Wiki source code of XWiki Architecture
Version 8.2 by Vincent Massol on 2017/09/01
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| 1 | {{box cssClass="floatinginfobox" title="**Contents**"}} | ||
| 2 | {{toc/}} | ||
| 3 | {{/box}} | ||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | = What is XWiki? = | ||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | XWiki is a [[Second Generation Wiki>>platform:Main.SecondGenerationWiki]] and as such it's a runtime platform for developing collaborative web applications. It's very versatile and you can modify any part of the XWiki runtime to match your requirements. | ||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | = General Architecture = | ||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | Architecture Concepts: | ||
| 12 | |||
| 13 | * XWiki is a webapp that is deployed into a [[Servlet Container>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_container]]. | ||
| 14 | * XWiki is made of [[Extensions>>extensions:Extension.WebHome]]. | ||
| 15 | * Some Extensions are Core Extensions and they are required for XWiki to execute properly. | ||
| 16 | * Other Extensions can be installed into a running XWiki installation to provide additional features. | ||
| 17 | * The [[Extension Manager>>extensions:Extension.Extension Manager Application]] is a Core Extension that allows installing, upgrading or removing other Extensions. | ||
| 18 | * An XWiki runtime is thus made of Core Extensions + non-Core ones. | ||
| 19 | * A set of Extensions working together to achieve a goal is called a Flavor. | ||
| 20 | * XWiki Enterprise is a generic Flavor that allow users to collaboratively author content. In the near future, several other Flavors will be available. | ||
| 21 | * There are 2 types of Extensions (and it's possible to extends Extension Manager to support other kinds): | ||
| 22 | ** Extensions containing wiki pages. They are packaged as XAR files (a ZIP file with some metadata). | ||
| 23 | ** Extensions containing Java classes. They are packaged as JAR files. | ||
| 24 | * An Extension can depend on other Extensions. A Flavor is itself a top level Extension that depends on several other Extensions. | ||
| 25 | |||
| 26 | The full list of available Extensions can be seen on the [[Extensions Wiki>>extensions:Extension.WebHome]]. | ||
| 27 | |||
| 28 | = Integrating XWiki = | ||
| 29 | |||
| 30 | There are two options for integrating XWiki into your environment: | ||
| 31 | |||
| 32 | * Accessing your environment (other software for example) from XWiki and displaying information inside XWiki's UI. This can be achieved by [[scripting>>platform:DevGuide.Scripting]] inside Wiki pages or by developing Java code. See also the following [[Integration Extensions>>extensions:Main.Tags||queryString="do=viewTag&tag=integration"]]. | ||
| 33 | * Access XWiki's content (wiki pages, user data, etc) from other software by accessing XWiki remotely using [[REST APIs>>platform:Features.XWikiRESTfulAPI]] (It's also possible to use [[XMLRPC>>extensions:Extension.XML-RPC Integration]] or {{scm path="xwiki-platform-core/xwiki-platform-gwt/xwiki-platform-gwt-api/src/main/java/com/xpn/xwiki/gwt/api/server/XWikiServiceImpl.java"}}GWT{{/scm}}). | ||
| 34 | |||
| 35 | = Extending XWiki = | ||
| 36 | |||
| 37 | XWiki being a development platform for web applications there are plenty of ways to extend XWiki. The most obvious one is to [[look for an Extension and install it>>extensions:Extension.WebHome]]. | ||
| 38 | |||
| 39 | However if there's no Extension for what you wish to achieve, here are main options: | ||
| 40 | |||
| 41 | * Use [[scripts>>platform:DevGuide.Scripting]] in wiki pages and access all APIs made available by other Extensions. This allows you to develop Applications in your wiki. Make sure to check the [[FAQ Tutorial>>platform:DevGuide.FAQTutorial]] which shows how to do this. | ||
| 42 | * Develop some Java code to make available [[Java APIs>>platform:DevGuide.API]] which can then be accessed from wiki pages using Scripting. [[XWiki uses a Component-approach to develop Java code>>platform:DevGuide.WritingComponents]]. It's also possible to override any existing XWiki Component with your own implementation, thus changing the default behavior of whatever portion of XWiki that you wish. | ||
| 43 | * [[Create some Macros>>platform:DevGuide.WritingMacros]] to use in your wiki pages. | ||
| 44 | * [[Create new Skins>>platform:DevGuide.Skins]] or modify existing one to match your needs. | ||
| 45 | * [[Create or modify Skin Themes>>extensions:Extension.Flamingo Theme Application]]. | ||
| 46 | * Use [[Skin Extensions>>platform:DevGuide.SkinExtensionsTutorial]] to customize the CSS or JavaScript used to display wiki pages. | ||
| 47 | * Configure what is displayed in various locations of the screen by contributing content for existing [[UI Extension Points>>platform:ExtensionPoint.WebHome]]. | ||
| 48 | |||
| 49 | Check the [[Developer Guide>>platform:DevGuide.WebHome]] to learn about all this and more. |
