FlexWiki
Encyclopedia
FlexWiki was a wiki engine written primarily by David Ornstein. The code was first released in September 2004. Development ceased sometime in 2009.
The engine is open source
, licensed under IBM
's Common Public License
. FlexWiki was the third Microsoft project to be distributed via SourceForge.net
, after Windows Installer XML
(WiX) and Windows Template Library
(WTL).
FlexWiki uses .NET
technology and has an integrated scripting language called WikiTalk. WikiTalk is based on the Smalltalk
programming language (hence its name). It is a simple object oriented language that allows users to add dynamic behaviors to their topics.
While most wiki software systems use a DBMS
to store their content, FlexWiki started out with a textual storage system. Content was stored in text files, reducing some of the administrative overhead of maintaining a wiki site. With the release of v1.8.01653, it became possible to store FlexWiki's content in an SQL Server
database, but the original textual storage system is still available and is the default storage type. It is generally not necessary to scale FlexWiki due to the advanced caching, but scaling is possible using SQL Server, providing that caching is turned off.
One of the primary developers of FlexWiki, Craig Andera, left the project in 2008. Sometime in early 2009, all development stopped, and the main website for the software, at flexwiki.com, went offline.
The internal Microsoft discussion forum Channel 9 used FlexWiki for a period of time, but no longer does.
The engine is open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
, licensed under IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's Common Public License
Common Public License
In computing, the CPL is a free software / open-source software license published by IBM. The Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiative have approved the license terms of the CPL....
. FlexWiki was the third Microsoft project to be distributed via SourceForge.net
SourceForge.net
SourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a centralized location for software developers to control and manage open source software development. The website runs a version of SourceForge Enterprise Edition, forked from the last open-source version available...
, after Windows Installer XML
WiX
The Windows Installer XML , is a free software toolset that builds Windows Installer packages from an XML document. It supports a command-line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM setup packages...
(WiX) and Windows Template Library
Windows Template Library
The Windows Template Library is a free software, object-oriented C++ template library for Win32 development. WTL was created by Microsoft employee Nenad Stefanovic for internal use and later released as an unsupported add-on to Visual Studio and the Win32 Framework SDK...
(WTL).
FlexWiki uses .NET
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
technology and has an integrated scripting language called WikiTalk. WikiTalk is based on the Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
programming language (hence its name). It is a simple object oriented language that allows users to add dynamic behaviors to their topics.
While most wiki software systems use a DBMS
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
to store their content, FlexWiki started out with a textual storage system. Content was stored in text files, reducing some of the administrative overhead of maintaining a wiki site. With the release of v1.8.01653, it became possible to store FlexWiki's content in an SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
database, but the original textual storage system is still available and is the default storage type. It is generally not necessary to scale FlexWiki due to the advanced caching, but scaling is possible using SQL Server, providing that caching is turned off.
One of the primary developers of FlexWiki, Craig Andera, left the project in 2008. Sometime in early 2009, all development stopped, and the main website for the software, at flexwiki.com, went offline.
The internal Microsoft discussion forum Channel 9 used FlexWiki for a period of time, but no longer does.