Best 8 Wiki Software for your project

There are lots of open-source and commercial wiki software packages available online. You can search with Google with the wiki keyword and can find lots of wiki software. Here are a few popular wiki software packages available:

1. DokuWiki: DokuWiki is a simple wiki engine based on PHP and can be used to create any type of document. It is simple and standards compliant. It is suitable for small companies, development teams, and user groups. The most interesting part of this wiki is that it does not have any database. As a result all the data is saved in a plain text file. The syntax is very simple yet powerful enough to create any type of content. Key features include: simplified editing, linking, support for image and other files, plug-ins support to extend wiki functionality.

2. PhpWiki: PhpWiki is a clone of original WikiWikiWeb. It was the first wiki software written in PHP and was released in 1999. It supports a majority of the databases. The installation process is very simple and gives you what you look for in an out-of-the-box solution. It supports plug-ins in order to increase functionality. It is suitable for freeform discussion-based site creation and also for collaborative development sites.

3. PmWiki: PmWiki is a PHP-based wiki that does not require any database. It is very easy to install and to extend its functionality. It supports a template system in order to change the look and feel of the website as well as the functionality to a great extent. It also provides an access control system in order to protect site pages or groups of pages by enabling a password-protected mechanism. It also gives ample opportunity to customize the site as well as extend its functionality using plug-ins.

4. Wikipage: It is small, but a wiki standard, easy-to-use system. Wikipage is more secure than Tipwiki. It has password-protection support for access control, multilanguage and multisite support. Other common features include file uploading, table support etc.

5. TWiki: TWiki is a flexible, powerful, and easy-to-use enterprise collaboration platform and knowledge management system. It is a structured wiki written in Perl. It is typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet or on the Internet. It does not require any database since the data are stored in file system. It has a powerful plug-ins system with more than 200 plug-ins available to use such as spreadsheet, image gallery, slide shows, drawings, charts, graphs, etc.

6. Kwiki: Kwiki is perhaps the simplest to install, most modular, and easiest to extend. It is written in Perl and also available in CPAN. Other than providing basic wiki features,Kwiki by default offers slide shows, page backups, privacy options, and blog capabilities that are not found in any other wiki. It supports a plug-ins system in order to extend functionality.

7. MoinMoin: MoinMoin is written in Python and has been derived from the PikiPiki wiki engine. This wiki uses a flat file and folder in order to save data. It does not require any database for operation. It is extensible and customizable. It supports sub-pages, Unicode, RSS feed, a template system, theme support, an access control list, and an anti-spam feature.

 8. QwikiWiki: QwikiWiki is another wiki system written in PHP and does not require any SQL database in order to operate. It uses cookies and its own file system in order to process and manage files. It has some key features like file uploading, a template system, and an access control system.

You should know about MediaWiki before using wiki engines

Before we get down to starting on wiki engines (and wikis in general), I would like to take a minute to present a case in point—the wiki that started it all.

Wikipedia
The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit is the slogan of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. Wikipedia is a great online resource center for everyone and every purpose. It is the biggest multilingual encyclopedia available online, containing over 2 million articles and still growing. You won't be surprised to hear that many of us have first heard the term wiki from the site Wikipedia. Have you ever wondered what software is managing such a huge number of articles and performing flawlessly? The software is none other than MediaWiki, a wiki engine that manages wiki site. Now let's see what a wiki means.

Wiki
A wiki is a browser-based collaborative writing environment, in which a community may amass and exchange information on particular topics, and to which anyone may contribute without having web programming skills. In other words, a wiki is a piece of software that is used for collaborative content creation. Different people have different ideas about what a wiki really is, but whichever definition we take, a wiki is software that handles complex problems in a
simple manner.

According to Leuf and Cunningham, the creators of the original wiki concept, "a wiki is a freely expandable collection of interlinked web pages, a hypertext system for storing and modifying information—a database, where each page can easily be edited by any user with a forms-capable web browser client". The content can be directly linked to that found in other wikis and in web documents.

In many situations, we need something collaborative on the Internet. We should be able to contribute to a particular discussion and ensure that everyone has the ability to participate. Wiki gives us this opportunity and flexibility to perform such tasks. To use a wiki, we do not have to be a webmaster or have knowledge about web programming. We do not need any special software for that. Just open a web browser, go to a wiki site and start writing. We neither have to wait for a webmaster to upload our contents and share with others, nor do we have to wait for any administrator to approve our contents to be shown. We can do it ourselves instantly.