross-link the ongoing discussion at 
 that goes 
over a lot of the same topics.


One small point I want to highlight regarding software choices is that 
broadly speaking, the MediaWiki community loves Debian. MediaWiki not 
only supports running on Debian as its top priority (probably 
unsurprising given that Wikipedia runs solely on Debian), it wants the 
upstream Debian package to be successful, including changing its release 
schedule to better fit Debian's. When I file bugs about things not being 
compatible with Debian's practices/policies (usually JavaScript), the 
response I get is "ok, how do we fix this?" and not "ugh, why do we need 
to bend over for Debian again". I can't of course promise that upstream 
would implement all of Debian's feature requests, but I find this type 
of cooperation and relationship important to any wiki's success.


[1] the package is in not a great shape right now, so my main Debian 
priority is getting it all set for trixie


-- Kunal

Bug#1068354: ITP: python-github-webhook -- microframework for writing GitHub webhooks in Python

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 
X-Debbugs-Cc: debian-devel@lists.debian.org, lego...@debian.org

* Package name: python-github-webhook
  Version : 1.0.4
  Upstream Contact: Alex Chamberlain 
* URL : https://github.com/bloomberg/python-github-webhook
* License : Apache 2.0
  Programming Lang: Python
  Description : microframework for writing GitHub webhooks in Python

This library allows writing GitHub webhook handlers in Python Flask
apps pretty trivially. Conceptually it's similar to 
src:libcgi-github-webhook-perl.
While it does rely on an upstream (proprietary) service, it's pretty stable,
with no real changes in a few years. I do plan to send a patch upstream to
remove the six dependency.

We use this for various CI/etc. integrations for SecureDrop[1], so I'm
planning to maintain this in my professional/work capacity.

[1] https://securedrop.org/

Bug#1051782: ITP: kiwix-zim -- script to check for updates to your local ZIM library

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 
X-Debbugs-Cc: debian-devel@lists.debian.org, lego...@debian.org

* Package name: kiwix-zim
  Version : 3.0
  Upstream Contact: jojo2357
* URL : https://github.com/jojo2357
* License : GPL-2
  Programming Lang: bash
  Description : script to check for updates to your local ZIM library

kiwix-zim accompanies kiwix/kiwix-tools by automatically downloading new
versions of ZIM files when they are available from the Kiwix server.

I've suggested a slightly more clear name like `kiwix-zim-updater` upstream
at <https://github.com/jojo2357/kiwix-zim/issues/29>.

Bug#969435: ITP: mediawiki-extension-youtube -- Embed YouTube and other videos into MediaWiki pages

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: mediawiki-extension-youtube
  Version : 1.9.3
  Upstream Author : Przemek Piotrowski 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:YouTube
* License : GPL-2.0-or-later
  Programming Lang: PHP
  Description : Embed YouTube and other videos into MediaWiki pages

The YouTube MediaWiki extension allows embedding YouTube and other videos
into wiki pages.

Other supported sites include:
* Google Videos
* Archive.org video and audio
* WeGame
* Tangler forum
* Gametrailers
* Nicovideo
* GoGreenTube

I'll be maintaining this under the MediaWiki packaging team.

Bug#969434: ITP: mediawiki-skin-greystuff -- A fixed-width grey skin for MediaWiki

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: mediawiki-skin-greystuff
  Version : 1.1.0
  Upstream Author : Calimonius the Estrange 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Skin:GreyStuff
* License : GPL-2.0-or-later
  Programming Lang: PHP/CSS
  Description : A fixed-width grey skin for MediaWiki

GreyStuff is a fixed-width grey skin for MediaWiki that is intended to
emphasise content over interface. It's responsive, supporting both desktop
and mobile screens.

I'll be maintaining this under the MediaWiki packaging team.

Bug#966227: ITP: python-libzim -- Python bindings for the libzim library

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: python-libzim
  Version : 0.0.3
  Upstream Author : openZIM developers 
* URL : https://github.com/openzim/python-libzim
* License : GPL-3
  Programming Lang: C++/Python
  Description : Python bindings for the libzim library

python-libzim contains Python bindings for the libzim library, allowing
for programmatic reading and creation of ZIM files in a manner that's
easier and faster than shelling out to zimwriterfs (part of zim-tools).

Many ZIM scrapers are being adapted to now use this Python library.

Bug#964163: ITP: zim-tools -- various ZIM command-line tools

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: zim-tools
  Version : 1.2.1
  Upstream Author : openZIM/Kiwix developers 
* URL : https://github.com/openzim/zim-tools
* License : GPL-3.0-or-later
  Programming Lang: C++
  Description : various ZIM command-line tools

ZIM tools is a collection of various command-line utilities
for interacting with and working with the ZIM file format,
which is primarily used to power Kiwix, an offline Wikipedia
reader (among other things).

Upstream plans to merge zimwriterfs into this codebase in the
near future as well.

Re: Question about embedded Lua

[Kunal Mehta]

Hello,

On 7/25/19 10:27 AM, Kyle Edwards wrote:
> 2. Pick a single version of Lua and stick with it forever, missing out
> on the benefits of newer versions but retaining backwards compatibility

This is the strategy that we've taken for php-luasandbox (uses lua 5.1),
used by MediaWiki. The advice we were given on the lua-l mailing list[1]
was that it's not uncommon or necessarily wrong to pick a single Lua
version and stick with it forever.

We're planing to revisit the decision on whether to upgrade to a newer
lua verison in 2024 (roughly a decade since we last considered it).

[1] http://lua-users.org/lists/lua-l/2012-02/msg00150.html

-- Kunal



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Bug#931738: ITP: libkainjow-mustache -- Mustache text templates for modern C++

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: libkainjow-mustache
  Version : 3.2.1
  Upstream Author : Kevin Wojniak 
* URL : https://github.com/kainjow/Mustache
* License : BSL-1.0
  Programming Lang: C++
  Description : Mustache text templates for modern C++

A header-only Mustache template implementation for C++11, with no
additional dependencies.

This is a new dependency for the latest version of libkiwix, replacing the
unmaintained ctpp2 library.

Bug#930503: ITP: php-wmerrors -- PHP extension that enhances and customizes handling of PHP errors

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: php-wmerrors
  Version : 2.0.0
  Upstream Author : Tim Starling 
* URL : https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/g/mediawiki/php/wmerrors
* License : MIT/Expat
  Programming Lang: C
  Description : PHP extension that enhances and customizes handling of PHP 
errors

wmerrors allows for customizing how PHP errors are handled and displayed to
the user. It is specifically designed for situations where userland code is
insufficient (e.g. OOM errors), but stacktraces and logging are still needed.

Some more explanation of where PHP's built-in error handling is insufficient
is at <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T187147#4298721>. The current
wmerrors development is to get it at feature parity with what HHVM provided.

Bug#911480: ITP: php-excimer -- PHP extension that provides a non-static, non-global profiler

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
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* Package name: php-excimer
  Version : 0.0.1
  Upstream Author : Tim Starling 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Excimer
* License : Apache-2.0
  Programming Lang: C
  Description : PHP extension that provides a non-static, non-global 
profiler

Excimer is a new PHP extension that provides a non-static, non-global
profiler. It is intended to replace MediaWiki's usage of xhprof/tideways.
There are some more details at <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T205059>.

I'll maintain this as part of the MediaWiki maintenance team.

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Bug#907122: ITP: poolcounter -- network daemon which provides mutex-like functionality

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: poolcounter
  Version : 1.0.0
  Upstream Author : Platonides 
* URL : https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/PoolCounter
* License : GPL-3.0-or-later
  Programming Lang: C
  Description : network daemon which provides mutex-like functionality

PoolCounter is a network daemon which provides mutex-like functionality,
with a limited wait queue length. If too many servers try to do the same
thing at the same time, the wait queue overflows and some configurable
action might be taken by subsequent clients, such as displaying an error
message or using a stale cache entry.

It was created to avoid massive wastage of CPU due to parallel parsing when
the cache of a popular article is invalidated (the "Michael Jackson 
problem"[1]).

I'm packaging poolcounter so it can be used with MediaWiki.

[1] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/04/22/prince-death-wikipedia/

Bug#900744: ITP: zimwriterfs -- creates ZIM files from a locally-stored directory containing "self-sufficient" HTML content

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: zimwriterfs
  Version : 1.1
  Upstream Author : Emmanuel Engelhart 
* URL : https://github.com/openzim/zimwriterfs
* License : GPL-3.0-or-later
  Programming Lang: C/C++
  Description : creates ZIM files from a locally-stored directory

zimwriterfs is a console tool to create ZIM files from a locally-stored
directory containing "self-sufficient" HTML content (with pictures,
javascript, and stylesheets). The result will contain all the files of the
local directory compressed and merged in the ZIM file. Nothing more, nothing
less. The generated file can be opened with a ZIM reader; Kiwix is one
example, but there are others.

The main purpose for this will be able to generate ZIM files using
tools that are packaged in Debian.

Bug#871533: ITP: uprightdiff -- examine differences between two images

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: uprightdiff
  Version : 1.1.0
  Upstream Author : Tim Starling 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Uprightdiff
* License : BSD
  Programming Lang: C++
  Description : examine differences between two images

This utility examines the differences between two images.
It produces a visual annotation and reports statistics.

It is optimised for images which come from browser screenshots.
It analyses the image for vertical motion, and annotates connected
regions that have the same vertical displacement. Then it highlights
any remaining ("residual") differences which are not explained by
vertical motion on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

Bug#865724: ITP: php-luasandbox -- PHP extension that provides a sandboxed Lua environment

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: php-luasandbox
  Version : 2.0.13
  Upstream Author : MediaWiki developers 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto
* License : MIT/Expat
  Programming Lang: C
  Description : PHP extension that provides a sandboxed Lua environment

 LuaSandbox is a PHP extension that provides a Lua environment which can be used
 to run untrusted code. It provides a performance benefit compared to using a
 standalone Lua binary.
 .
 LuaSandbox was designed for the MediaWiki Scribunto extension, which allows
 users to write Lua code on the wiki, and then have it executed. But it has
 no dependency upon MediaWiki and can be used standalone.

This package will be useful for those using the MediaWiki package, or for
people who have installed MediaWiki on a Debian system but don't want to
build the PHP extension manually.

This is unrelated to the similiarly named lua-sandbox package.

Bug#830780: ITP: texvc -- validates and converts LaTeX expressions into HTML, MathML or PNG

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: texvc
  Version : 3.0.0+git20160613
  Upstream Author : MediaWiki developers 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Texvc
* License : GPL-2
  Programming Lang: OCaml
  Description : validates and converts LaTeX expressions into HTML, MathML 
or PNG

texvc takes LaTeX-compatible equations and produces formatted output in HTML,
MathML, and (via LaTeX/dvipng) rasterized PNG images.

Input data is parsed and scrutinized for safety, and the output includes an 
estimate of whether the code is simple enough that HTML rendering will look
acceptable.

texvc was written for math support in MediaWiki, but can be used standalone.

This package was formerly in Debian as "mediawiki-math-texvc" but as it does
not depend upon MediaWiki, it is being renamed to "texvc". The source package
is still called "mediawiki-math" because texvc's source is bundled inside the
Math MediaWiki extension. A "mediawiki-extensions-math" package may be
introduced in the future.

This package will be maintained by the MediaWiki packaging team, but in reality
that is just me right now.

Bug#810290: ITP: mediawiki -- website engine for collaborative work

[Kunal Mehta]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Kunal Mehta 

* Package name: mediawiki
  Version : 1.25.5
  Upstream Author : MediaWiki developers 
* URL : https://www.mediawiki.org/
* License : GPL-2.0+
  Programming Lang: PHP
  Description : website engine for collaborative work

MediaWiki is a wiki engine (a program for creating a collaboratively
edited website). It is designed to handle heavy websites containing
library-like document collections, and supports user uploads of
images/sounds, multilingual content, TOC autogeneration, ISBN links,
etc.

Moreover, it keeps track of changes, so users can receive
notifications, view diffs and revert edits. This system has many
other features and can easily be extended.

This package was formerly in Debian and removed due to a lack of active
maintainers and updates. I am an active upstream developer who uses
the software.