New User Frustrations

[ThomasMcA]

I’m trying to migrate to XWiki after using MediaWiki on my Linux desktop as my personal KB. I have 250 MW pages - the XML export is 220 Meg.

First, the good:

1. Installation of XWiki is much easier than MW.

2. The WYSIWYG editing options are much better than MW - you even have a format painter!

Now, the frustrations:

1. The installation instructions didn’t tell me how to get to (start) my XWiki! I must have seen a dozen pages that said “start your wiki, and then click on such-and-such.” It took way too much searching to learn that I needed to use http://localhost:8080/xwiki

2. Extensions. By definition, extensions add functionality. Your “extensions,” however, also provide core functionality. That makes the extension list huge, difficult to manage, and difficult to find what I’m browsing for.

3. There is lots of documentation about the large number of extensions, but nothing tells me how to use them. For example, while scrolling through the extensions, I see there’s a Scheduler. What for? Where is it?

4. I installed the MediaWiki XML extension to import my MW data, but nothing in the installation process tells me how to use it. When I search and search and search, I finally learn that I have to use the Filter Streams Converter?!?!?!

5. When I imported the MW XML, the import aborts with an error. Where is the log? When I look in the Admin section, I see a ton of log options, but no way to view the log.

6. Issue 5 made me search my OS for the logs. I found this folder: /var/lib/xwiki/data/solr/xwiki/data/tlog, but those logs have binary data.

7. Those logs reveal a bunch of silly internal errors about features that I chose not to enable. Since my wiki is a local, single-user KnowledgeBase, I don’t need the wiki to use email, watches, or notifications. Logging errors about those disabled functions is just silly, and a waste of system resources.

8. Your Syntax Highlighting seems to be designed for your internal developers, not your users/customers. There is no support for SQL, VB, or Linux bash scripting, which makes the highlighting useless to me.

I liked the ease of installation of XWiki, and the available options seemed promising. But for my needs, XWiki seems like a beta product.

[vmassol]

The installation instructions didn’t tell me how to get to (start) my XWiki! I must have seen a dozen pages that said “start your wiki, and then click on such-and-such.” It took way too much searching to learn that I needed to use http://localhost:8080/xwiki

Could you point me to the instructions you followed? i.e. which method from https://www.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Documentation/AdminGuide/Installation/#HInstallationMethods ?

For example this one clearly mentions it:
https://www.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Documentation/AdminGuide/Installation/InstallationStandalone/

FWIW I’ve now added this section, I hope it helps:
https://www.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Documentation/AdminGuide/Installation/#HAccessingyourwiki

[vmassol]

Extensions. By definition, extensions add functionality. Your “extensions,” however, also provide core functionality. That makes the extension list huge, difficult to manage, and difficult to find what I’m browsing for.

Yes, that’s mostly because XWiki has a small kernel and everything else is Extensions. That’s what makes it modular and extensible.

That makes the extension list huge, difficult to manage, and difficult to find what I’m browsing for.

Why is that? Can you give details?

[vmassol]

There is lots of documentation about the large number of extensions, but nothing tells me how to use them. For example, while scrolling through the extensions, I see there’s a Scheduler. What for? Where is it?

I suspect you found https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Scheduler%20Application …

I can see all the info there: where it is, how to access it, etc.

Can you give more details?

PS: BTW it seems to me you’re not helping yourself much… Did you do a googling of “xwik scheduler” for example?

[vmassol]

I installed the MediaWiki XML extension to import my MW data, but nothing in the installation process tells me how to use it. When I search and search and search, I finally learn that I have to use the Filter Streams Converter?!?!

I don’t understand the problem. When I go to https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/MediaWiki/MediaWiki%20XML/ I can see all the steps explained.

What’s not clear precisely?

Thanks

[vmassol]

When I imported the MW XML, the import aborts with an error. Where is the log? When I look in the Admin section, I see a ton of log options, but no way to view the log.

Some troubleshooting section onhttps://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/MediaWiki/MediaWiki%20XML/ would be nice.

[vmassol]

Issue 5 made me search my OS for the logs. I found this folder: /var/lib/xwiki/data/solr/xwiki/data/tlog, but those logs have binary data.

Yes these are SOLR index, that’s normal…

[vmassol]

• Those logs reveal a bunch of silly internal errors about features that I chose not to enable. Since my wiki is a local, single-user KnowledgeBase, I don’t need the wiki to use email, watches, or notifications. Logging errors about those disabled functions is just silly, and a waste of system resources.

What errors? Can you be more specific? Can you paste them?

[vmassol]

Your Syntax Highlighting seems to be designed for your internal developers, not your users/customers. There is no support for SQL, VB, or Linux bash scripting, which makes the highlighting useless to me.

What is supported is listed here https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Syntax%20Highlighting%20Application#HDescription

Feel free to contribute and add more languages. See https://dev.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Community/Contributing

Maybe what you want is to use the Code Macro:
https://extensions.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Extension/Code%20Macro

[vmassol]

But for my needs, XWiki seems like a beta product.

What is your need? Maybe you’ve picked the wrong tool?

Also note that this is an open source project and you can contribute to improve it. Complaining is not a good way. But suggesting improvements and even helping out (xwiki.org is a wiki that everyone can improve) is.

[bstewart]

I would consider that your frustration may be due to unrealistic expectations. (It’s not as if the developers knew all of your use cases beforehand and designed XWiki to thwart your plans.)