TiddlyWiki#Tiddlers

{{Infobox software

| logo = Motovun Jack.svg

| logo size = 150px

| screenshot = TiddlyWiki 5.1.9.png

| caption = Screenshot of TiddlyWiki

| developer = Jeremy Ruston and community members

| operating_system = Cross-platform

| language = Multilingual, over 30 languages in TiddlyWiki 5.1.23.{{cite web|title=TiddlyWiki Translations |url=http://tiddlywiki.com/editions/translators/ |date=2004–2015 |work=TiddlyWiki Trac Wiki |publisher=TiddlyWiki Development team |access-date=20 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124055113/http://tiddlywiki.com/editions/translators/ |archive-date=January 24, 2015 }}

| programming language = JavaScript

| genre = Wiki

| released = {{Start date and age|2004|09|30|df=yes/no}}

| latest release version = {{TiddlyWiki version}}

| latest release date = {{TiddlyWiki version|releasedate}}

| license = BSD-3-Clause

}}

File:Standard tiddler edit dialogue box on TiddlyWiki 5.2.0.png

TiddlyWiki is a personal wiki and a non-linear notebook for organising and sharing complex information. It is an open-source single page application wiki in the form of a single HTML file that includes CSS, JavaScript, embedded files such as images, and the text content. It is designed to be easy to customize and re-shape depending on application. It facilitates re-use of content by dividing it into small pieces called Tiddlers.

TiddlyWiki is an unusual example of a practical quine. The idea of producing a copy of its own source code lies at the heart of TiddlyWiki's ability to independently save changes to itself. Quine is also the name of the unofficial TiddlyWiki application for iPhone/iPad.{{Cite web|url=https://tiddlywiki.com/static/Quine.html|title=Quine|website=tiddlywiki.com|access-date=2021-04-17}}

Applications

TiddlyWiki is designed for customization and to be shaped according to users' specific needs, perhaps comparable to a high-level programming language. As such, it can be used for a wide and knowledge domain-agnostic range of special applications. Examples include niche note-taking applications, to-do lists, presentations, collections, authoring tools, personal databases, recipe collections, etc.

Although there are many TiddlyWiki documents on the Web,{{Cite web|url=https://tiddlywiki.com/#Community|title=TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook|website=tiddlywiki.com|access-date=2018-08-24}}{{Cite web|url=https://dynalist.io/d/zUP-nIWu2FFoXH-oM7L7d9DM|title=TiddlyWiki toolmap - Dynalist|website=dynalist.io|language=en|access-date=2018-08-24}} the majority of TiddlyWikis reside on personal computers or in the cloud, or are exchanged by email, in a manner similar to word processing documents and spreadsheets. As a single HTML file, or saved as an HTA file in Microsoft Windows (allowing corporate IE lockdown to be bypassed), TiddlyWiki can be useful in corporate environments where red tape or IT resources might prevent the use of a wiki that requires a more complicated installation.{{cite web |title=Guerilla wiki |url=http://www.technicalauthoring.com/wiki/index.php/Guerilla_wiki |work=Tech Writer Wiki|access-date=2022-02-07 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629113052/http://www.technicalauthoring.com/wiki/index.php/Guerilla_wiki |archive-date=2012-06-29 |url-status=dead}}

TiddlyWiki has been used as a software framework to build specialisations such as the following:

Socialtext used TiddlyWiki to add offline functionality.{{cite news |last1=Farber |first1=Dan |title=Socialtext for the sometimes connected |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/socialtext-for-the-sometimes-connected/ |access-date=13 March 2024 |work=ZDNET |language=en}}

Tiddlers

TiddlyWiki introduces the division of content into its "smallest, semantically meaningful, components", referred to as tiddlers.{{cn|date=March 2024}} Each tiddler is stored inside an HTML division that contains the source text and meta data in wiki markup. The purpose with this division is to enable easy re-use of content for different narratives and in different contexts.

For example, this section ("Tiddlers") could be a tiddler. In the TiddlyWiki user interface it would appear as it appears here but as a separate "note" visually distinct from other tiddlers.

The underlying HTML source code (which is not typically directly viewed or modified by end users) would be something like:

modifier="John Smith"

created="200811132220"

modified="200811132225"

changecount="3"

tags="Wikipedia section example code">

TiddlyWiki introduces the division of...

This same "tiddler" could then be reused in other contexts in the wiki.

Plugins

In addition to containing text, a tiddler can be a plugin with additional JavaScript and CSS to extend TiddlyWiki. As a result, TiddlyWiki is used in a wide variety of adaptations and uses beyond that of a personal wiki.

Popular community plugins include interactive graph visualization or mind maps with TiddlyMap,{{Cite web|url=https://tiddlywiki.com/#TiddlyMap%20Plugin%20by%20Felix%20K%C3%BCppers|title=TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook|website=tiddlywiki.com|access-date=2018-08-24}}{{cite web|url=http://tiddlymap.org|title=TiddlyMap - Wiki-Based Concept-Mapping Software|date=2018-08-24|website=TiddlyMap.org}} project management with Projectify,{{Cite web|url=https://projectify.wiki/demo.html|title=Projectify — Manage projects in TiddlyWiki|website=projectify.wiki|access-date=2021-10-04}} integration with the spaced-repetition-flashcards tool Anki with TiddlyRemember,{{cite web |title=TiddlyRemember — Embed Anki notes in your TiddlyWiki |url=https://sobjornstad.github.io/TiddlyRemember/ |website=sobjornstad.github.io |access-date=13 March 2024}} mathematical typesetting based on KaTeX{{cite web |title=KaTeX Demo — a demo of the KaTeX plugin for TiddlyWiki5 |url=https://tiddlywiki.com/plugins/tiddlywiki/katex/ |website=tiddlywiki.com}} or MathJax,{{cite web |title=MathJax Plugin by Martin Kantor: TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook |url=https://tiddlywiki.com/static/MathJax%2520Plugin%2520by%2520Martin%2520Kantor.html |website=tiddlywiki.com |access-date=13 March 2024}} adding a Disqus-based comment system,{{cite web |title=Disqus comments plugin by bimlas: TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook |url=https://tiddlywiki.com/static/Disqus%2520comments%2520plugin%2520by%2520bimlas.html |website=tiddlywiki.com |access-date=13 March 2024}} and enabling standard Markdown markup.{{cite web |title=markdowndemo — a demo of the Markdown plugin for TiddlyWiki5 |url=https://tiddlywiki.com/plugins/tiddlywiki/markdown/ |website=tiddlywiki.com |access-date=13 March 2024}}

File saving

TiddlyWiki may be saved as a single html file containing both the data (tiddlers) and the application (wiki), or the data can be saved on a per tiddler basis in text files (via extensions).

A TiddlyWiki opened from a file URI may save changes made back to the original file using one of the following techniques:

the Microsoft ActiveX FileSystemObject for Internet Explorer
TiddlySaver Java applet to extend Safari, Opera, Chrome/Chromium, and other browsers. Requires the Java runtime.
Two techniques were developed for the Firefox browser:
Mozilla File I/O under the control of the UniversalXPConnect per-file preferences. That functionality was later removed from Firefox.
The [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/Firefox/addon/tiddlyfox/ TiddlyFox add-on for Firefox] uses the Firefox SDK's simple-storage API. The add-on stopped working with Firefox around version 57 in 2017 which does not support the API.{{cite web |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/SDK/High-Level_APIs/simple-storage |title= Add-ons - simple-storage |author= |date= 2017-01-14 |website= MDN Web Docs |publisher= Mozilla.org |access-date= 2017-10-20|quote= Starting from Firefox 57, only extensions developed using WebExtensions APIs will be supported on Desktop Firefox and Firefox for Android. }}

History

The first version of TiddlyWiki was released by Jeremy Ruston in September 2004.{{cite web| url= http://classic.tiddlywiki.com/firstversion.html |title= TiddlyWiki a reusable non-linear personal web notebook}}
BT Group bought Osmosoft in 2007{{cite web | url = http://jermolene.com/2007/05/29/i-for-one-welcome-my-new-bt-overlords/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110818225131/http://jermolene.com/2007/05/29/i-for-one-welcome-my-new-bt-overlords/ | archive-date = 2011-08-18 | title = I For One Welcome My New BT Overlords | work = Treat with Jermolene | author = jermolene | date = May 29, 2007 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.telco2.net/blog/2009/06/bts_approach_to_open_source_so.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616080618/http://www.telco2.net/blog/2009/06/bts_approach_to_open_source_so.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 16, 2009 |title=Telco 2.0: BT Tries To Fix Global Services with Open Source |publisher=Telco2.net |access-date=2012-05-23}} appointing Ruston as BT's "Head of Open Source Innovation".{{cite web |url=http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/interview/interview-it-infrastructure/open-source-will-change-enterprises-says-bt-guru-2119 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228073356/http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/interview/interview-it-infrastructure/open-source-will-change-enterprises-says-bt-guru-2119 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-02-28 |title=Open Source Will Change Enterprises, Says BT Guru |work=TechWeekEurope UK |publisher=Eweekeurope.co.uk |date=2009-10-16 |access-date=2012-05-23 }}
TiddlyWiki was selected as one of the Top 100 Tools for 2007 and 2008 by the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies.{{cite web|url=http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/Top100Tools/tiddlywiki.html |title=Top Tools: Tiddlywiki |publisher=Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies |date=13 August 2011 |first=Jane |last=Hart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208124407/http://c4lpt.co.uk/top-tools/top-100-tools/top-tools-tiddlywiki/|archive-date=2011-12-08|access-date=February 2, 2017}}
In November 2011, Jeremy Ruston announced his departure from Osmosoft and commitment to continue development on TiddlyWiki.{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.com/group/tiddlywiki/browse_thread/thread/7ea26be3f6b76698# |title=On Leaving BT and Osmosoft - TiddlyWiki | Google Groups |access-date=2012-05-23}}{{cite web |url = http://osmosoft.com/#%5B%5BJeremy%20Ruston%20to%20leave%20BT%5D%5D |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050419122607/http://www.osmosoft.com/#%5B%5BJeremy%20Ruston%20to%20leave%20BT%5D%5D |url-status = dead |archive-date = April 19, 2005 | title = Jeremy Ruston to leave BT | first = Cameron | last = Rejali | publisher = Osmosoft }}
In December 2013 TiddlyWiki5 was released. It is a total rebuild of the original TiddlyWiki, based on HTML5 and with many significant improvements from lessons learnt over the years with the original TiddlyWiki. The original TiddlyWiki has was formally renamed to "TiddlyWiki Classic".{{Cite web|url=https://tiddlywiki.com/#TiddlyWikiClassic|title=TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook |website=tiddlywiki.com|access-date=Jun 24, 2020}}

License

TiddlyWiki is free and open source software and is distributed under the terms of the BSD-3-Clause license.{{Cite web|url=https://tiddlywiki.com/#License|title=TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook|website=tiddlywiki.com|access-date=Jun 24, 2020}}

The copyright of TiddlyWiki is held in trust by UnaMesa,{{Cite web|url=http://unamesa.org/|title=UnaMesa Association|website=unamesa.org|language=en|access-date=2018-08-24}} a non-profit organization.