Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-05-13/News and notes

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Graph extension

So we can now insert graphs into articles not as images but as pieces of code? Cool! I can't wait to try it.
Do you know if anyone has done it already? Is there a way to search for all instances of an extension's use?
Of course, the chances are, it will scare the living crap out of most editors, especially the new ones — wiki source without syntax highlighting can be intimidating as it is. But then, it's nothing compared to the Lua fiasco (or can we officially call it a travesty already?).
Primaler (talk) 16:06, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but the underlying system is so sophisticated that it will take a while for parametrization via Lua templates to reduce it to something manageable for the usual editors. Lua fiasco? ResMar 16:35, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Before it gets more readable, "template per graph" approach may be the way to go:

it makes them instantly re-usable
history for the code would be much easier to access (imagine searching through hundreds of edits to find the few relating to code)
graphs will need tracking and managing, categorizing articles with graphs is one option, but categorizing graph templates sounds better

Fiasco seems an appropriate word for a poorly documented pile of unreadable code written in an esoteric language (why, why Lua? why not Haskell, then? why not Brainfuck?) — but anyway, this is probably neither time or place to discuss it, sorry for bringing it up.

Primaler (talk) 17:36, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Primaler: Looks like this VDE is an intended way to go, for now. ResMar 18:18, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Is it all behind the scenes for now or is there a project devoted to this? I think I'd like to follow the developments. It's high time, wikipedia has been looking somewhat out of date for a while now. Primaler (talk) 18:51, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I sure can't figure out many of the "visualizations" demos, for example this "force" one, and I consider myself fairly technical. What is that one supposed to visualize? Are labels for the nodes and/or arcs just not rendering in my browser? EllenCT (talk) 23:25, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

EllenCT: I'm concerned by the fact that the interactivity that was present in the extension a little while ago seems to have vanished now. For instance, hovering over the graphs on this page no longer turns them red; and the country map in the demos no longer updates its outline on mouseover. Considering that was all the pretty in this, I'm mildly concerned. Are you also getting this bug? It doesn't seem to be just me... ResMar 04:40, 17 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, it's working alright! Here's what I can do now:
List of most expensive paintings: Scatter plot
Primaler (talk) 02:18, 17 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]