Is XWiki the best solution for me?

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1

I found Xwiki through /r/java and have some questions about whether the technology might be a good fit for a proof of concept.

My project will rely on the “good people” of the internet to collaborate information and maintain data in a consistent format.

At the moment it is a basic browser addon that will display information on the ethics of an organisation based on the URL.

Here is an example 35

As you can see from the addon in the top right corner, it will give a brief indication of how that organisation is behaving in certain areas e.g. tax, environment, employees.

The user can then find out more information if they wish to become more informed.

At the moment this is just stubbed data.
I was thinking of building a backend with Dropwizard and then fleshing out a schema but I want to consider the Wiki approach first.

So I have some questions:

  • Can I build my own API and business logic around XWiki that the browser extension will consume?
  • Can you define your own data variables e.g. Company X has a Tax Ethics score of A+ or 5 stars (*****)?
  • How well does the Xwiki engine cope with new relationships between entities being formed after lots of records have been created.

e.g. for the Amazon category there is (Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon FR, Amazon DE) subsidiaries on different pages, which have individual scores but an overral score?

Amazon FR 3.1, Amazon DE 2.9, Amazon UK 3.8 ==> average for 3.2

The user flow I have is the following

  1. User sees article on sea pollution for Company X
  2. User navigates to Ithika wiki and then adds the reference link
  3. User changes environmental score of Company X
  4. Internal logic updates the overall score of the Company

Does this seem like a sensible approach, or should I just stick to a DIY backend. The solution screams wiki, but perhaps a specialised wiki.

Any input or questions welcome!

Thanks

2

Anyone?

I will setup a test account and try with a proof of concept

3

Sounds interesting! :slight_smile:

Yes you can create pages in xwiki with scripts in them and that will generate the data you want for outside consumers.

Yes you can create any structured data in XWiki. See https://www.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Documentation/DevGuide/DataModel/

Shouldn’t be a problem.

XWiki is a platform for developing web applications, see https://www.xwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Documentation/DevGuide/Architecture/ and the diagrams.

Thus it’s a good solution IMO. That should save you from having to redevelop a lot of things (authentication, edition, history, etc)! And not have to maintain all the generic stuff and allow you to focus on your specificities.

Good luck! Feel free to continue asking questions here

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