What is a WikiWord?

A WikiWord consists of two or more words with initial capitals, run together. WikiWords are used to refer to topics.

WikiWords refer to topics, and topic names are WikiWords. When you type a WikiWord, you create a link to that topic, or a link to create that topic if it doesn't exist yet. You type WebHome and on saving the page this becomes WebHome. It's as easy as that.

WikiWord linking is easy to use:

You don't have to know the full path to where the topic is stored - you just type the name
You don't need to write HTML
Easy linking leads to interesting texts with links placed in context

WikiWords are styled like this because:

It makes Wiki hyperlinks instantly recognizable
It leads to interesting Wiki topics
It avoids over-general topics because at least two words are required

Note that acronyms are also auto-linked, but only if the topic already exists.

Syntax of a WikiWord

Uppercase letter(s)
Lowercase letter(s) or numbers(s)
Uppercase letter(s)
Optional lowercase or uppercase letter(s) or number(s)

WikiWord syntax in Extended Backus.Naur form (EBNF):

    wikiWord        = upperLetters , lowerNumLetters , upperLetters , { alphaNum } ;
    upperLetters    = upperCase , { upperCase } ;
    lowerNumLetters = lowerNum , { lowerNum } ;
    alphaNum        = upperCase | lowerCase | digit ;
    lowerNum        = lowerCase | digit ;
    lowerCase       = "a" | "b" | "c" | "d" | "e" | "f" | "g" | "h" | "i"
                    | "j" | "k" | "l" | "m" | "n" | "o" | "p" | "q" | "r"
                    | "s" | "t" | "u" | "v" | "w" | "x" | "y" | "z" ;
    upperCase       = "A" | "B" | "C" | "D" | "E" | "F" | "G" | "H" | "I"
                    | "J" | "K" | "L" | "M" | "N" | "O" | "P" | "Q" | "R"
                    | "S" | "T" | "U" | "V" | "W" | "X" | "Y" | "Z" ;
    digit           = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9" ;

Preventing automatic linking

Sometimes you want to be able to enter a WikiWord without the automatic linking. When editing in TML, simply put an exclamation mark (!) before the word. !WikiWord WikiWord will be displayed as WikiWord WikiWord.

Good examples of WikiWords

WikiWord
GoodStyle
VersionFiveDotThree
ReleaseVersion5dot3
AVeryLongWikiTopicNameIsAlsoPossible: wherever an uppercase or lowercase letter is allowed, a group of letters of the same case is allowed
YearTwoThousand
Nine2Five: Note that numbers are considered to be lowercase letters in WikiWords

Bad examples of WikiWords:

Web: Name without the uppercase letter(s), lowercase letter(s), uppercase letter(s) sequence
5Alive: Name beginning with a number
Know-How: Name with dashes in between

Variations in linking

When you write a WikiWord, it becomes a link. There are more ways

To write a custom link label, use bracket notation: [[AccessControl][access control]] - this becomes: access control
To link to a topic in another web, write: Sandbox.WebSearch - this becomes: WebSearch
To link to a topic in another subweb write: Sandbox.Subweb.WebSearch.
To show the web name in the link use bracket notation: [[Sandbox.WebHome]] - this becomes: Sandbox.WebHome
To link to a topic on another Wiki site, use: Foswiki:Main/WebHome - this becomes: Foswiki:Main/WebHome (sites are defined in the InterwikiPlugin)
To link to a part on the same page, write a "#" followed by the name of an anchor. The anchor is a "#" followed by a name which must be a WikiName. Example #MyAnchor. You can also link to an anchor on another page: System.WebHome#MyAnchor.
To link to a header on the same page, write a "#" followed by the header text, with spaces replaced by underscores (and ! removed): [[#Good_examples_of_WikiWords]] becomes: #Good_examples_of_WikiWords. You can also link to a header on another page: System.WebHome#Disclaimer becomes: WebHome#Disclaimer.

Hints

Insert WikiWords wherever you can. Rich linking helps to make a Wiki successful.
Be specific. All topics in a web share one name space. For example, instead of FunctionalSpec write BreadSlicerFunctionalSpec because other projects might also have a functional spec topic.
Create topics with singular names. Plural WikiWords are automatically linked to the singular topic, i.e. the link WikiWords links to the topic WikiWord (works only in English).
Sometimes you have to be creative to find a good WikiName. Examples:
- To create a topic about the the Bread Slicer 1.2 product, use BreadSlicer1dot2 or BreadSlicer1pt2, but not BreadSlicer1.2.
- Numbers are considered lowercase which makes Year2K and Y2K WikiWords but not Y2000 and Y2k.
Turn acronyms into WikiWords, i.e. take FaqIndex for a "FAQ index" topic.
It is possible to turn off the auto-linking of WikiWords and to rely only on the bracket notation using the NOAUTOLINK preference setting.
When linking to a WebHome topic in another web, the link will be rendered as the name of the web, e.g. Sandbox.WebHome becomes Sandbox.
Dots (.) are used as seperators between webs, subwebs, and topics. It is not possible to use dots in topic names. Foswiki does not attempt to guess if a dot could be part of a topic name.

Related Topics: TopicMarkupLanguage