WikiInterchangeFormat

ThoughtStorms Wiki

I'm thinking seriously about the right way for SdiDesk to export data to other applications.

And I was reading Meatball:WikiInterchangeFormat.

But damned if it doesn't look more and more like it can't be done.

What I mean is, wiki so thoroughly blends concrete and abstract. It isn't a logical representation of a document structure and a particular rendering. That's it's strength. Any coder might add one more RegularExpression which does a bit of logical and a bit of presentational transformation at the same time.

But it also means that a wiki neutral format for interchange between wikis is fiendishly difficult. I'm not saying a logical impossibility. Just that I don't see anyone getting together much beyond the most basic and naive format : title, bold, italic, links.

Maybe I should just invent an XML format of SdiDesk data and see if anyone wants to use it.

Counter :

Maybe minimal is better than nothing, and OK : SuckLine, WorseIsBetter

Don't give up on TopicMaps as a possibility.