MediaWiki/Syntax highlighting

Writing good code follows good coding standards. On top of coding standards, syntax highlighting reveals the code making it easier to read (and learn).

There is a Generic Syntax Highlighter or GeSHi for short which is available as a Debian package (sudo apt-get install php-geshi). Adding a GeSHi Mediawiki extension to allows it to be used in this wiki.

Incorporating it into Mediawiki is just a matter of creating/configuring the extension and including it in LocalSettings.

Usage

There are two code tags that you can use:

1. Simple Tag Format: <'language'>source code here</'language'>
2. Advanced Tag Format: <code ['language'|list] [n] >source code here</code>

Tag Examples

- simple code tag
<php> echo "Hello World"; </php>

- advanced code tag
<code php> echo "Hello World"; </code>

- advanced code tag with line numbers
<code php n> echo "Hello World"; </code>

- default code tag
<code> echo "Hello World"; </code>

- display a list of supported languages
<code list></code>

Documentation

See http://qbnz.com/highlighter/geshi-doc.html for the extensive documentation. GeSHi is used in a number of other software projects like

• Dokuwiki - An advanced wiki engine
• gtk.php.net - Their manual uses GeSHi for syntax highlighting
• WordPress - A powerful blogging system*
• PHP-Fusion - A constantly evovling CMS
• SQL Manager - A Postgres DBAL
• Mambo - A popular open source CMS
• MediaWiki - A leader in Wikis*
• TikiWiki - A megapowerful Wiki/CMS
• TikiPro - Another powerful Wiki based on Tikiwiki
• RWeb - A site-building tool

If you want to use it in OASIS projects besides this wiki, then start with the documentation.

PHP is the HyperText Preprocessor = the most popular programming language for the web

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards = a global standards organization