:!: **NEEDSATTENTION** Experiences and the whole :experiences namespace should be removed

====== Real Case Experiences ======

This is a set of overviews about some [[DokuWiki]]'s experiences in real case scenarios, by people that use it regularly.

===== Scalability =====

[[devel:scalability]] -- How does DokuWiki scale. How big is your data tree?


What type of system are you running DokuWiki on? OS? Hardware specs?
===== Coding Environment =====
This section is about [[DokuWiki]] applied in real scenarios as a [[:Experiences:CodingEnvironment | coder/developer support tool]].

I used [[DokuWiki]] in a recent software engineering project. I specifically went hunting for a wiki that used file storage and loved the simplicity and elegance of what I found. As part of the project I needed to reference a very large and complex set of [[wp>XML schema]] that were used in the [[wp>WSDL]] definition of our [[wp>web services]].  Early in the project I realized that I was wasting time navigating all the interdependent schema types using existing schema tools. I wanted to be able to quickly navigate the schema types and add my own annotations (outside the schema files). I figured that a wiki would be perfect to both navigate and annotate the schema. I also realized that if the wiki used file based storage I could develop a code generation tool that converted the set of interdependent XML Schemas into a set of wiki text files that would be much simpler than the equivalent HTML. In the final tool, each schema has its own Dokuwiki namespace that resides under a parent "schema" namespace that I can make readonly for most wiki users. Other wiki pages can then easily reference the simple and complex schema types qualified by a namespace prefix. Each type page also includes cross reference links back to all the dependent types that reference this type either as a field or via type inheritance. The final generated schema wiki proved very useful in the project.  I hope I can open source the XML Schema => wiki text conversion tool one day.

In the same project I also found file based wikis to be invaluable when used in conjunction with a [[wp>version control system]] tool like [[http://subversion.apache.org|Subversion]] or [[http://git-scm.com|Git]].  I can run a local copy of Dokuwiki and take it on a laptop out of the office and then check in updates when I get back - perfect for offsite consulting work. I patched the [[http://www.splitbrain.org/blog/2007-12/01-dokuwiki_on_a_stick|Micro Apache version of Dokuwiki]] to the latest version; secured it to be only accessible from localhost, and then configured it to run as a very light weight NT service so it's always available on start up.  I can optionally configured the wiki root to point to a specific directory in our project source control tree so I can check in changes for the rest of software team to use. This is important because sometimes we need to check in a set of documentation changes and source code changes in a single check in.  I've not used it but you might also want to have a look at the [[plugin:websvn|websvn plugin]].  [[:namespace_templates|Namespace templates]] can also be handy for ensuring consistent documentation conventions.

//I found that file based wikis and version control are a perfect matched pair!//     

===== DocCollab Tool =====
This section is about [[DokuWiki]] applied in real scenarios as a [[:Experiences:DocCollab | documentation and collaboration tool]]. I work in a team of 5 people, that are open to share knowledge and know-how. We don't produce much technical documentation, not because it's not necessary but because we mainly execute support [[tasks]]. These support tasks are usually critical in terms of deadline (short timeframes), require our full attention and are initiated and closed through e-mail messages.

>I use DokuWiki in http://www.guia-ubuntu.org. This is an Ubuntu Linux documentation site which receives about 1400 visitors each day. The document is written by many contributors that add content and fix some content bug. Actually we have about 100 users __registered__.

>At [[http://www.symbulos.com|symbulos - ethical services]], we have recently started using DokuWiki to edit collaboratively developed business plans and strategic plans, with contributors that are in different geographic areas. We set up different permissions for different namepsaces, different pages, so contributors who co-operate in a project but not in another one can only read, edit their project. We have just started using it, but it looks very good for the job. Added: Saturday 05 Nov 2005.

> We use DokuWiki in our prepress-oriented company. Roughly 30 people continuously update the data in our Wiki, mostly at the same time. It now serves for around one year without any problems. Added: January 19, 2005
===== Intranet =====

This section is about [[DokuWiki]] applied in real scenarios as a [[:experiences:intranet | intranet]] site for internal use by an organization. The ability for all users to create and update content, as opposed to the traditional intranet administered by one person or department, makes it ideal for use as an internal website. While [[DokuWiki]]'s use as an [[:experiences:intranet | intranet]] site is closely related to its use as a [[:Experiences:DocCollab | documentation and collaboration tool]], it can certainly be used for a lot more than just documentation.

> I installed [[DokuWiki]] as our office intranet last week, and plan on using it to collaborate on legal and law enforcement information. I am an Assistant District Attorney in a prosecutor's office on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Our office, along with most local law enforcemnent agencies, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I hope that by using a wiki, our office can better update and distribute information more effectively. Our office plans on using it for everything from maintaining our "form bank" of legal documents, distributing office policies and memoranda, phone lists, and even some case management. I chose [[DokuWiki]] because of its ease of installation on Apache and Windows (I don't have time to install Linux on a Proliant 6300, and we already have a server with raid doing virtually nothing), its simple markup language (making acceptance by non-technical users a lot easier), and its [[Access Control Lists]] (keeps sensitive information private). Added: September 4, 2006.

>> Well its been four months since I installed and started using DokuWiki in our office, and so far myself, a homicide prosecutor, and the office chaplain are the only three actively using it. I've been using it myself mostly to compile information I need, and to write some short articles on various legal topics. The homicide ADA is using it to keep track of evidence and statements in a complex homicide case, and the chaplain is using it to put up his weekly thoughts. I've told a few people in the office about it, and they all initially think its great, but then seem to lose interest. I think this is because most of the users are lawyers, and lawyers hate change and updates. That coupled with the fact that most of us are vastly overworked and underpaid make working on a wiki the last thing anybody wants to do after a 12 hour work day. I have a feeling that most of the data on the website won't require much updating, as criminal law does not change that rapidly. I had hoped that other information, such as phone lists and contact information, would be more rapidly updating as it is constantly changing here. I think slowly there will be more adaptation, but it will take a long time. We'll see.

> Tried introducing DokuWiki as a platform for documentation in a small support team of 11 people. Even though DokuWiki was the perfect tool for our existing documentation mess, was unable to make the whole team use it. Here are some issues I faced:
> Many people just don't get what a wiki is all about. I took training sessions, created style guides, installed the necessary plugins etc. But was still too much of a jump for half the team. However, on the positive side, the other half of the team swear by DokuWiki!
> Image upload was considered as a serious limitation, compared to copy/paste feature of word. 
> Lack of offline editing was considered as a serious issue. And typing in an editor with the Wiki syntax without Preview was not considered optimal. 
> As you can see, these are more issues of adaptation rather than DokuWiki. I just felt that others take these into account when planning a rollout of DokuWiki (or any other wiki).
> Nevertheless, I will not give up. Maybe, I will join a company which is already using DokuWiki next :)

>>>We use DokuWiki to run all our intranet documentation in a 250-seat company. We use on DokuWiki installation for our intranet homepage, off which hang all our web apps etc as well as several more DokuWiki installations for each department. It works well and is accepted well amongst departments with young computer-literate users, but requires a lot of support in department with older or less computer-literate users, who seem to lack an intuitive grasp of the wiki concept or markup syntax. Overall though it is a fantastic tool that works well for us.

===== Personal Journal =====
This section is about [[DokuWiki]] applied in real scenarios as a [[:Experiences:PersonalJournal | personal journal tool]]. Although it lacks a calendar plugin, DokuWiki can handle daily pages very well. Just create a monthly journal page, that aggregates all daily journal pages, and start adding content for each day.

> Although I've applied this idea in a real-scenario for nearly a year, I've found out that users and authors can more easily track down posts by category and dates using a Blog Engine than they can using a Wiki Engine. That's because Wiki's nature is more of collaboration in documentation as opposed to capturing information with categorization. I've seen somewhere a concept-prototype, using WordPress and DokuWiki, which if it works it seems to me like a very good idea: Easy Content Categorization with Easy Editing and Easy Content Linking. --- //[[jose.monteiro@dowedo-it.com | José Carlos Monteiro]] 2005-07-21 19:10//
===== Normal Website =====
This section is about [[DokuWiki]] applied in real scenarios as a [[:Experiences:WebsiteCMS]]. Although it lacks from a navigation sidebar, such as the ones provided by [[http://www.pmwiki.org/wiki | PmWiki]] or [[http://yawiki.com/yawiki/ | Yawiki]], this small and fully-feature WikiEngine can help create, maintain and link content pages such as products, services, about the company and so on. Have you deployed DokuWiki in such manner? If so, please report your experience while running DokuWiki as a [[:Experiences:WebsiteCMS]].

> I will be using DokuWiki for my website soon, currently I'm helping my host test everything.  I like how quick and easy it is to create, layout, and link, to new pages.  I've tried a typical website but without much graphical ability it wasn't very cosmetically appealing.  I then tried using a forum, since my site is about game design, but that was hard to keep things organized (can't move anything once it's posted, without a hassle).  I've always liked how Wikipedia works but for some reason I never even thought to look for some kind of wiki hosting, until recently.  DokuWiki is easy to use, has good cosmetic appeal, and helps with organizing information wonderfully.  It does need some kind of optional navigation side-bar or something though, and discussion pages like on Wikipedia would be nice too.  A few minor enhancements for cosmetics and functionality is all it needs to be a perfect website engine.


> I use DokuWiki in the [[http://www.tinytoon-fan.de|Tiny Ton Fan]] Website and I think that DokuWiki is a very useful piece of software. It's not perfect (sometimes a little bit slow, the recent changes list is only for every page one time, no comparing of different middle version of a file and so on), but for a small website like this it is very easy to set up and unproblematic to use. I think it's a good selection -- LH (27.10.2005 10:51)

> I have started using DokuWiki for my info site [[http://allofpune.dopanne.com/doku.php|All of Pune]]. Some of the annoyances like Index, pretty headers, better breadcrumbs are nicely taken care of by  [[http://wiki.jalakai.co.uk/dokuwiki|Sidebar Template]]. As the wiki will be used as static CMS, probably I need to remove  'ShowPage' and 'Old Revision' buttons from top. They have been reported to cause difficulty. Otherwise, it's working excellent!

> We are using DokuWiki for [[http://www.jugendbewegung.de]] which is a page about German youth-movement. We collect appointments and other interesting Information. We did a little bit of redesign and added some functionality we needed. 

> I use DokuWiki on my private homepage [[http://www.matwei.de]] to present some of my projects. Some of the pages are editable by everyone. I also use a slightly changed version of the  sidebar template to get a navigation menu. I want to thank all the developers of DokuWiki. Its a great tool!

> I use DokuWiki for my personal online notepad and basically an organization tool for all my notes, todo lists, snippets, task information, projects etc. It has allowed me to stop using several note books and scrap papers all over the place and keep everything in one private, easy to update area. It's very easy to install, configure and use. Thank you for creating it!!

> I use DokuWiki to run my private homepage [[http://seiichiro0185.ftpaccess.cc]]. I use a slightly modified version of the arctic template with most of the buttons removed when not logged in. I'm really amazed how easy it is to set DokuWiki up and customize it. Thanks for creating this great piece of Software!

> I have mounted an OpenBSD server which omognst other things actually hosts [[http://www.jean-francois-simon.com/jean-francois/wiki/livre/doku.php|DokuWiki]] pages. It works very fine since begining of 2009 and actually is both graphically sweet and of a particularly practical ease of use. Thanks !

===== PostNuke Integration =====
There is a [[http://noc.postnuke.com/projects/dokuwiki/|Project]] to integrate authentification and style of PostNuke. This method doesn't modify any of the DokuWiki core files. It uses a customized config file (conf/local.php), a customized authentication method (inc/auth/postnuke.php) and a special templates set (lib/tpl/postnuke) to achieve this task. \\

//The project above includes no instructions at all. Furthermore, no 'dokuwiki' module is listed in PostNuke after installation.// 

Another [[http://www.postnuke.com|Postnuke]] Module of DokuWiki is available under http://rapidshare.de/files/3746573/pnDokuwiki.zip.html. This module modifies the DokuWiki files in many places.