computer science

The Wiki Way

The Wiki Way is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Wiki Way rather than just read about it. In short: The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web is a 2001 book about wikis by Bo Leuf and Ward Cunningham. It was the first major book published about using wikis.

Key takeaways

The Wiki Way belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Wiki Way to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Wiki Way from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web is a 2001 book about wikis by Bo Leuf and Ward Cunningham. It was the first major book published about using wikis. Cunningham invented wikis when he wrote WikiWikiWeb, the first wiki website software. The book is about how to manage wiki systems, followed by a perspective on the nature of wiki-style online communication.

Reception Eugene Eric Kim wrote in Web Techniques that "Leuf and Cunningham do a good job of explaining what a Wiki is" and said "The Wiki Way is about the way we work, and that makes it a worthwhile read." David Mattison of Searcher tried the book's QuickiWiki script. Simon Worthington stated, "The Wiki Way book is a manifesto and a software manual in one, with the essentials for Wiki installation attached on CD."

References

External links Book homepage Copy of the book in Archive.org

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Wiki Way

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Wiki Way claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Wiki Way before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Wiki Way ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Wiki Way

In research: The Wiki Way appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Wiki Way in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Wiki Way is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 non-fiction books, Addison-Wesley books, Books about the Internet, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Wiki Way outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Wiki Way in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Wiki Way means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Wiki Way out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Wiki Way in simple terms?

The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web is a 2001 book about wikis by Bo Leuf and Ward Cunningham. It was the first major book published about using wikis.

Why does The Wiki Way matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Wiki Way?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Wiki Way.