WikiSysop: Die Seite wurde neu angelegt: According to World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, good page addresses should never change[http://www.w3.org/Provider...

2009-04-30T07:35:21Z

Die Seite wurde neu angelegt: According to World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, good page addresses should never change<ref>[http://www.w3.org/Provider...

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According to [[w:World Wide Web|World Wide Web]] inventor [[w:Tim Berners-Lee|Tim Berners-Lee]], good page addresses should never change<ref>[http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI Cool URIs don't change] by Tim Berners-Lee. (Interestingly, the short URLs discussed on ''this'' page are the ones that will break if one day one moves to a system where only the long URLs work!)</ref>. Short URLs which hide complex programming code from the page address is good for webpage visitors. Please take a few minutes to devise a '''stable URL structure''' for your website before getting started, to reduce problems later.<ref>'''Avoid referring to locations in the same directory.''' Doing so can create redirection loops that are hard to get rid of and will always leave holes in the redirection. (One might argue that long URLs are the most "stable" ones, being immune to hosting company environment changes, etc.)</ref> This page has been divided into ''separate'' "how to" mini-guides listed below to make things easier.

==Introduction==
===Defaults===
MediaWiki's default installation path usually looks something like this:
: <code>/var/www/localhost/htdocs/mediawiki/w</code> ''(installed as root user)''
: <code>/home/johndoe/public_html/mediawiki/w</code> ''(installed with a shared hosting provider)''

MediaWiki's default page addresses looks like these examples:
: <code><nowiki>http://example.com/w/index.php/Page_title</nowiki></code> ''(recent versions of MediaWiki, unless using CGI)''
: <code><nowiki>http://example.com/w/index.php?title=Page_title</nowiki></code> ''(recent versions of MediaWiki, using CGI)''

Using the methods below, short webpage addresses can be changed to addresses such as these:
: <code><nowiki>http://example.com/wiki/Page_title</nowiki></code> ''(this is the '''standard''', same as in Wikipedia)''
: <code><nowiki>http://wiki.example.com/Page_title</nowiki></code> ''('''not recommended!''')''

===Advantages and disadvantages===
Long URLs have a key advantage: they work in all hosting environments — a good thing to know lest one day you move your wiki to a hosting environment where you can't keep using the same URLs everyone has bookmarked or linked to.

The advantages of short URLs are that they hide all technical details, as is best practice for URLs [http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI] -- among other things this means they can be kept stable when the underlying mechanism change, if your hosting environment supports this. They are also easier for visitors to remember and allow visitors to navigate the site by URL more conveniently.

Once you've decided that you really want short URLs and are willing to go through the effort, you're ready for the long trial and error configuration as detailed below.

===Shared hosting===
Most shared hosting systems do not allow changes to <tt>httpd.conf</tt>. If you are using a [[Wikipedia:Shared web hosting service|shared host]], first try asking your hosting provider who may well solve your problem for you. If that doesn't work out, depending on your hosting provider, you may be able to edit <tt>.htaccess</tt> (detailed below).

If you have a choice, you should edit <tt>httpd.conf</tt> (which requires root access and is the preferred method because your wiki will perform better<ref name="performance">'''Should you edit httpd.conf or .htaccess?''' While .htaccess does not require root access, there is a performance penalty as httpd then has to search up the directory tree and process all .htaccess files which may apply. See the Apache article, [http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/howto/htaccess.html#when When (not) to use .htaccess files].</ref>). You only need to edit either <tt>.htaccess</tt> or <tt>httpd.conf</tt>, ''not'' both.

==Recommended how-to guide (setup used on Wikipedia)==
The following setup is used on Wikipedia, and tends to be robust and easy to set up. This setup should be used unless you really dislike some aspects of it (it doesn't rewrite all URLs) or you simply can't use it (it requires root access).

===Advantages===
* This method is reliable and guaranteed to work in all versions of MediaWiki for the indefinite future. Other schemes are not tested by MediaWiki developers and might break when changes are made to the software.
* Not all URLs are rewritten, but this is good. With a single simple rule, this allows you to easily block search engine spiders from viewing background pages (like the edit form or history pages), separate actual article views from other accesses in log analysis, et cetera. Although links to edit pages and background pages are slightly less memorable, this is no big deal: the important thing is the articles.
* The method uses Alias instead of Rewrite. This is simpler and more reliable.

===Disadvantages===
* This method requires Apache and root access.

===Setup steps===
First of all, ensure that you are using Apache and have root access (so you can modify <tt>httpd.conf</tt>; modifying <tt>.htaccess</tt> is not enough!). If either of these is false, you cannot use this exact method; you need to modify it appropriately, or use some other method listed below, preferably ''[[Manual:Short URL/wiki/Page title -- no root access]]''.

<ol>
<li> Choose a virtual directory in which you want your articles to appear. This guide will assume that you choose <tt>/wiki/</tt> (as Wikipedia does), articles will then be accessed like <tt><nowiki>http://www.example.com/wiki/Article_title</nowiki></tt>. '''Do not create this virtual directory and it should not exist in the web root folder!'''. This guide assumes that you have installed MediaWiki in <tt>/w/</tt> folder relative to your web root as Wikipedia does, and not in <tt>/wiki/</tt> folder. {{Note}}In case you earlier chose <tt>/wiki/</tt> as your folder for installing MediaWiki unknowingly, then rename the folder name to new name (here <tt>/w/</tt>) and replace <tt>/wiki/</tt> with new path (here <tt>/w/</tt>) wherever you see it (one typically only need to change <code>LocalSettings.php</code> file). {{Note}}The install path '''must not be same as virtual directory''' and '''must not be the web root directory itself''', the first point is important, do not try to ignore it to get prettier URLs, or else this method will not work.</li>
<li> At the bottom of <tt>[[Manual:LocalSettings.php|LocalSettings.php]]</tt>, add the following:
<source lang="php">
$wgScriptPath = "/w"; # Path to the actual files. This should already be there
$wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1"; # Virtual path. This directory MUST be different from the one used in $wgScriptPath
$wgUsePathInfo = true; # Enable use of pretty URLs
</source>
Note that <code>$wgScriptPath</code> should already be set to <tt>/w</tt>. If it is not (for example, if you're moving from a different URL scheme), make sure to set it to that.</li>
<li> Edit <tt>httpd.conf</tt> to contain the rule <code>Alias /wiki /path/to/your/wiki/index.php</code>. Note that the second path is relative to the filesystem root, not the web root! This might be, for instance, <code>Alias /wiki /var/www/w/index.php</code>, if <tt>/var/www/</tt> is your web root. This ALIAS configuration is a minimum configuration, see [[Apache_configuration#mod_alias|Apache configuration]] for further options.</li>
<li> Make Apache reread its configuration file (gracefully restart). You might use, for instance, <code>apachectl graceful</code> or a similar command as root, or use features of [[w:WebHost Manager|WebHost Manager]] or similar software.</li>
<li> In your web root, create a file called <tt>robots.txt</tt> if one does not already exist. Then add the following to the end of the file:
<pre>
User-agent: *
Disallow: /w/
Disallow: /wiki/Special:Search
Disallow: /wiki/Special:Random
</pre>
The first "Disallow" rule stops spiders from indexing histories, edit pages, and other background pages that are useless to users performing a search. This will also prevent duplicate content from being indexed. The second and third rules stop spiders from indexing two special pages that might confuse them, and generally be unhelpful.</li>
</ol>

You're done; your wiki should be working perfectly. If not, go to irc://irc.freenode.org/mediawiki and report any problems.

==Other how-to mini-guides==
Anyone is welcome to create a how-to solution page and list it below. Please use a sensible name for the page, one that fits in with the below names. When each unique solution has its own page, readers can skip complexity they do not want. Keep it simple, readable, short, with a separate page per separate solution.

'''To help others find out which Short URL methods really work, after trying each method please edit the page and increase the "worked" or "didn't_work" numbers for that guide and make a brief (or long, your choice) description on what went wrong by clicking the link on your number.'''

===URL like - example.com/wiki/Page_title===
How to create <tt>example.com/wiki/Page_title</tt> URLs:
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- no root access |worked=59 |didn't_work=8 }} ''- '''recommended''' method if you don't have root access; should also work with PHP as CGI mode''
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- GoDaddy Shared Linux Subdomain |worked=2 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- PHP as a CGI module, no root access |worked=18 |didn't_work=5 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- No hidden subdirectory, no root access |worked=9 |didn't_work=2 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- Both no root and root access |worked=2 |didn't_work=2 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- no root access, version 1.11, 1.12 and 1.13 |worked=2 |didn't_work=2 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- No Root Access, 1.13 alternative |worked=1 |didn't work=1}}
'''Root access''' 
These methods require that you have access to the server configuration. If you are on a shared host, you most likely don't; see the "no root access" examples instead.

{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title |worked=17 |didn't_work=2 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- with aliases--root access |worked=7 |didn't_work=2 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- Apache rewrite--root access |worked=7 |didn't_work=0 }} (''If the Alias method is not suitable [for example, you use PHP as a CGI], you can use Apache instead.'')
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- Lighttpd rewrite--root access |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki/Page title -- nginx rewrite--root access |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}

===URL like - example.com/Page_title===

{{wiki-in-docroot}}

How to create <tt>example.com/Page_title</tt> URLs:
{{/guide |name=Page title -- PHP as a CGI module, no root access |worked=38 |didn't_work=7}}
{{/guide |name=Page title -- Aliasing method--Root access |worked=5 |didn't_work=6}}
{{/guide |name=Page title -- Working method with mediawiki-1.11 |worked=25 |didn't_work=5}} (used [http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/wiki/mediawiki/104782 this method]: [[Image:Face-sad.svg|20px]] '''x2''')
{{/guide |name=Page title -- Solution for mediawiki-1.12 |worked=4 |didn't_work=1}} (also works with 1.10 & 1.13, but not with 1.11., very similar to the above solution)

===URL like - example.com/wiki.php/Page_Title===
{{/guide |name=wiki.php/Page title -- No root No htaccess |worked=1 |didn't_work=0 }}

===URL like - example.com/sub_directory/wiki/Page_Title===
{{/guide |name=sub_directory/wiki/Page Title -- .htaccess |worked=3 |didn't_work=2 }}

===URL like - wiki.example.com/Page_title===

{{wiki-in-docroot}}

How to create <tt>wiki.example.com/Page_title</tt> URLs.
{{/guide |name=wiki.example.com/Page_title--difficult |worked=1 |didn't_work=1 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki.example.com/Page_title--Subdomain with no Subdirectory in Article URL |worked=18 |didn't_work=1 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki.example.com/Page_title--Subdomain using mod-rewrite |worked=1 |didn't_work=1 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki.example.com/Page_title--Subdomain using Lighttpd |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=wiki.example.com/Page_title--Enabling a wiki using Apache Rewrite |worked=2 |didn't_work=0 }}

==Troubleshooting==

===Ampersand (&) problem===
The ampersand problem shows up when you have page titles with symbols in (such as &, ?, #, + and /) that, despite being correctly encoded in the link are not being passed correctly from mod_rewrite to the script. This manifests in 404 page-not-found errors, because the title gets cut off at the special character. For example, clicking on a link to "John & Maria's page" gets a 404, because MediaWiki is looking for a page named "John ".

This is because ampersands in long-form names are treated as [[w:query string|query string]] separators, and would never reach the PHP [[w:runtime|runtime environment]]. This is caused by [http://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=34602 an old and problematic mod_rewrite bug]. There are discussions of other possible solutions at [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/mediawiki-l/2005-June/005814.html lists.wikimedia.org] and [http://fgiasson.com/blog/index.php/2006/07/19/hack_for_the_encoding_of_url_into_url_pr/ fgiasson.com].

'''Solutions:'''
{{/guide |name=Ampersand solution |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=Ampersand semi-friendly solution with root access |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}

===Looping alias/rewrite errors===
If you receive looping alias/rewrite errors such as "Cannot find page www.example.com/wiki/wiki/wiki/wiki/wiki/ [...] /index.php", try one of these fixes:

{{/guide |name=Repeated directory errors |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=Page title -- Working method with mediawiki-1.11 |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}

===Revert to default===
If you need to revert to the default values of your wiki but have accidentally deleted them, here are the defaults:

<source lang="php">
$wgScriptPath = "/wiki";
$wgScript = "$wgScriptPath/index.php";
$wgRedirectScript = "$wgScriptPath/redirect.php";

## For more information on customizing the URLs please see:
## http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eliminating_index.php_from_the_url
## If using PHP as a CGI module, the ?title= style usually must be used.
# $wgArticlePath = "$wgScript=$1";

$wgArticlePath = "$wgScript?title=$1";
</source>

==Tricks==
{{/guide |name=IIS6 |worked=1 |didn't_work=1 }}
{{/guide |name=Prevent bots from crawling index.php |worked=0 |didn't_work=0 }}
{{/guide |name=Ignoring the Trailing slash |worked=0 |didn't_work=1 }}
{{/guide |name=Allowing for escaped characters in URI |worked=2 |didn't_work=1 }}

==See also==
*[[Manual:Short URL/Apache Rewrite rules#Adding_Exceptions|An explanation of what each Apache Rewrite rule does]]
*[[w:Common Gateway Interface#Workarounds for scripting languages|Explanation of what CGI modules are]]
*[[m:URL rewrite in IIS|URL rewrite in IIS]]
*[[Manual:$wgUsePathInfo|$wgUsePathInfo]] - configuration setting that defines whether to use 'pretty' URLs or not

==External links==
*[http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_rewrite.html Apache Module mod_rewrite at Apache.org]

==References==
<references/>


[[Category:Configure|{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Wiki page URLs|{{PAGENAME}}]]

{{languages|Manual:Short URL}}

Short URL - Versionsgeschichte

WikiSysop: Die Seite wurde neu angelegt: According to World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, good page addresses should never change[http://www.w3.org/Provider...