Help:Style guide
InfoVis–Wiki uses MediaWiki's open–source Wiki–engine. All present InfoVis–Wiki articles implement a certain layout and style that makes them easily readable and fit into the glossary–framework. To maintain this coherent style we strongly encourage you to stick to the following guidelines and use only native Wiki–syntax.
Layout
There are basically two types of pages in this reference, each having its own structure :
- Overview pages
- Glossary/Reference–articles
Overviews
Overviews — like the Main page — provide for quick information about and navigation–aids through a thematically coherent section.
They need to present a lot of information on a few screens; therefore these are the only pages that use the full width of the text–area instead of reserving space on the left side for margin–notes. Remember to avoid templates utilizing these such as definition or quotation.
Switching to this layout isn't yet automatic; page margins have to be moved manually like in the following example:
<div style="margin-left:-60px; margin-top:0em;"> ... page content ... </div> __NOTOC__
Glossary articles
Glossary articles may be seen as the core content of this reference. Their most remarkable feature is the definition–section at the top of the page — in case of further structuring even before the first section title. This paragraph should provide a short quotable description of the article presented below.
{{Definition|... text ...}} results in
Typesetting
Many characters (glyphs) appear to be interchangable at first sight; when used in typesetting however, they can have completely different meanings. Consistent use of correct punctuation and typefaces builds a harmonic and clear impression for readers.
Typefaces and Punctuation
In all reference articles the title should be mentioned in the first sentence or at least within the first paragraph and set in bold letters.
To allow for uninterrupted reading, links to internal pages are given a title fitting into the context.
External links should be given the title of the respective webpage instead of being left to automatic enumeration:
[http://infovis.ifs.tuwien.ac.at ''InfoVis–Wiki''] results in InfoVis–Wiki while [http://infovis.ifs.tuwien.ac.at] results in [1]
The - sign is obsolete: Use – or — instead. The only apostrophy is ', don't use ´ or `.
Emphasis and quotation
Sequences within a sentence can be emphasized by setting them in italic letters. Technical terms, names (the name InfoVis–Wiki itself), or terms in foreign languages should also be set in itlaic. If such terms are already linked to a definition that is part of the glossary they must not be emphasized further by using italic fonts.
Inline quotation is done by adding a refernce number in brackets at the end of the passage. The quotation–template is used for citing complete paragraphs:
{{Quotation|... As soon as wolf began to see that he qould like a decent meal, he went and knocked on grandma's door. When grandma opened it she saw the sharp white teeth, the horrid grind and wolfie said ...| Little Red Riding Hood}} results in
Alternatively — if a quotation is not crucial for understanding an article and presents some sort of additional information — it can be put in a floatingquote–template. Quotations like these will dynamically adjust their position and let the text flow around:
{{FloatingQuote|... As soon as wolf began to see that he qould like a decent meal, he went and knocked on grandma's door. ...| Little Red Riding Hood}} results in