Changes: Watchlist.py

Latest revision as of 22:20, 4 March 2014

This page describes a script. In general, it refers to the script in its current form, but pywikpedia coders tend only to add functions, not take them away. Chances are that you'll be able to use most of the information on the page, regardless of the age of your installation.

Watchlist.py
Creator:	Daniel Herding Pywikipedia team
Code location:	mediawiki repository
What it does:	Produces your bot account's watchlist
Complexity:	Basic
Applicability:	all MediaWiki installations

Watchlist.py is a script that either lists your bot account's current watchlist — in Wikia terms, the list of pages that your bot is following — on cmd, or, with Mackintosh computers, saves it in a folder called "watchlists" within the pywikipedia folder. It thus has different functionalities depending on the operating system.

Syntax[]

The syntax for this script is:

python watchlist.py

This will produce a watchlist file for the current wiki.

Parameters[]

Name	Function
-all	reloads watchlists for all wikis where a watchlist is already present
-new	loads watchlists for all wikis referenced in user-config.py; if you use your bot account on several different wikis, this parameter will look at your watchlist on all those wikis

Use cases[]

No actual use cases are known, or even imaginable.

Sample output[]

Windows[]

On a Windows machine, output is given within the cmd box itself, in the format:

STDOUT: Alonso Frame
STDOUT: Terence Woodfield
STDOUT: Skutloid
STDOUT: Shur
STDOUT: Amaryll

OS X[]

In Apple systems, output is in a separate file in a folder called "Watchlists" in the pywikipedia folder. It uses an even more unusual, but at least regular, format:

(lp0
VAlonso Frame
p1
aVTerence Woodfield
p2
aVSkutloid
p3
aVShur
p4
aVAmaryll
p5

As can be seen, the letters aV appear before every entry, except for the first one, and the page numbers appear underneath. Why this format obtains is unclear.

It's also uncertain why, on Mac systems, the resultant file has a .dat extension. This is usually associated with video files, so Mac users have to force target the opening application to be something like TextEdit.

The utility of this list is therefore obscure. It doesn't even help you manage your watchlist, which can be more effectively done at Special:EditWatchlist/raw.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |applicability     = all [[MediaWiki]] installations
 }}
-'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a [[script]] that saves your bot account's current  [[help:watchlist|watchlist]] — in [[Wikia]] terms, the list of pages that your bot is ''following'' — in a folder called "watchlists" within the [[pywikipedia folder]].
+'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a [[script]] that either lists your bot account's current  [[help:watchlist|watchlist]] — in [[Wikia]] terms, the list of pages that your bot is ''following'' — on [[cmd]], or, with Mackintosh computers, saves it in a folder called "watchlists" within the [[pywikipedia folder]]. It thus has different functionalities depending on the operating system.
 == Syntax ==
 The syntax for this script is:
@@ Line 34: / Line 35: @@
 == Use cases ==
 No ''actual'' use cases are known, or even imaginable.
 == Sample output ==
+=== Windows ===
-Output is of a highly unusual, but at least regular, format.
+On a [[Windows]] machine, output is given within the [[cmd]] box itself, in the format:
+<pre>STDOUT: Alonso Frame
+STDOUT: Terence Woodfield
+STDOUT: Skutloid
+STDOUT: Shur
+STDOUT: Amaryll
+</pre>
+=== OS X ===
+In [[Apple]] systems, output is in a separate file in a folder called "Watchlists" in the [[pywikipedia folder]]. It uses an even more unusual, but at least regular, format:
 <pre>
 (lp0
@@ Line 51: / Line 63: @@
 As can be seen, the letters '''aV''' appear before every entry, except for the first one, and the page numbers appear underneath.  Why this format obtains is unclear.
-It's also uncertain why, on Mac systems at least, the file has a .dat extension.  This is usually associated with video files, so Mac users have to force target the opening application to be something like TextEdit.
+It's also uncertain why, on Mac systems, the resultant file has a .dat extension. This is usually associated with video files, so Mac users have to force target the opening application to be something like TextEdit.
-The utility of this list is therefore obscure.  It doesn't even help you ''manage'' your watchlist, which can be more effectively done at [[Special:EditWatchlist/raw]].
+The utility of this list is therefore obscure. It doesn't even help you ''manage'' your watchlist, which can be more effectively done at [[Special:EditWatchlist/raw]].
+[[Category:List scripts]]