Wikipedia talk:Lua/To do/Archive 1

Simpler templates?
Hi, converting wikitext templates into Lua templates is an interesting work for Google Code-in. However, the templates listed here are very complex, and embed other templates. It would be great if we could split the tasks into smaller pieces. For instance, among the transcluded templates is there any that would be interesting to convert first?--Qgil (talk) 21:46, 3 December 2013 (UTC)
 * While sometimes subtemplates should go into different modules, most of the time they should all go into the same module. The main reason for having subtemplates is because that is the only way it is possible to call the same template code multiple times. If this is the case, it is usually best to implement the subtemplate as a function in the main module. For example, all the templates called from documentation could be implemented as functions, with the exception of pp-template and fmbox (the latter has already been converted to Lua anyway). I can see how converting these hugely complicated templates might not be the best for the students, though. :) I'll see if there are some easier ones lurking out there that I can find. — Mr. Stradivarius  ♪ talk ♪ 08:04, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi and, the two EASY templates have been already rewritten in Lua, while the same student  has just claimed Template:Multiple_issues, tagged as MEDIUM. Do you have more easy templates for other Google Code-in students? Also, let me know if you think any of the "Other tasks" is suitable for GCI students.--Qgil (talk) 20:34, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Grand plan?
Hi! I'm very new here - got to Lua templates from a hackaton, so I have no Idea what I'm talking about. If there is a wish to convert all templates to modules - I think that that's a great way to get people not currently in wikipedia involved. Unlike most open-source coding missions, template conversion is very easy to get into, it's a small app you do from scratch (most small missions are debugging other people's code, which no-one likes), and it will actually be used by wikipedia. It's a perfect programmer-version of maintaining wikipedia values. Collecting conversion candidates, testing modules (to match templates), and converting approved templates can be done by simple python-bots. All in all - great hackaton materia. Let me know if that makes any sense. Tsahee (talk) 08:22, 27 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Absolutely, that sounds like a great idea. :) The more people we can get involved, the better. How about bringing this up on the main project talk page? This page is meant for discussion about the To do page, rather than for discussion of Lua in general. Best — Mr. Stradivarius  ♪ talk ♪ 08:39, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

External libraries?
So one nice thing about Lua is that there is some open-source code out-there that may prove useful for wikipedia too. I looked at [] which may not be a perfect example but it's close enough. How do we feel about trivially converting external libraries to modules? Can there be a licensing problem? Most request at least that "this disclaimer / license" is included when copying the code - is that o.k? Tsahee (talk) 08:22, 27 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Yep, that's all good. As long as the licence is compatible with Wikipedia's, then we can use it. You just need to copy the code over and make sure you do whatever is necessary to comply with the licence. A lot of Lua code is licensed with the MIT licence, and we can use that with no problems. If the licence allows the freedom to copy, modify, and distribute the software, including commercially, then we should be able to use it. But if you have any doubts, please ask. :) Also, this kind of thread will go better at the protect talk page at WT:Lua. — Mr. Stradivarius  ♪ talk ♪ 08:37, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Parameter listing
I've just begun Module:TemplateTools, and I've got working a feature that automatically lists all the parameters actually used by a template, and their default values (i.e. ).  It's still at a very early stage, but maybe people doing translations could find it useful. Wnt (talk) 07:36, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Looks interesting - I'll have a play around with it later. If you're looking to parse wikitext and don't want to reimplement the entire parser, you could try cribbing from mwparserfromhell, a wikitext parser written in Python that is already stable and used in some well-known Wikipedia bots (Legobot, for a start). Also, if you're looking for more AI-level tasks you could add automatic generation of metatables for memoisation. And maybe you could add a 5.5, "automatically convert subtemplates". Anything over number 5 or 6 sounds like a PhD-thesis-level task to me, though. :) — Mr. Stradivarius  ♪ talk ♪ 08:03, 8 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Actually, I'm even reduplicating some of my own efforts from Module:FormatTemplate going about it a different way ... this is a bit of an exercise so far. (Also there's Module:TemplateDataGenerator which I haven't really looked at).  I think my practical goal here is to split up the work of rewriting a template into several independent parts, so that you can do some one day and some the next, or have several volunteers work on different pieces, but I'm really not going to be sure how hard it is to do a nearly full conversion minus a small percent of leftover slag (like obscure parser functions) until I get neck deep in it. :) Wnt (talk) 16:29, 8 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Speaking of "neck deep in it".. I've gotten to the point where there's something almost resembling Lua code in places at Module talk:FormatTemplate. My, but it's a beast, and it's been a struggle.  Still... I wouldn't give up hope yet. Wnt (talk) 00:00, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

Dts template
Hi! I made some progress with DTS template, and I have some questions. The best way seemed to be to write them down in Module_talk:Sandbox/Dts and ask you here to take a look. Thank you! Tsahee (talk) 20:45, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Suggestion
How about Template:Val? It has limit issues too. --JulesWinnfield-hu (talk) 12:04, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Anyone taking that on may want to review a discussion at my talk because convert is now able to show a unit name, optionally linked. I think val is still using some tricky logic and the old convert templates for that. Johnuniq (talk) 01:54, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

Redirect to Wikipedia talk:Lua
I've proposed redirecting this page to the main project talk page at Wikipedia talk:Lua. If anyone is interested, please join the discussion. — Mr. Stradivarius  ♪ talk ♪ 12:54, 2 February 2014 (UTC)