====== Project documentation in a WIKI ======
===== WHY? =====
Project documentation is probably the most important part in science. Essentially, experiments and results that you don't document have been done in vain. Meanwhile, an electronic documentation has gained increasing attention, because the information is easy to write and format, easy to backup, and easy to share with other project partners. Popular examples are [[https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax|Markdown]], [[https://jupyter.org/|jupyter solutions]], or WIKIs. Certainly, you have visited [[wp>wikipedia]] before, and we trust that you found it pretty helpful. So no need to introduce WIKIs and their importance.  


We do the project documentation using a [[https://www.dokuwiki.org/dokuwiki|DokuWiki]]. The software is easy to install, DokuWiki pages are quickly generated, information can be easily entered, and your partners will see them as soon as you hit the <wrap round safety>Save</wrap> button.  

<hidden Read more?>
We assume that you are already familiar with retrieving information stored in a WIKI. Thus, there is little need to introduce how to **use** WIKIs. However, **generating a WIKI** yourself is probably new. So, we will devote one day of our course on this matter. You will then have plenty of opportunities to practice this knowledge, since you will document the rest of your course work using your own WIKI pages.

\\

<wrap tip></wrap>The WIKI lives from the information you enter. We distinguish different kinds of information, e.g. 
   * Text formatted in different ways, e.g. a written paragraph, bulleted or numbered lists, and the like
   * Images
   * Tables
   * External and internal links
   * Task assignments
   * Polls
   * ...
Follow the links at the end of the page to learn more about how to create WIKI pages.
</hidden>

===== What to consider =====
Of course, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when using a WIKI
  * **You need a computer, and when you access a WIKI via the web, you need an active internet connection**
  * **Unsaved changes** will be lost once you leave the page (or the computer crashes)  
  * **Web-based access** represents a security risk((although there is no report that we know of where a WIKI was used to hack a computer))
  * **WIKI-set up** is not straightforward for everybody
  * If you mix editing with the simple DW editor((you have to remember the wiki syntax for this)) and with the CKG editor((this is an editor that looks a bit like what you are used to when working with MSOffice)), DokuWiki can do funny things. Essentially, it can start to mix the Wiki syntax, which is considerably easy to learn, with way more complex html code. <wrap important>You don't want that!!</wrap>.<WRAP>
<hidden Our advice>
Use the DW editor only, and learn the WIKI syntax
</hidden>
</WRAP>


Click on the tabs to learn more
<WRAP tabs>
   * [[general:dokuwiki:login|Login]]
   * [[general:computerenvironment:wiki:structure|WIKI Structure]]
   * [[general:computerenvironment:wiki:page|WIKI Syntax]]
   * [[general:computerenvironment:wiki:videos|Video tutorials]]
   * [[general:computerenvironment:coursewiki|WIKI and protocols]]
</WRAP>
<WRAP tabs>
   * [[general:computerenvironment:tasksetwiki|back to Work package WIKI]]
</WRAP>