Updated 2010-08-09 (This date will change when there's something new) [YYYY-MM-DD] WoWWiki Dump Date 2010-08-09 (This date will change when the database content is updated)
Note: The dump was retrieved on the above date; however, the date mediawiki did the dump was marked as 'unknown.' It should only be up to a week earlier, at the earliest.
Contents:
Post 1 - Contents and Easy Method
Post 2 - Difficult Method
Post 3 - Difficult Method Cont'd + Optional Steps
Easy Method:
Choose one of the two available offline WoWWiki's.
Name - Installer Size - Installed Size - Description
Full - ~221MB - ~1.5GB - This is the entire WoWWiki dump.
Slim - ~79MB - ~517MB - This is a filtered WoWWiki dump. Pages removed include: User Pages, Talk Pages, Image Pages, Item Pages, NPC Pages, Quest Pages and File Pages.
Note: Neither the 'Full' nor 'Slim' version have any image files in them, as these are not part of the dump. The "Image" and "File" pages are just descriptions of the respective file.
Install Instructions:
Once you have the WoWWiki-Name-Date.exe file, you can save it to a flash drive or CD if you want. This is an "installer" for the database. You do NOT need admin privileges to run it, and the install only consists of extracting files. If you want, you can even just extract the .exe file with an archiver (such as 7-zip) that supports the format. In other words, the entire "installer" is just a compressed set of files, there is no other execution that occurs.
When you run the installer, it will ask for a path to save the extracted files to. This path does not matter, but it must have write permissions.
Uninstall Instructions:
Just delete the folder that you extracted the database to.
Usage Instructions:
In the extracted folder, there will be a .exe file named "MoWeS.exe" If you run that file, it will start a portable Apache and MySQL server. If you get any firewall messages, you can safely BLOCK access. Neither of these servers need WAN access, they only interact through the Localhost loopback interface.
After the servers load, the default browser will open to the main page of the offline WoWWiki dump. The WoWWiki main page may not look 100% familiar... so you should start with the search box on the left-hand side.
Abstract:
This guide will show you how to set-up a portable MediaWiki server to browse WoWWiki dumps offline. The purpose of this is not to replace visiting www.wowwiki.com, but to provide a way of viewing the content without an internet connection. It can be installed onto a USB Flash drive, provided it has enough space (between 300MB and 1.5GB depending on options).
The XML database content is provided from www.wikia.com under the GNU Free Document License.
In case it isn't overly obvious, it is important to note that the content of the databases are from www.wowwiki.com. I am only detailing how to take the freely available information from the internet to make an offline viewable version for yourself.
Portability:
The term portability, as used to describe this method, means that there is no permanent install of any software. None of the software attaches to the host PC, nor does it require an admin account. The folder in which the MediaWiki is extracted can be easily moved or deleted without adversely affecting the MediaWiki (provided the servers are not running) - however, if you delete the folder, don't expect it to run anymore.
Alternatives explored:
I tried applications such as: WikiFilter, WikiTaxi, and BZReader. None of them performed properly with the WoWWiki XML dump. That is why I chose to do the method described in this post.
Requirements:
*A Windows PC (tested on Vista 32-bit, should also work on 2000 and XP)
*About 5GB (over estimate) of HDD space for initial set-up.
*The finished product is between 300-1500MB, which can be transfered to a thumb drive.
*7-Zip http://www.7-zip.org/ or an archiver capable of handling 7z, zip, gz, and bz2 files.
*WoWWikiSplit Link Removed: http://www.mediafire.com/file/2kbt81bos8le400/WoWWikiSplit v0.4a.7z - coded in C++ by me, source included. It also includes some PHP scripts that you will need.
*A WoWWiki database dump - links will be provided later in the guide.
*Basic knowledge of the windows command prompt
Getting Ready:
Create a folder on a hard drive that has sufficient space. It will hereafter be referred to as "X:\Path\". If you are going to be putting the Wiki onto a thumb drive, it will be much faster and have less wear on the thumb drive if you do the initial set up on a hard drive, then copy the folder contents to the thumb drive.
Portable Server Setup:
1) Download a MoWeS Porable package, http://www.chsoftware.net/en/useware/mowes/mowes.htm. Click on the download link, and specify that you do not have a MoWeS Portable II package. You will be presented a check list of package options. Select the following, and note the version numbers down so you can download appropriate extensions later.
2) From "Server Software": Apache2_SE, PHP5, and MySQL5. Note it is important that you do not download the SE versions of PHP5 or MySQL5 as some needed binaries will not be included.
3) From "Application Software": MediaWiki.
4) You will be presented with a "zip" file of all your selected packages. Extract this file to "X:\Path\".
5) Run "X:\Path\MoWeS.exe", and it will guide you through the initial install. Note this does not attach any programs to the host in anyway, it just extracts them. If you are prompted by your firewall to unblock MySQL or Apache, you should be able to safely DENY access. Neither of these programs will need WAN access at any point for the purposes of this install. Once the install is complete and MoWeS is running, it will open your internet browser to your new http server, just close the browser.
6) Hit the "Options" menu in MoWeS, and change "http://localhost/start/" to "http://localhost/mediawiki/"
7) Save and close the options menu, but leave MoWeS running.
MySQL Database Set-up
1) Extract WoWWikiSplit.7z from Requirements to "X:\Path\".
2) Open a command prompt (Run "cmd" or "command"), then browse to "X:\Path"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "php5\php tomyisam.php" - this should run fast, and will convert the default MediaWiki MySQL db from InnoDB tables to MyISAM tables.
4) From Windows Explorer, open "X:\path\mysql\my.ini" in notepad (or preferred text editor). Search (ctrl+f) for "default-storage-engine", change it from "=InnoDB" to "=MyISAM"
5) Search for "#skip-innodb" and delete the '#' character in front of it. Save this file and close the file.
6) Open "X:\path\www\mediawiki\localsettings.php" in notepad. Search for "$wgDBTableOptions", change it from "ENGINE=INNODB" to "ENGINE=MyISAM", save and close the file.
7) Close MoWeS and restart it for the changes to take effect.
Database Import: (The potentially long part)
1) Download the WoWWiki XML dump http://www.wowwiki.com/Special:Statistics - Look for "Database dumps" and download the one that says "Current pages"
--XML dump import filtered: (2.5~14 hours, Advanced, see WoWWikiSplit.txt for usage instructions)
1) Save the "pages_current.xml.gz" file to a temporary folder (hereafter "X:\temp")
2) Open a commant prompt, then browse to "X:\Path\"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "mowes\7z e -so X:\temp\pages_current.xml.gz | WoWWikiSplit [options]"
Note: See WoWWikiSplit.txt for details on [options]
--XML dump import unfiltered: (12+ hours)
1) Save the "pages_current.xml.gz" file to a temporary folder (hereafter "X:\temp")
2) Open a command prompt, then browse to "X:\Path\"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "mowes\7z e -so X:\temp\pages_current.xml.gz | php5\php www\mediawiki\maintenance\importdump.php"
Optimizing the database: (a few minutes)
1) From the cmd prompt, run "php5\php optimize.php" to truncate the cache table, and optimize the other tables.
Configuring MediaWiki:
1) Open "X:\path\www\mediawiki\localsettings.php" with notepad. Go to the end of the file to insert the following lines to increase performance:
WoWWiki Dump Date 2010-08-09 (This date will change when the database content is updated)
Note: The dump was retrieved on the above date; however, the date mediawiki did the dump was marked as 'unknown.' It should only be up to a week earlier, at the earliest.
Contents:
Post 1 - Contents and Easy Method
Post 2 - Difficult Method
Post 3 - Difficult Method Cont'd + Optional Steps
Easy Method:
Choose one of the two available offline WoWWiki's.
Name - Installer Size - Installed Size - Description
- Full - ~221MB - ~1.5GB - This is the entire WoWWiki dump.
- Slim - ~79MB - ~517MB - This is a filtered WoWWiki dump. Pages removed include: User Pages, Talk Pages, Image Pages, Item Pages, NPC Pages, Quest Pages and File Pages.
Note: Neither the 'Full' nor 'Slim' version have any image files in them, as these are not part of the dump. The "Image" and "File" pages are just descriptions of the respective file.Download Links:
Install Instructions:
Once you have the WoWWiki-Name-Date.exe file, you can save it to a flash drive or CD if you want. This is an "installer" for the database. You do NOT need admin privileges to run it, and the install only consists of extracting files. If you want, you can even just extract the .exe file with an archiver (such as 7-zip) that supports the format. In other words, the entire "installer" is just a compressed set of files, there is no other execution that occurs.
When you run the installer, it will ask for a path to save the extracted files to. This path does not matter, but it must have write permissions.
Uninstall Instructions:
Just delete the folder that you extracted the database to.
Usage Instructions:
In the extracted folder, there will be a .exe file named "MoWeS.exe" If you run that file, it will start a portable Apache and MySQL server. If you get any firewall messages, you can safely BLOCK access. Neither of these servers need WAN access, they only interact through the Localhost loopback interface.
After the servers load, the default browser will open to the main page of the offline WoWWiki dump. The WoWWiki main page may not look 100% familiar... so you should start with the search box on the left-hand side.
Abstract:
This guide will show you how to set-up a portable MediaWiki server to browse WoWWiki dumps offline. The purpose of this is not to replace visiting www.wowwiki.com, but to provide a way of viewing the content without an internet connection. It can be installed onto a USB Flash drive, provided it has enough space (between 300MB and 1.5GB depending on options).
The XML database content is provided from www.wikia.com under the GNU Free Document License.
In case it isn't overly obvious, it is important to note that the content of the databases are from www.wowwiki.com. I am only detailing how to take the freely available information from the internet to make an offline viewable version for yourself.
Portability:
The term portability, as used to describe this method, means that there is no permanent install of any software. None of the software attaches to the host PC, nor does it require an admin account. The folder in which the MediaWiki is extracted can be easily moved or deleted without adversely affecting the MediaWiki (provided the servers are not running) - however, if you delete the folder, don't expect it to run anymore.
Alternatives explored:
I tried applications such as: WikiFilter, WikiTaxi, and BZReader. None of them performed properly with the WoWWiki XML dump. That is why I chose to do the method described in this post.
Requirements:
*A Windows PC (tested on Vista 32-bit, should also work on 2000 and XP)
*About 5GB (over estimate) of HDD space for initial set-up.
*The finished product is between 300-1500MB, which can be transfered to a thumb drive.
*7-Zip http://www.7-zip.org/ or an archiver capable of handling 7z, zip, gz, and bz2 files.
*WoWWikiSplit Link Removed: http://www.mediafire.com/file/2kbt81bos8le400/WoWWikiSplit v0.4a.7z - coded in C++ by me, source included. It also includes some PHP scripts that you will need.
*A WoWWiki database dump - links will be provided later in the guide.
*Basic knowledge of the windows command prompt
Getting Ready:
Create a folder on a hard drive that has sufficient space. It will hereafter be referred to as "X:\Path\". If you are going to be putting the Wiki onto a thumb drive, it will be much faster and have less wear on the thumb drive if you do the initial set up on a hard drive, then copy the folder contents to the thumb drive.
Portable Server Setup:
1) Download a MoWeS Porable package, http://www.chsoftware.net/en/useware/mowes/mowes.htm. Click on the download link, and specify that you do not have a MoWeS Portable II package. You will be presented a check list of package options. Select the following, and note the version numbers down so you can download appropriate extensions later.
2) From "Server Software": Apache2_SE, PHP5, and MySQL5. Note it is important that you do not download the SE versions of PHP5 or MySQL5 as some needed binaries will not be included.
3) From "Application Software": MediaWiki.
4) You will be presented with a "zip" file of all your selected packages. Extract this file to "X:\Path\".
5) Run "X:\Path\MoWeS.exe", and it will guide you through the initial install. Note this does not attach any programs to the host in anyway, it just extracts them. If you are prompted by your firewall to unblock MySQL or Apache, you should be able to safely DENY access. Neither of these programs will need WAN access at any point for the purposes of this install. Once the install is complete and MoWeS is running, it will open your internet browser to your new http server, just close the browser.
6) Hit the "Options" menu in MoWeS, and change "http://localhost/start/" to "http://localhost/mediawiki/"
7) Save and close the options menu, but leave MoWeS running.
MySQL Database Set-up
1) Extract WoWWikiSplit.7z from Requirements to "X:\Path\".
2) Open a command prompt (Run "cmd" or "command"), then browse to "X:\Path"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "php5\php tomyisam.php" - this should run fast, and will convert the default MediaWiki MySQL db from InnoDB tables to MyISAM tables.
4) From Windows Explorer, open "X:\path\mysql\my.ini" in notepad (or preferred text editor). Search (ctrl+f) for "default-storage-engine", change it from "=InnoDB" to "=MyISAM"
5) Search for "#skip-innodb" and delete the '#' character in front of it. Save this file and close the file.
6) Open "X:\path\www\mediawiki\localsettings.php" in notepad. Search for "$wgDBTableOptions", change it from "ENGINE=INNODB" to "ENGINE=MyISAM", save and close the file.
7) Close MoWeS and restart it for the changes to take effect.
Database Import: (The potentially long part)
1) Download the WoWWiki XML dump http://www.wowwiki.com/Special:Statistics - Look for "Database dumps" and download the one that says "Current pages"
--XML dump import filtered: (2.5~14 hours, Advanced, see WoWWikiSplit.txt for usage instructions)
1) Save the "pages_current.xml.gz" file to a temporary folder (hereafter "X:\temp")
2) Open a commant prompt, then browse to "X:\Path\"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "mowes\7z e -so X:\temp\pages_current.xml.gz | WoWWikiSplit [options]"
Note: See WoWWikiSplit.txt for details on [options]
--XML dump import unfiltered: (12+ hours)
1) Save the "pages_current.xml.gz" file to a temporary folder (hereafter "X:\temp")
2) Open a command prompt, then browse to "X:\Path\"
3) From the cmd prompt, run "mowes\7z e -so X:\temp\pages_current.xml.gz | php5\php www\mediawiki\maintenance\importdump.php"
Optimizing the database: (a few minutes)
1) From the cmd prompt, run "php5\php optimize.php" to truncate the cache table, and optimize the other tables.
Configuring MediaWiki:
1) Open "X:\path\www\mediawiki\localsettings.php" with notepad. Go to the end of the file to insert the following lines to increase performance:
2) Save and close the file.
Install optional MediaWiki Extension: (required to view some pages properly)
1) Go to http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:ExtensionDistributor/StringFunctions and download the snapshot that corresponds to the version of your MediaWiki in your MoWeS package - usually 1.15.x
2) Go to http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:ExtensionDistributor/ParserFunctions and download the snapshot that corresponds to the version of your MediaWiki in your MoWeS package - usually 1.15.x
3) Go to http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:ExtensionDistributor/Cite and download the snapshot that corresponds to the version of your MediaWiki in your MoWeS package - usually 1.15.x
4) Extract the archives to "X:\Path\www\mediawiki\extensions"
5) Open "X:\Path\www\mediawiki\LocalSettings.php" with notepad, and add the following line to the bottom:
require_once ("$IP/extensions/StringFunctions/StringFunctions.php"); require_once( "$IP/extensions/ParserFunctions/ParserFunctions.php" ); require_once("$IP/extensions/Cite/Cite.php");6) Save and exit
Enabling the Search Feature: (optional, ~15 minutes, requires more space)
1) Open a command prompt, and browse to "X:\path"
2) From the cmd prompt, run "php5\php www\mediawiki\maintenance\rebuildtextindex.php
3) Optionally run, "php5\php optimize.php" to reoptimize the tables (slightly reduces size).