Difference between revisions of "Talk:WikiDB"

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This extension is really cool. Do you have any plans concerning external (read-only) queries to the database? --[[User:Martin|Martin]] 23:51, 10 July 2006 (BST)
+
Some old discussion has been deleted. See here for diffs: [http://www.kennel17.co.uk/testwiki/index.php?title=Talk:WikiDB&diff=2046&oldid=2015].
  
: Can you please expand on this - I'm not sure what you mean. --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 23:55, 10 July 2006 (BST)
+
== External queries ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#External queries]].
  
:: Sure. Suppose I have wiki site which is primarily a user-editable database. Each wiki page may provide several database records (let's say information on sequences of proteins of a given family). There is some text which gives some information about the link between these database entries, that's the traditional wiki part. This cannot be put into the database because it's changing often, it may become large, and it doesn't have a meaningful format--the only field name which would be appropriate would be "comments". But the database records are essential for let's say the community of molecular biologists, who use client software to query and analyze the protein from the database. There may be wikis which want to use the database records as illustration, or maybe group the database records differently and comment on them. The idea is to not duplicate the database, but use feeds which would be updated and propagated from the source. My point of view comes from what I did for inserting bibliographic records (PMIDs from Medline and ISBNs from isbndb.org), in wikis: see [http://wikiomics.org/wiki/Biblio Biblio extension]. Someone also pointed out the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikicite Wikicite project]. I don't know where these folks are going exactly, but the idea is to build a database of bibliographic references. Have a look. --[[User:Martin|Martin]] 00:19, 11 July 2006 (BST)
+
== Count of records ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Count of records]].
  
::: I haven't really given this any thought yet, and I will take a look at the links shortly, but on the surface what you say sounds quite plausible.  How I would implement this is to use a new action argument, e.g. $action=rawdata (or an existing action if a suitable one exists - raw?). So if you entered e.g. http://some.domain.org/w/index.php?title=Table:Companies&action=rawdata, you would get the data (and schema?) from the Companies table in a standard format, probably XML.  Does this sound like it would do the trick? (Bear in mind that if the table definition is altered, the XML output will change) --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 00:58, 11 July 2006 (BST)
+
== Table Formatting ==
 +
Moved to [[Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Table Formatting]].
  
:::: I was thinking of something like an SQL SELECT statement. More specifically, the only features that I think would be useful would be:
+
== Parser Functions & Other Extensions ==
::::* download the whole database for local use as you just mentioned.
+
Due to the way that the WikiDB_Parse function was written, using a local parser it won't call into any extensions that have registered with the global parser (e.g. [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ParserFunctions Parser Functions]). However, I have replaced the Parse call with the following, and it seems to be working on my version 1.9.3.
::::* select one or several records by giving one column name and passing a list of strings. All records for which one of those strings matches is selected.
+
:::: I don't know if you can do this simply using MediaWiki. Basically the URL I would pass would be like http://some.domain.org/w/index.php?title=Table:Companies&action=rawdata&select_id=12,34,567 where id is a column name and 12, 34 and 567 are acceptable id values. Maybe it is easier to just write an independent PHP script which queries the database according to the CGI arguments which are found. --[[User:Martin|Martin]] 01:40, 11 July 2006 (BST)
+
  
::::: I think that level of detail is outside the scope of v1, however you're right, it would be fairly trivial to write a PHP script to parse and manipulate the raw data dump, particularly if it is in a standard format such as XML (or, it just occurs to me, SQL - I'm sure that would be possible, and then you could simply import it straight into a traditional database... hmmm... interesting thought!) --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 02:45, 11 July 2006 (BST)
+
<pre>
 +
function WikiDB_Parse( $Input, $Parser, $LineStart = true )
 +
{
 +
                        $title = $Parser->mTitle;
 +
                        $options = $Parser->mOptions;
 +
                        $output = $Parser->parse( $Input, $title, $options, true, false );
 +
                        return $output->getText();
 +
}
 +
</pre>
  
== Fetch and use elements of a table ==
+
-[[User:Jacob|Jacob]] 16:49, 14 April 2007 (BST)
  
Hi!
+
: Looking at my code, a (slightly different) version of this function already exists.  As you don't give details about what code was there ''before'' your changes I'm not sure whether this is something I've already fixed, or whether you are pointing out something a bit more subtle.  If I don't hear anything else, I'll assume it's fixed, but if there are still problems then please let me know! --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 12:22, 19 February 2008 (GMT)
  
As you know, I expect this extension for a long time.
+
== Using the <nowiki><repeat></nowiki> tag to display filtered/sorted Tables ==
Beside his earlier stage, it is a very important step, if we think to use MediaWiki seriously, in my point of view.
+
Moved to [[Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Using the &lt;repeat&gt; tag to display filtered/sorted Tables]].
  
Well, my question is about fetch elements in the DB and use them in a infobox or elsewhere in a page.
+
== Versioning of WikiDB Extension Files ==
I think the '''&lt;repeat>''' tag may be used for that, but I think this tag automatically shows a table with the data fetched.
+
  
What I need to do is something like:
+
*Since this Extension is in continual development now toward v1 and will continue in development afterwards, I'd like to suggest a small change to ALL of your [[WikiDB/Files|WikiDB extension files]] to contain a Version number so that all of us using the extension can check back [[WikiDB/Files|here]] and quickly determine if there have been any updates to the files.  A version number can be attached to the $wgExtensionCredits array in each of your php files as shown below for another extension I have installed on my wiki.
  
 
<pre>
 
<pre>
This are the companies at the DB:
+
$wgExtensionCredits['parserhook'][] = array(
<repeat table="Companies3" criteria="Name!=Microsoft" sort="Logo desc">
+
'name' => 'CreateBox',
  {{name}} is founded at {{founded}} and have a revenue of {{revenue}}
+
'url' => 'http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:CreateBox',
</repeat>
+
'description' => 'Specialized Inputbox for page creation',
 +
'author' => 'Ross McClure',
 +
'version' => '1.5'
 +
);
 
</pre>
 
</pre>
  
which produces the next output:
+
*Also, what would be even more helpful would be to maintain current version numbers on all files on [[WikiDB/Files|this page]] so that all of us using this extension won't have to look in the file sources themselves for the version numbers.
  Intel is founded at USA and have a revenue of #N/A   
+
 
  Apple is founded at April 2005 and have a revenue of $7.42
+
*Further, since you're working toward v1 right now and common version numbering starts with 0.x.y for pre-v1 release versioning, you could start a version number for your files at 0.1.0 or something similar.
 +
 
 +
*Finally, would you consider opening up the development of this extension to the open-source community to allow the inclusion of other code developers/designers/contributors to help develop this extension?
 +
 
 +
Thanks!  -- [[User:Mdrayman|Mdrayman]] 04:31, 1 July 2007 (BST)
 +
 
 +
: The problem is that when I work on it, changes go live straight away which means that (a) sometimes the code is broken (hence my big warning) and (b) that it is too much work to do a version change on each update. I store the code in a local Subversion repository, so it would be fairly easy to add the SVN revision to the top of each file - this will probably do the trick.  There might be some way of outputting this in some central place as well, but I'm not sure.  I will have a think about it... Of course the real solution is to use a separate local testing server (which is what this was, originally, but it has since become the 'public face'), which is something else I might do when I have a bit of time to set one up. 
 +
: Re: opening up the code - I am happy for people to make suggestions and to send me feature implementations or bug-fixes.  I am capable of handling patch files, complete source file with modifications or even just informal code snippets, and of incorporating the changes back into the main branch, and have already done so on a few occasions.  However for the time being I want to keep everything centralised here.  Once we get a bit nearer v1, and the spec. is more clearly defined (particularly re: syntax issues) I will look into adding it to the MW SVN code repository. --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 13:48, 4 July 2007 (BST)
 +
 
 +
:: I have added SVN revision tags to the files, which contain the most recent revision no. of the files.  I have also added a new feature to my WikiDebug extension to display this info in-wiki, and have added this functionality to the [[WikiDB/Files|files page]].  I hope this solves the problem for you (feedback is always welcome!) --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 00:50, 13 July 2007 (BST)
 +
 
 +
::: The latest version (which is not yet posted here) has also added code to display the version number on [[Special:Version]]. Check that page, and if a version no. is being displayed then I have updated the site with this new feature.
 +
::: Regarding the overall versioning of the software, I have decided to adopt a scheme whereby I don't have to remember to update version numbers every time I update the files (as the update often happens automatically).  The revision number is automatically incremented with every change, plus there is a version number that I manually bump whenever there is a schema or stored-date-format change.  This will be available in the next version, when it is made live. --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 12:22, 19 February 2008 (GMT)
 +
 
 +
== Create Forms to fill in Table data ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Create Forms to fill in Table data]].
 +
 
 +
== Hyperlink reference to Table:Name when editing page ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Hyperlink reference to Table:Name when editing page]].
 +
 
 +
== Adding table properties within repeat tag ==
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Adding table properties within repeat tag]].
 +
 
 +
== Some display suggestions ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Some display suggestions]].
 +
 
 +
== Relationships between tables ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Relationships between tables]].
 +
 
 +
==Empty tables==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Bugs#Empty tables]].
 +
 
 +
== Working with WikiDB and SemanticMediaWiki (SMW) ==
 +
 
 +
Hi,
 +
I'm using Mediawiki v1.16. I am wondering if there is a way to integrate between those 2 above extensions.
 +
I'll explain by simple example:
 +
I created a new semantic form called "Form:Books" which contain 2 fields: book number and book name.
 +
In addition, I created a related template called "Template:Books" and contain a simple <nowiki><repeat></nowiki> tag that based on "Books" table (WikiDB table).
 +
Can I pass the form field and use it as a parameter for the repeat tag? In other words, I want to have a form that is based on a simple tables I defined under this WikiDB.
 +
 
 +
(booknum is the field name on Books table. booknumber is the field name on Books form):
 +
<nowiki>
 +
<repeat table="Books" criteria="booknum={{{booknumber}}}" />
 +
</nowiki>
 +
TNX a lot.
 +
 
 +
: Hi there.  This isn't really an issue with SMW as such, but more that WikiDB doesn't currently support &lt;repeat&gt; tags within templates in the way that you want (which affects many use-cases, not just SMW).  This is a feature I would like to add to WikiDB, but it is a non-trivial thing to implement due to the way templates work.  I am considering ways of approaching this, but I don't expect a proper solution for some time as it is hard!  Suggestions, tips or patches welcome... --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 07:42, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
 +
 
 +
:: Note that this should now be possible in WikiDB v4 (r906).  --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 00:52, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
 +
 
 +
== WikiDB & Cite Extensions ==
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Bugs#WikiDB & Cite Extensions]].
 +
 
 +
== Empty string in criteria ==
 +
 
 +
Hello. How can I test empty strings in criteria of the repeat tag? It looks like simple <code><nowiki>criteria = "column_name = ''"</nowiki></code> does not work. Thanks. --[[User:Okino|Okino]] 11:34, 14 January 2014 (UTC)
 +
 
 +
: Good spot!
 +
: I have updated WikiDB to allow this (v3, r856 <small>[[Media:WikiDB.zip|download]] &bull; [[WikiDB/CHANGELOG#r856|CHANGELOG]]</small>).  In this new version you can achieve what you want using <code>criteria = "column_name ="</code>, or <code>criteria = "column_name !="</code> to match non-blank values.
 +
: Thanks for bringing this to my attention. --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 12:29, 15 January 2014 (UTC)
 +
 
 +
== Move page problem ==
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[WikiDB/Bugs#Move page problem]].
 +
 
 +
== Table Definition Oddities and Getting Unique Data Records ==
  
Maybe we can even use the '''&lt;repeat>''' tag with a additional template option, as in
+
I have two questions I'm hoping you might be able to answer.
&lt;repeat table="Companies3" criteria="Name!=Microsoft" sort="Logo desc" template="Infobox company">
+
&lt;/repeat>
+
  
 +
One, I'm struggling with Table Definitions.
  
Best regards and again, thanks for your effort
+
If I put say:
  
Ivo Almeida
+
<pre>> Edition:string
 +
> Deck:string</pre>
  
: Hi Ivo - the first example you give is ''exactly'' how I plan the repeat tag to work!  I have not coded it yet, but basically the contents of the repeat tag will be repeated for each row, with variable substitution working the same way as for templates (I may even harness the template code to do this, if that is possible...).  If you want to [[Special:Emailuser/HappyDog|send me]] your e-mail address I will let you know when this change is in place.  Alternatively, just check back here from time to time.  Thanks for your interest.  --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 17:20, 20 September 2006 (BST)
+
On the Table Definition page, the definitions will apply to the data correctly, but instead of displaying as a nice table of definitions it will display:
  
:: I added this functionality a little while ago, but forgot to update this page.  There are still a few bugs which need to be ironed out, but the general case works. --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 19:10, 1 December 2006 (GMT)
+
<pre>> Edition:string > Deck:string</pre>
  
== WikiDB hate math? ==
+
On the page. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. (Or if the person who maintains the wiki installed things wrong.)
  
It's imposible to use math and WikiDB on one page.
+
Two, is there a way to output only unique entries?
My wiki have a lot of math formulas. I try build special dictionary using WikiDB. If I put on page list of WikiDB records, then any math no works on this page. :((
+
I use MimeTeX as cgi. --[[User:195.16.88.26|195.16.88.26]] 16:03, 22 January 2007 (GMT)
+
  
: Hi - Can you give me an example of the markup that you use so that I can investigate further.  Thanks --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] 16:54, 22 January 2007 (GMT)
+
Like if I have:
  
Thanks for interest. WikiDB is very pleasant extension. I contrive now, how to do nice search for it and it will be beatifull then.
+
* Name: Testing 1
 +
* Name: Testing 1
 +
* Name: Testing 2
 +
* Name: Testing 2
  
Test page with WikiDB (You can destroy this page, it's only test for you):  
+
Is there some way I can get an output of:
http://www.astro.hg.pl/wiki/algorytmy/index.php?title=Test_WikiDB%26Math
+
  
The same original page without WikiDB:
+
Testing 1, Testing 2
http://www.astro.hg.pl/wiki/algorytmy/index.php?title=Ascendent_i_Descendent
+
  
Link for separate page with DB list is no problem here. I only sygnalize you conflict.
+
Instead of
  
 +
Testing 1, Testing 1, Testing 2, Testing 2
  
Definition of DB:
+
?
http://www.astro.hg.pl/wiki/algorytmy/index.php?title=Slownik:Slowka
+
  
Definitions of listed records:
+
[[Special:Contributions/74.65.72.174|74.65.72.174]] 23:39, 23 May 2021 (BST)
http://www.astro.hg.pl/wiki/algorytmy/index.php?title=S%C5%82ownik:Ascendent
+
  
It can be even :<math>a</math> and listing of one record of DB. Effect is identical like definition of data and listing on the same page: error type �UNIQ35cb8610deb4633-math-4952b6c343f9c54300000002-QINU instead of formula.--[[User:195.16.88.26|195.16.88.26]] 21:04, 22 January 2007 (GMT)
+
: Hi there - thanks for getting in touch.
 +
: Re: Your first question - If your table definition is displaying the &gt; characters, then you are not entering into a page within a table namespace.  Your wiki should be configured  to have at least one table namespace, as per [[WikiDB/Installation#Define table namespaces|the instructions on this page]]. Either this has not been set up correctly, or the page you are editing is not within one of the table namespaces you have defined.  If you want to experiment with how things ''should'' work, then feel free to run some tests on this wiki.
 +
: Re: Your second question - There is not currently a way to do this, but it is a good feature suggestion. I have added it to [[WikiDB/Feature requests#Distinct values|WikiDB/Feature requests]].
 +
: --[[User:HappyDog|HappyDog]] ([[User talk:HappyDog|talk]]) 23:29, 22 June 2021 (BST)

Latest revision as of 23:30, 22 June 2021

Some old discussion has been deleted. See here for diffs: [1].

External queries[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#External queries.

Count of records[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#Count of records.

Table Formatting[edit]

Moved to Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Table Formatting.

Parser Functions & Other Extensions[edit]

Due to the way that the WikiDB_Parse function was written, using a local parser it won't call into any extensions that have registered with the global parser (e.g. Parser Functions). However, I have replaced the Parse call with the following, and it seems to be working on my version 1.9.3.

function WikiDB_Parse( $Input, $Parser, $LineStart = true ) 
{
                        $title = $Parser->mTitle;
                        $options = $Parser->mOptions;
                        $output = $Parser->parse( $Input, $title, $options, true, false );
                        return $output->getText();
}

-Jacob 16:49, 14 April 2007 (BST)

Looking at my code, a (slightly different) version of this function already exists. As you don't give details about what code was there before your changes I'm not sure whether this is something I've already fixed, or whether you are pointing out something a bit more subtle. If I don't hear anything else, I'll assume it's fixed, but if there are still problems then please let me know! --HappyDog 12:22, 19 February 2008 (GMT)

Using the <repeat> tag to display filtered/sorted Tables[edit]

Moved to Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Using the <repeat> tag to display filtered/sorted Tables.

Versioning of WikiDB Extension Files[edit]

  • Since this Extension is in continual development now toward v1 and will continue in development afterwards, I'd like to suggest a small change to ALL of your WikiDB extension files to contain a Version number so that all of us using the extension can check back here and quickly determine if there have been any updates to the files. A version number can be attached to the $wgExtensionCredits array in each of your php files as shown below for another extension I have installed on my wiki.
$wgExtensionCredits['parserhook'][] = array(
'name' => 'CreateBox',
'url' => 'http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:CreateBox',
'description' => 'Specialized Inputbox for page creation',
'author' => 'Ross McClure',
'version' => '1.5'
);
  • Also, what would be even more helpful would be to maintain current version numbers on all files on this page so that all of us using this extension won't have to look in the file sources themselves for the version numbers.
  • Further, since you're working toward v1 right now and common version numbering starts with 0.x.y for pre-v1 release versioning, you could start a version number for your files at 0.1.0 or something similar.
  • Finally, would you consider opening up the development of this extension to the open-source community to allow the inclusion of other code developers/designers/contributors to help develop this extension?

Thanks! -- Mdrayman 04:31, 1 July 2007 (BST)

The problem is that when I work on it, changes go live straight away which means that (a) sometimes the code is broken (hence my big warning) and (b) that it is too much work to do a version change on each update. I store the code in a local Subversion repository, so it would be fairly easy to add the SVN revision to the top of each file - this will probably do the trick. There might be some way of outputting this in some central place as well, but I'm not sure. I will have a think about it... Of course the real solution is to use a separate local testing server (which is what this was, originally, but it has since become the 'public face'), which is something else I might do when I have a bit of time to set one up.
Re: opening up the code - I am happy for people to make suggestions and to send me feature implementations or bug-fixes. I am capable of handling patch files, complete source file with modifications or even just informal code snippets, and of incorporating the changes back into the main branch, and have already done so on a few occasions. However for the time being I want to keep everything centralised here. Once we get a bit nearer v1, and the spec. is more clearly defined (particularly re: syntax issues) I will look into adding it to the MW SVN code repository. --HappyDog 13:48, 4 July 2007 (BST)
I have added SVN revision tags to the files, which contain the most recent revision no. of the files. I have also added a new feature to my WikiDebug extension to display this info in-wiki, and have added this functionality to the files page. I hope this solves the problem for you (feedback is always welcome!) --HappyDog 00:50, 13 July 2007 (BST)
The latest version (which is not yet posted here) has also added code to display the version number on Special:Version. Check that page, and if a version no. is being displayed then I have updated the site with this new feature.
Regarding the overall versioning of the software, I have decided to adopt a scheme whereby I don't have to remember to update version numbers every time I update the files (as the update often happens automatically). The revision number is automatically incremented with every change, plus there is a version number that I manually bump whenever there is a schema or stored-date-format change. This will be available in the next version, when it is made live. --HappyDog 12:22, 19 February 2008 (GMT)

Create Forms to fill in Table data[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#Create Forms to fill in Table data.

Hyperlink reference to Table:Name when editing page[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#Hyperlink reference to Table:Name when editing page.

Adding table properties within repeat tag[edit]

Moved to Talk:WikiDB/Repeat tag syntax#Adding table properties within repeat tag.

Some display suggestions[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#Some display suggestions.

Relationships between tables[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Feature requests#Relationships between tables.

Empty tables[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Bugs#Empty tables.

Working with WikiDB and SemanticMediaWiki (SMW)[edit]

Hi, I'm using Mediawiki v1.16. I am wondering if there is a way to integrate between those 2 above extensions. I'll explain by simple example: I created a new semantic form called "Form:Books" which contain 2 fields: book number and book name. In addition, I created a related template called "Template:Books" and contain a simple <repeat> tag that based on "Books" table (WikiDB table). Can I pass the form field and use it as a parameter for the repeat tag? In other words, I want to have a form that is based on a simple tables I defined under this WikiDB.

(booknum is the field name on Books table. booknumber is the field name on Books form): <repeat table="Books" criteria="booknum={{{booknumber}}}" /> TNX a lot.

Hi there. This isn't really an issue with SMW as such, but more that WikiDB doesn't currently support <repeat> tags within templates in the way that you want (which affects many use-cases, not just SMW). This is a feature I would like to add to WikiDB, but it is a non-trivial thing to implement due to the way templates work. I am considering ways of approaching this, but I don't expect a proper solution for some time as it is hard! Suggestions, tips or patches welcome... --HappyDog 07:42, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
Note that this should now be possible in WikiDB v4 (r906). --HappyDog 00:52, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

WikiDB & Cite Extensions[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Bugs#WikiDB & Cite Extensions.

Empty string in criteria[edit]

Hello. How can I test empty strings in criteria of the repeat tag? It looks like simple criteria = "column_name = ''" does not work. Thanks. --Okino 11:34, 14 January 2014 (UTC)

Good spot!
I have updated WikiDB to allow this (v3, r856 downloadCHANGELOG). In this new version you can achieve what you want using criteria = "column_name =", or criteria = "column_name !=" to match non-blank values.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. --HappyDog 12:29, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

Move page problem[edit]

Moved to WikiDB/Bugs#Move page problem.

Table Definition Oddities and Getting Unique Data Records[edit]

I have two questions I'm hoping you might be able to answer.

One, I'm struggling with Table Definitions.

If I put say:

> Edition:string
> Deck:string

On the Table Definition page, the definitions will apply to the data correctly, but instead of displaying as a nice table of definitions it will display:

> Edition:string > Deck:string

On the page. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. (Or if the person who maintains the wiki installed things wrong.)

Two, is there a way to output only unique entries?

Like if I have:

  • Name: Testing 1
  • Name: Testing 1
  • Name: Testing 2
  • Name: Testing 2

Is there some way I can get an output of:

Testing 1, Testing 2

Instead of

Testing 1, Testing 1, Testing 2, Testing 2

?

74.65.72.174 23:39, 23 May 2021 (BST)

Hi there - thanks for getting in touch.
Re: Your first question - If your table definition is displaying the > characters, then you are not entering into a page within a table namespace. Your wiki should be configured to have at least one table namespace, as per the instructions on this page. Either this has not been set up correctly, or the page you are editing is not within one of the table namespaces you have defined. If you want to experiment with how things should work, then feel free to run some tests on this wiki.
Re: Your second question - There is not currently a way to do this, but it is a good feature suggestion. I have added it to WikiDB/Feature requests.
--HappyDog (talk) 23:29, 22 June 2021 (BST)