Wiki Help
How to edit
The ALB wiki is written by its readers — anyone can edit any page, no account needed. Click the Edit tab on any article, change the text, write a short summary, and hit Save page. Your change is live immediately and kept in the page's history forever.
Be bold. If you see something wrong or missing, fix it — you can't break anything, every old revision is kept.
Markup
The wiki uses Markdown plus wiki-style Links:
| What you want | What you type | |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | # Title, ## Section, ### Part | |
| Bold / italic | bold, italic | |
| Inline code | \PRINT\`` | |
| Code block | a fenced block starting and ending with \\\` | |
| Bullet list | - item or * item | |
| Numbered list | 1. item | |
| Quote | > words | |
| Internal link | Page name or shown text | |
| Section link | Page § Section or text | |
| Same-page jump | text | |
| Category | Category:Name anywhere in the page | |
| Category link | Category:Name — links it without filing the page | |
| Special page | Special:AllPages | |
| External link | label | |
| Horizontal rule | --- on its own line | |
| Table | rows separated by ` | ` (see below) |
| Image | | |
| Infobox | {{infobox … }} (see below) | |
| Redirect | #REDIRECT Page name as the whole page |
Callout boxes and flow frames
Fenced blocks get a second life: give the opening fence a type and the block becomes a styled callout box instead of code. Anything after the type on the fence line becomes the box's title � and titles may contain Links.
Text, markup, and Links all work inside.
| Type | Look | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ```note | navy | Asides, clarifications |
| ```fact | gold | Did-you-know nuggets |
| ```tip | green | Helpful advice |
| ```warn | red | Cautions, corrections |
| ```quote | brown | Pull quotes |
| ```alb | gold + brown | The signature ALB box � for ALB-related notes on any page |
``frame or ``box | gold | A bordered frame for excerpts and examples |
| ```flow | navy | ASCII flowcharts and diagrams � text stays monospace |
Custom colors: ``box:gold, `box:red, `box:navy, `box:brown, `box:green, `box:cyan � or any hex like ``box:#ff6600.
For ```flow, draw the diagram in plain ASCII � it renders verbatim inside a branded frame:
idea -> edit -> preview -> save -> published
Links
Internal links are the wiki's connective tissue. Type Getting Started and the wiki links it automatically:
- Blue links go to pages that exist.
- Red links go to pages that don't exist yet — click one to create it. Red links are invitations, not errors.
- Use
the languageto show different text than the page name. - Links work inside headings too —
### The Jacquard loom (1801–1804)makes the whole heading a link, which is how section titles point to their own articles.
Tables
Tables use pipe rows:
| Name | Born | Known for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [[Ada Lovelace]] | 1815 | The first published program |
| [[Alan Turing]] | 1912 | The universal machine |The --- row under the header separates it from the body. Links work inside cells.
Redirects
If a page is just another name for an article, make its entire content:
#REDIRECT [[Real page name]]Readers hitting it are forwarded automatically. ?redirect=no in the URL shows the stub itself so it can be edited. Use redirects for aliases, alternate spellings, and common short names — like ENIAC six → The first programmers.
Contents boxes and section links
Every heading gets an anchor automatically — a ## Controversy section can be linked as Page name § Controversy. Pages with three or more headings get a floating Contents box generated automatically; nothing to type.
Images and infoboxes
/media/wiki/ on the site. Optional parameters: right / left / center alignment and a pixel width like 250px; the remaining parameter is the caption, and links work inside it. Markdown-style !alt images also work for files anywhere under /media/.
For a fact card at the top of an article — the box of dates and names on a biography — use an infobox:
{{infobox
| title = Ada Lovelace
| born = 10 December 1815
| died = 27 November 1852
| known_for = First published program
}}It floats right with a title row and key/value rows. Add image and caption keys to embed a /media/wiki/ file inside the box. Links work inside values.
Categories
Put Category:History anywhere in a page's text to file it. The category box appears at the bottom, and the page shows up automatically on that category's listing. Categories are created just by being used — no setup needed. To link a category page without filing the current one, write Category:History.
Current categories include Language, History, People, Hardware, Languages, Companies, Mathematics, Reference, Wiki, and Help — but anyone can start a new one.
History, diffs, and reverting
- The History tab lists every revision ever made — who, when, and the summary.
- Click diff next to any revision to see exactly what changed, line by line.
- Click revert to restore an older revision. A revert is itself a new revision — history is never destroyed, and vandalism can be undone by anyone in seconds.
Finding pages
- Search (top of every wiki page) finds text in titles and bodies.
- Special:AllPages lists every article alphabetically.
- Special:RecentChanges shows the latest edits across the whole wiki.
- Special:WhatLinksHere/Page name lists every page that links to it — also reachable from the "What links here" link in each article's footer.
- Special:LonelyPages lists pages nothing links to — orphans waiting for a mention.
- Special:DeadendPages lists pages that link nowhere — add
Linksand the web grows.
Good pages to write
This wiki has two growing halves, and both want new pages:
The ALB reference — language documentation:
- One page per statement, function, or keyword
- Tutorials and worked examples
- Patterns and idioms — how to structure an ALB program
- Gotchas, pitfalls, frequently asked questions
- Glossary pages for terms beginners meet
The history encyclopedia — the story of programming, already underway:
- People: Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, John von Neumann, Herman Hollerith, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, the ENIAC six
- Machines and documents: Jacquard Loom, Analytical Engine, EDVAC report, Manchester Baby, EDSAC, IBM
- Languages: FORTRAN, LISP, ALGOL
- Red links everywhere are the to-do list — pick one and write it.
Style notes
- Keep it family-friendly — this is a learning site.
- Write plainly and factually; teach, don't advertise.
- Prefer short sections with headings over one wall of text.
- Link generously — every proper name, machine, and language in a sentence deserves a
Link, even if it's red. - Code examples should be real, working ALB.
- Always fill in the summary line — it makes Recent Changes and History readable.
House rules
- Edits are public immediately — don't post private information.
- Pages can be protected and edits logged; spam and vandalism get reverted quickly.
- Anonymous edits are attributed "Anonymous"; signed-in members get credited by username.