Idea for simple versioning system

[Mat]

This is not a question nor anything I intend to implement but I just thought it was an interesting idea;

Someone complained that TW doesn't feature versioning. If it is a big deal, then shouldn't it be simple to create a primitive versioning system by merely modding the Save tiddler button (or make a new button) that triggers an action widget that creates a numbered copy of the tiddler? Some minor shuffling to get the old content be in the tiddler with the new (numbered) title is probably needed but we definitely have the tools needed and it shouldn't be very tricky.

Then, also not complicated, just make a tiddler viewtemplate that lists those previous versions. 

Yeah, that was all.

<:-)

[Guille Rmo]

I've thought about it. And they have integrated a diff viewer already. https://tiddlywiki.com/static/DiffTextWidget.html

By quickly googling I have found these: 

* https://github.com/maryrosecook/gitlet

* https://github.com/isomorphic-git/isomorphic-git

* https://github.com/creationix/js-git

Though storing every change you make to the tiddlers could make the TW file quite heavy. I think its worth trying, though :)

[Mark S.]

I'm tempted to pursue this, but can't help but wonder if it hasn't already been done.

-- Mark

[TonyM]

Mat,

There are more than one type of "Versioning system".

Multiple versions of a file or tiddlers?

Tiddlers,

• NoteSelf does this for tiddlers
  
• There is another tool I cant recall released or updated in the last month or so
  
• The Core Plugin Auto-download modified tiddlers
  This plugin causes TiddlyWiki to continuously download (as a JSON file) the contents of any tiddler that is manually changed by any of several means:
• I use the clone button for single tiddlers I may need to revisit after edit
• I created a backup button to this while removing tags 
• There may be solutions on top of Node or Bob

File level

• A number of the file savers have file level versions, so you can recover tiddlers as at a backup date
  

The diff viewer is now available in the latest version during an edit, this could be leveraged to compare versions of a tiddler, or two tiddlers.

Regards

Tony

[FrD]

Hi,

What about http://j.d.revisions.tiddlyspot.com/ ?

Regards

FrD

[TonyM]

I think that WAS IT!

[TonyM]

Mat,

I forgot to add another form of versioning is release versioning like major, minor and patch as with the TiddlyWiki release standards itself.

 eg 5.1.17

I have built a way to mark tiddlers with this - in someways we would call this a logical version, perhaps independent of tiddler versions.

Regards

Tony

[Mat]

Just so no misunderstanding; 

I was just saddened from reading that complaint with someone dismissing TW because the lack of versioning, ie how something so simple could make someone miss out on TW, so I just put up this quick outline of how it can be done. Good to see others have dealt with this issue more thoroughly but I don't personally have any particular interest in the topic (at least not before we federate). 

<:-)

[@TiddlyTweeter]

Mat

Regarding versioning. There is "saving of difference" (parts) and "saving of variants" (wholes) . I'm assuming you mean the latter for stand-alone TW?

I'd say that the automatic versioning in Noteself (when you connect to CouchDb) is very good, infinite and robust IF you into NS.

J.D.'s approach, mentioned in the thread, is useful too. Its elegant design. But its "step-back" is limited. Jeremy's basic architecture that enables it from 5.1.17 is also good but limited.

OVERALL, a useful rich plugin is by "wjam", which has had virtually no feedback, looks very useful. If we gave him some feedback it might get even better. It saves old versions at will, compares them visually (in several ways) and restores them as needed.

It not without issues but that is because he needs feedback.

Original thread: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/tiddlywiki/fxLtI4igpfY/kru1ES3LBgAJ

The beta TWJAM5 Diffview plugin: http://twjam5beta.tiddlyspot.com/

Best wishes
Josiah

[@TiddlyTweeter]

Mat: I was just saddened from reading that complaint with someone dismissing TW because the lack of versioning

I'm saddened too. Especially as we don't often know what "we" have done already. IF we don't clearly know HOW is anybody else going to?

J, x

[Diego Mesa]

There was a similar discussion of a similar approach here:

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/TiddlyWiki/2UNt2IUKzy4/SWvFcRjQBQAJ

[@TiddlyTweeter]

Ciao  Diego

Right. This discussion is not new. And that one you referred to was tight and good.

Its the usual Google Groups problem that "just yesterday" might as well be "a century away."

Good people here learn to be HISTORIANS :-).

I wish we could just FIND stuff related without needing special skills.

Best wishes
Josiah

[h0p3's Wiki]

I believe I care a good deal about my versioning (it's part of what makes my wiki what it is, imho). It's fairly common for me to go back in time to see what the original tiddler or structures in my wiki were. Sometimes I have to recreate something, sometimes I'm making a comparison, and sometimes I'm just trying to better understand the story I'm telling myself in my wiki.

I think there is too much in TW that can't be nicely versioned within TW itself. There are some problems which really are best handled in TW itself, but I'm not convinced versioning at large is one of them (that may just be a bias in how I use TW though). I think versioning is a kind of backup, and there are a lot of valuable ways to backup one's TW. Versioning other kinds of software I run on my system can be a lot more complicated, imho.

Leveraging the fact that TW meaningfully and usably fits into a single file is really convenient, imho. Simultaneously using a number of versioning/backup systems for TW is one of its strengths in my eyes. I feel like versioning the entire TW solves my problems nicely (and, I specifically keep some versions of my tiddlers in my TW by hand to tell a story). I'm surprised this is considered a defect by others. I fear I am missing something important.

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[@TiddlyTweeter]

h0p3: I care a good deal about my versioning (it's part of what makes my wiki what it is, imho). It's fairly common for me to go back in time to see what the original tiddler or structures in my wiki were.

Question: do you use an EXTRA "system"? Or do you do that some solo method? 

[FrD]

Hi,

About Auto-download (or SaveTrail plugin), I believe it could be useful if someone could "merge" this plugin with some kind of "file-backups" (from PMario). So we could choose what tiddler to automatically backup (with a special button for instance) in a designated folder (like file-backups already does) and as a JSON file. It would be a "raw" tiddler-level backup.

Just a thought.

Regards

FrD

Le jeudi 23 août 2018 06:47:17 UTC+2, TonyM a écrit :

Mat,

There are more than one type of "Versioning system".

...

• ...
  

• The Core Plugin Auto-download modified tiddlers
  

• This plugin causes TiddlyWiki to continuously download (as a JSON file) the contents of any tiddler that is manually changed by any of several means ...

[Diego Mesa]

I use a local git repository with semi-daily commits, that I also push up to a private github repository. 

[h0p3's Wiki]

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I'm going to assume I use both extra systems and solo methods?

My wiki is practically my horcrux/personal talisman, so I'm pretty obsessed with making sure I don't lose it. I keep a lot of backups and redundancies. I don't know how to draw the lines for others. Let me just drive home how crazy and incompetent I am at the same time folks:

I'm currently reworking my git, but git is one tool I use (I'll be using every git provider I can get my hands on). I also use dropbox (solid versioning which I've had to use a couple times), archive.org, resilio sync archives (my goto for when I oops in my own base), rsync cronjobs of my entire wiki directory (I have it just in case, but I've not needed it), a compressed daily snapshot collection (this is actually what I use for looking through old versions), the file-backups extension (quick way to solve plenty of snafus), and my system backups (haven't needed it for myself, but it has saved my family's butts many times). I also regularly make backups by hands onto thumbdrives which I distribute to family and friends when I travel.

On Thu, Aug 23, 2018 at 1:40 PM @TiddlyTweeter <Tiddly...@assays.tv> wrote:

h0p3: I care a good deal about my versioning (it's part of what makes my wiki what it is, imho). It's fairly common for me to go back in time to see what the original tiddler or structures in my wiki were.

Question: do you use an EXTRA "system"? Or do you do that some solo method? 

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[@TiddlyTweeter]

h0p3 wrote:

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I'm going to assume I use both extra systems and solo methods?

No idea. Other than your own.
 

My wiki is practically my horcrux/personal talisman, so I'm pretty obsessed with making sure I don't lose it. I keep a lot of backups and redundancies.

I'd never want to get between a user and their horcrux. 

Backups are fine. We talking here about VERSIONING--i.e. systems that help optimise the relation of now and then.

J.

[h0p3's Wiki]

Have I not been talking about versioning? I'm sorry if I'm mistaken or wasting your time.

I currently have 265 different versions of my wiki from the past 5 days each saved on both resilio sync (across a couple boxes) and dropbox (I can go back much further if I need). I think of my daily snapshots as versions as well (I use them that way). I'm convinced I am relating my past edits to the present. Tell me a date and time to roll back to, and I can do that in seconds. Give me a string to search in my versions, and I can do that. I do aim to be able to replay the changes in my wiki over time. Some tools are incremental (delta/diff) and others full (each have their benefits).

Perhaps your distinction is about an optimization problem I'm misunderstanding.

Sincerely,

- h0p3

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[Riz]

For purposes of posterity, I think it would be relevant to poin out snapshots plugin here. I made it to work in conjunction with the timimi plugin.

https://ibnishak.github.io/Tesseract/pluginsandmacros/snapshot.html

[Mohammad]

Hello Rizwan!

 This is a great tool! I am interested in its capability to take backups using Timimi!

But seems It can be used in other cases.

-Mohammad