Re: [ba-ohs-talk] TouchGraph WikiBrowser
I find the idea for the touchgraph very interesting. (01)
It would be more interesting as jack says if it had
a hot feed into the database. The PHPwiki and mysql
might be interesting, but the question is what the
API would be that would let you into all the various
backend wiki stores. (02)
Certainly one of the problems that my students have
with thier use of wiki is understanding the relationship
of what the pages are doing with each other. (03)
For me, I would like to do some different types of things
with my wiki viewing. I want to know things like: (04)
a) Please color the nodes differently based on number of visits
b) please color the nodes differently based on authors
c) please color the nodes differently based on age
d) please color the nodes differently based on number of changes
e) please color the nodes differently based on student teams
d) Please color the nodes differently based on recent changes (n days)
f) Please color the nodes differently based on # of links off the wiki (05)
That type of visualization would give me access to a quick
understanding of the "health" of my wiki for each of my
classes without having to work as hard. (06)
Jack Park <jackpark@thinkalong.com> writes: (07)
% What do you mean "What do you think?"!?
% TouchGraph never fails to amaze me! WikiBrowser continues that
% tradition. MeatBallWiki (thanks for pointing *that* out as well) is
% sufficiently complex that you can really watch TouchGraph in action; it
% jiggles for quite a while when you center it on MeatballWiki with 25 links
% showing, then finally settles. (Don't try that on an empty stomach!).
%
% What ultimately makes sense here it an API built into the Wiki engine that
% allows TouchGraph to access the database itself and fill out its graph
% dynamically.
%
% Thanks, Alex.
% Jack
%
% At 02:16 AM 3/13/2002 -0500, you wrote:
% >Hey guys, check out the newly created TouchGraph WikiBrowser, (screen
% >shot: http://www.touchgraph.com/TGWB_100.jpg , download:
% >http://www.touchgraph.com/TGWB_100.zip )
% >
% >"The WikiBrowser is a quick demonstration of how TouchGraph can be used to
% >visualize a Wiki. The current demo renders the MeatBall Wiki Link Database
% >http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?LinkDatabase but any database encoded
% >in a similar format could be displayed. The best part of the interface is
% >that it really gives one a sence of how any given page fits in context
% >with the rest of the pages. Another bonus is that backlinks are clearly
% >visible.
% >
% >The downside is that currently the database must be stored as a local
% >file, and thus the graph will age unless manually updated. However, this
% >issue would not be too hard to resolve by doing some coding on the
% >MeatBall side of things.
% >
% >The user is presented with a split view, with a conventional html browser
% >on the left side of the screen, and a graph of a local region of the Wiki
% >on the right. When the mouse is moved over a hyperlink in the browser pane
% >for which the corresponding node is visible in the graph, the node is
% >colored light blue. Following a hyperlink reorients the graph around the
% >corresponding node."
% >
% >The inspiration for this visualization actually came from Peter Jones'
% >code for rendering the ohs backlink DB. Thanks Peter.
% >
% >So... for this particular Wiki I would say that the visualization is
% >pretty useful. In fact, I found myself turning to the java app instead of
% >the browser when I needed to look up a page whose name I had forgotten.
% >
% >What do you think?
% >
% >--Alex (08)
-----
John Sechrest . Helping people use
CTO PEAK - . computers and the Internet
Public Electronic . more effectively
Access to Knowledge,Inc .
1600 SW Western, Suite 180 . Internet: sechrest@peak.org
Corvallis Oregon 97333 . (541) 754-7325
. http://www.peak.org/~sechrest (09)