Forum:Switching to the new parser

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Hi all,

There will soon be some important code changes in the software we use at Wikia. There is a new version of the "preprocessor", which converts the text you enter in the edit box into the formatted text on the article page. This has a few differences to the old version, so switching over is likely to cause some pages to show errors - in particular pages with complex templates and formatting, and pages that contain faulty HTML. We can't update the main software until this switch over is done on all wikis, so it is important that we get it done soon.

Most wikis should see very little effect, so the first wikis to be switched will be those that are inactive and those that our tests show are likely to have very few pages affected. After that we will help the more active wikis and those with a lot of problem pages to fix problems before they are switched.

To see which group your wiki is in, you can check the list at Forum:Switching to the new parser/group list. If you are listed there, you are in group 2. Everyone else is in group 1.

The new parser will be switched for group 1 on Tuesday, February 10th. If you see any problems, then the first thing to do is check your pages and templates for bad formatting - especially unclosed HTML tags. If you can't see what to change, then please contact us using the form at Special:Contact and we'll give you a hand.

For group 2, there are lists of pages that might have issues linked from the group list.

The switch will happen for group 2 on February 17th or March 3rd. You may want to look at the list of pages before then and fix any problems. If you need advice, please check the help page or contact us using the Special:Contact form.

Thanks - sannse (talk) 20:25, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

New Parser / Wikipedia templates
Hi Sannse will this new version help solve the mal/non functioning Wikipedia template problems I'v got at Tractor Wiki or will it give me more ?

- BulldozerD11 02:32, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Which template? Most non-simple templates cannot be used here directly from Wikipedia without some recoding. Can you please leave me a link to the template on your wiki (NOT here), I'll take a look at it. --Uberfuzzy 02:35, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * OK Put a load of links to various related templates and discussion at Wikipedia with the creator of some of them on your talk page at TW. Thanks for looking into it. I'll check back later today as Im on GMT time  -- BulldozerD11 03:28, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I think these are more likely to be to do with an extension they use (and we don't) called HTMLTidy. Although they are using the new parser, so it could be a factor -- sannse (talk) 10:06, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * What does the list actually mean (in plain english0 Are they all pages that fail the test then as looks a lot !! But the most pages have one or more Navigation templates on them. With more to come. The WP function templates are Intricate as have nested doc pages in most as well. - BulldozerD11 22:38, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * No, they don't all have 'errors' but their current versions render differently than the one after the parser upgrade. this can be something as small as adding a class to an element, when there is an issue, it's usually caused by incorrect formatting of templates, once the templates are fixed, most pages should be fine -- Sixorish 23:05, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * So it may be a case of wait and see what looks broke (after fixing the known broke bits before). Luckily a lot of the Stuff was put in place for future development & Cause it was callled by wikipedia articles I imported as the basis for building on and part of the documentation of templates I was uploading to use and left loads of red template links if not uploaded as trying to cut the stuff off/out was causing more problems due to the intricate nested nature of WP templates. (with hind sight it may have been better to borrow from other wikiA's for some things but I originally thought wikia was same as WP !!!) A set of stripped down versions would be an idea to have for Wikis that need wikipedia compatibility. -- BulldozerD11 12:59, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Usually previewing the comparisons by the parser diff test should give a fair idea of the outcome (except those using extensions like #dpl) -- Sixorish 21:27, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Images
It seems the wiki code to make an image appear will be a tad different with the new thing. If i use my userpage at fr.guildwars as an exemple, images are currently showing perfectly with a code like this :. But after the change, the image will appear full size and the specified size will be use as the name of the image and popup when we mouse over.

I'm not sure how to correct this. It seems the order of the parameter or the way it handle optional parameter has change. Anyway, this mean that every single image call on the 10 000+ pages of fr.guildwars need to be changed. And this wont be feasible by a bot since we dont have a constant string to search; name of images is changing and the size too. Sometimes it will be easier since a single template edit would do the trick.

So, is it really the way images code is handled that will change or were we doing it wrong from the start ? If something is changing, what is it exactly ? — TulipVorlax 04:08, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Oh ! I think i got it.
 * Only the width of images can be specify and the height is calculated automatically. — TulipVorlax 04:14, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Ok, now i need the way to ask AutoWikiBrowser to find for me all pages with a string like 000px000px but i'm not to good with regex. — TulipVorlax 04:29, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Does AutoWikiBrowser look at page text? For that string, maybe you just need something like "(.*)px(.*)px" Although I don't claim to be good with regex either -- sannse (talk) 10:08, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Last version of AWB contain many bugs so i will have to wait for this. — TulipVorlax 17:21, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Fixed your template. see your user page now.

The size parameter on images takes "##px" for a max width, or a "##x##px" for a max height and max width (in that order). Your template was using "45px45px", which technically, was asking for the max height of "45p", which under the old parser, the p was ignored. Under the new parser, it was an error, and the whole size parameter was ignored, showing the full size image inside the userbox.

fix was here

Adjust any other templates that use a max width and max height thumbnail size to the correct format before the switch --Uberfuzzy 05:07, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks, i was refactoring our sidebar and saw your edits.. I undertsand now how the size is specified now. I'll see on AWB if they'll fix the bugs soon (so i can search for this). — TulipVorlax 05:21, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

class="mw-redirect"
Many pages on thoses lists only show change to link that point to a redirect page wich consist of a new CSS class so they'll be of a different color. Could pages that dont contain any other kind of change be excluded from thoses list as this is not really usefull and not a problem at all. — TulipVorlax 04:21, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Looks like I had the unfiltered data there, which didn't exclude some of these irrelevant differences. The versions there now are filtered, and so should be more manageable! -- sannse (talk) 11:45, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I dont know, it seems to contain more links now and they're all have &timing=1&uselang=en at the end. But i'm using a text editor to do search replace of things anyway (like "http" >> "* http"). — TulipVorlax 16:35, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I confirm, the added class is still there. I copy the list on c:fr.guildwars:Forum:Futur parseur. You can use the clickables links there... — TulipVorlax 16:41, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Number of lines is bigger because we now have many times the same page in the list. — TulipVorlax 17:17, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Oh dear, I'm sorry about that. I'll get them checked (although it's the weekend for Poland now, so this will probably have to wait until Monday).  We will make sure that you are ready before the switch! -- sannse (talk) 18:33, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * It's ok. I think we have already fixed the highly used templates that was causing most of the bugs. Surely there's some left but we have enough time (almost a month). — TulipVorlax 21:00, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Template loop detected
On fr.guildwars (like on GuildWiki), we have many pages that call a template named exactly the same as the page. On every single of them, with the new parser we will have an error message in red saying there's a template loop. Exemple : Coup de paume

I just tested the same page on GuildWiki, they have no problem so it might be something in the main template Modèle:Compétence. Originally this template was calling another template (Modèle:Compétence m wich would effectively produce a loop) but i just got rid of that and the error message still appear.

Can't see why. Maybe too tired... — TulipVorlax 06:42, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Found an even worst case. — TulipVorlax 07:10, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Some issues with template:lieu transcluding itself, I think I fixed it, did I break any pages? -- Sixorish 12:34, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I can't know yet.
 * The problem seem fixed now on the template Compétence. I guess the changes i've done was ok. — TulipVorlax 17:23, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

updated
I've updated the list with dates based on the latest figures -- sannse (talk) 20:31, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Er..tibia.wikia already got this parser upgrade? the parser diffs show issues which occurred prior to the parser but are 'fixed' now.. -- Sixorish 21:37, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Ah, I'll remove it from the list. Thanks -- sannse (talk) 11:39, 9 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Could you please update the list that shows the pages with issues again? Over the weekend I made a lot of fixes for RuneScape Wiki. It would make my task much easier with a updated list than checking all 4376 pages on the current list, which was updated on the 6th. - Catcrewser Talk 22:59, 10 February 2009 (UTC)


 * For fr.guildwars the list of pages still contain a lot of redirect, title or no changes. Plus, many pages are there 2 times. — TulipVorlax 02:05, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've requested updates. I find the best thing is to copy the list to a wiki page, then you can remove the ones you know are irrelevant or fixed :) -- sannse (talk) 20:13, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Question about section editing
I have noticed on pages such as c:runescape:Template:Infobox_familiar(Diff) that the section edited is different between the old and new parsers. Is this intended behaviour? Currently I am checking all 4076 pages and fixing if needed, I also noticed some deleted pages are on that list. - Catcrewser Talk 00:32, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok, here is another example except without the T-n c:runescape:Template:Template:POH_room(Diff) - Catcrewser Talk 00:41, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * This was entirely my fault. I had to turn on the new parser to use a program to cleanup the recent vandal attack, and i forgot to turn it off when i was done. I'll turn it back off now until the scheduled date. mea culpa? --Uberfuzzy 04:42, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I take that back, that was a different wiki. so many wikis, so many vandals, cant keep them straight. new parser is still off at runescape.
 * Yes, the section id change IS intentional. new parser now knows which "edit section" links should point to the template where that section is actually on, and not the section on the current page. there was cases where sections added from text on a template would mess up the count of the sections on a page and make section edit links open the wrong section. --Uberfuzzy 04:45, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * True. Some of the sysop of fr.gw had trouble with this and use template to add correct edit link that messed up the TOC (adding "[modifier]"). Glad we'll be able to get rid of that. — TulipVorlax 05:26, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

No longer in 2a?
Redwall was in 2a, now we are not? -- LordTBT Talk! 01:45, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * After filtering out known "irrelevant" cases, Redwall has a lot less possible problems than before. So it's moved into group 1.  Let me know if you do see any after the switch though, and I'll help with fixes -- sannse (talk) 11:41, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh ok, I'll take this as a good thing then =) -- LordTBT Talk! 21:00, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Randomizer
A link randomizing template we have on MechScape Wiki is supposed to show different links on the navigation, now probably because of this update it is now randomizing a link, but the whole list is showing the same one when it's not supposed to. Dragongnexus 18:45, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Looks like the problem was haivng hte "choose" feature behind several templates. I've changed that, and it seems to work now -- sannse (talk) 19:29, 10 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you very much, it works in deed. Dragongnexus  19:49, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Wiki Name Change
On the group list, the Burnout Paradise wiki is listed. It is now just the Burnout Wiki. Just a heads-up. Exlonox 11:47, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks, I've fixed that -- sannse (talk) 20:16, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Group list load problems?
Sannse, you stated:
 * For group 2, there are lists of pages that might have issues linked from the group list.

I cannot get any of the "error page lists" to load from that article. They just sit in a "loading" window forever. The same happens for 2-3 others on Memory Alpha. Can you zip zip over there to let us know what's going on? Makes it really tough to try to correct possible issues beforehand. -- sulfur 13:45, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, whatever happened, we managed to get the list. All is corrected and fixed up on Memory Alpha now. New parser, here we come. -- sulfur 15:52, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Seems the server the lists are on is a bit temperamental... If anyone else is having problems, please let me know -- sannse (talk) 20:17, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

List Updates?
Is there a scheduled time for the list of problem pages to be updated prior to the parser change over? It looks to me like the vast majority of the list for the Forever Knight wiki are related to a single template and most of the rest easily fixed. I wasn't really planning on going through the entire list of potential problem pages if the list would be updated and those pages removed because of the corrections we've made.--Kodia 15:16, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've requested an update... although any you have ignored as irrelevant will still be there of course. Best thing is to list the pages on a wiki page, so you can click though and then delete any you know are OK.  -- sannse (talk) 20:19, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

All is well. The corrections have all been made that need to be. Anything that's still broken, we deserve to get dinged for. And thanks to Uberfuzzy for the assist scratching those hard to reach places. ;-) --Kodia 01:24, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Help
The TimeSplitters Wiki's problems come from Template:TS1, however the parser link suggests there is no change, why are they on the list then? --Two other articles have spawned up not using that template however. This one says it has tags not coded into the page. Where do these come from?

I also wish for the FFWiki list to be "refreshed". Most of the problems originated from the infoboxes, which have all been fixed. It has been suggested that we copy the list, check things, and remove; but in this case almost every page is on the list that no longer needs to be there. I Lion Heart I 17:44, 12 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've put in the request for finalfantasy to be rerun. I'm looking into the timesplitter issue now --Uberfuzzy 18:32, 12 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Those tags you see in here are just an old bug in mediawiki being fixed, it used to incorrectly add some unneeded closing tags to the table of contents in the html it produced, but now it doesnt. --Uberfuzzy 19:03, 12 February 2009 (UTC)
 * The other issue is this. As I said, pages using Template:TS1 seem to spark this up. There are no differences but why does it even appear? It's not actually a problem; I just like explanations. :D I Lion Heart I 19:36, 12 February 2009 (UTC)
 * The list of links at is almost a week old now. Its very like that the template or other coding that caused it to be detected and put on the list is now been fixed. --Uberfuzzy 04:55, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Updates
fr.guildwars has been updated (others to follow) -- sannse (talk) 18:53, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Great, thanks. I'll update the list right away on the local forum... — TulipVorlax 23:58, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I reviewd them all, there's no problem now. If you want, turn this on for fr.guildwars on the 17. — TulipVorlax 02:42, 13 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've enabled it now. --Uberfuzzy 04:56, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Final Fantasy and Runescape are updated -- sannse (talk) 09:36, 13 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Humm.. Runescape is showing more errors in this run. I'm asking Lukasz about this (he's running the tests).  A lot of them are ignorable again - but I think one that is significant (if only a little) is the centring in one of the nav boxes.  See http://runescape.wikia.com/index.php?title=Special:ParserDiffTest/Med_helm for example, the metal types are centered with the old parser, and not with the new.  I think figuring out that one will remove a lot from the list -- sannse (talk) 10:27, 13 February 2009 (UTC)
 * OK, Lukasz has found a bug in the test script, and will run Runescape again -- sannse (talk) 10:55, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

While you were doing that, i lookup thoses templates they are using on Runescape and was about to put this comment but got edit conflict :
 * The faulty template seems to be c:runescape:Template:Navbox. I dont quite understand it's syntax but anyway it's protected.
 * But maybe it has something to do with the line | in c:runescape:Template:Metal item.
 * — TulipVorlax 11:05, 13 February 2009 (UTC)
 * We need an Uberfuzzy ;) -- sannse (talk) 13:26, 13 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Separating the two parameters (in Template:Metal item) should fix it: |  to: |style1=|gtitle1=
 * I don't know how the wiki works, but I can't see this causing any problems -- Sixorish 13:47, 13 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've changed it, the issue is gone now unless we aren't talking about the same thing.. -- Sixorish 13:56, 13 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Nice fix guys, beat me to it. --Uberfuzzy 15:51, 13 February 2009 (UTC)


 * theres also an updated list of pages for finalfantasy here, http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Switching_to_the_new_parser/list  those are just the last of the ones i still havent checked for serious errors. i didnt have the time or energy to check all the talk pages because of the talk bubble templates in use on that wiki. but i think finalfantasy is ready to be flipped. --Uberfuzzy 15:45, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

The list was not completely filtered, it has the class="mw-redirect" changes included, and if possible could the list be alphabetized and sorted by namespace like the previous list. Thank you for the updated list, although I hate to seem like the unappreciative wikian. I even created a bot to grab the updated list and process it for a special template I created that lists the data, makes the urls local urls, and adds a link for the page affected. You can see it at c:runescape:User:Catcrewser/Litterbox. - Catcrewser Talk 01:00, 14 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok, I have hidden the mw-redirect changes from view in the diff(although they still show up in the list). - Catcrewser Talk 01:13, 14 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Most if not all of the effected templates on the RuneScape wiki should be ok now, an updated list without the mw-redirects would help. -not going through 6346 pages to find issues- -- Sixorish 02:11, 14 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Is there a query string option for Special:ParserDiffTest that will show only the diff? It would decrease loading time a lot for me and I can tell what has changed in most cases from the diff. - Catcrewser Talk 19:50, 14 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Catcrewser, it seems that isn't part of the feature - sorry -- sannse (talk) 11:30, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Hi! When will Burnopedia be updated? Thanks, <font color="#ff6600">the parkster   @Burnopedia  11:03, 16 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Please see the list... Burnout.wikia is due to be switched tomorrow -- sannse (talk) 11:30, 16 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry, i didn't mean it like that. What i meant was: are wegetting any help or guidance in what pages will be affected? I don't have a clue where to start looking for bad links on my wiki. I'm really busy with life in general and i'm not too good with coding. However we do have an amazingly helpful user on our site who will know what to do if anything goes wrong. Still are we getting help? <font color="#ff6600">the parkster   @Burnopedia  11:35, 16 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Generally we are relying on users to fix their own templates - after all, users wrote them so should know them best! :) But we are here to help of course. The file linked on the list page shows which articles to look at.  What I have found to work best is to copy that list to a wiki page, then open a batch and check them.  What you are looking for is pages where the text under the diff shows a problem with the new parser.  In most cases, you can then find a template on that page with unclosed tabs, and fix the template.  As you decide a page is irrelevant or fixed, you can remove it from the on-wiki list.  I'll create a list for you now, and see how it's looking for burnout. -- sannse (talk) 13:10, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Well that one turned out to be an easy one ;) there are just two pages left to sort out... http://burnout.wikia.com/index.php?title=Special:ParserDiffTest/Dust_Storm and http://burnout.wikia.com/index.php?title=Special:ParserDiffTest/Main_Page . I'm out of time at the moment, but hopefully you can see where the problems are on those two. -- sannse (talk) 14:07, 16 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks a lot for this. I can probably fix that.However the main page coding is not to be touched! Rappy (the master of coding at Burnopedia) has spents ages getting it all perfect. I'll leave it to him. Also, what exactly is this new parser? You've explained the switch over to me but i don't exactly know what's gonna happen or what will change. Thanks for you help, <font color="#ff6600">the parkster   @Burnopedia  21:40, 16 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Basically, it's the bit of the code that takes wiki markup and converts it to for display as an article. For some things there is only one way that can be done.  ''' is always going to be converted to be converted to <b> .  But for complex code, and for solving problems of bad html, there are a few options.  And the new code does things a little differently in places.  For example, the old code would add a template's fogotten html close tags directly after where the template was used.  The new code adds the tags at the very end of the page.  That means you can now choose to leave a tag open until later if you want to (for example, you could make a template that would force the whole page to be in small text).  But it also means that if you made mistakes, the effect will be different now and the template might "bleed" code on to the article.  So it's those mistakes we are cleaning up! I hope that helps -- sannse (talk) 17:23, 19 February 2009 (UTC)