Like include, but with a stored version

I'm thinking that "%CACHE_PAGE{URL}%" could be like %INCLUDE but could store a local copy of the page. This would circumvent problems with pointed to content disappearing without us knowing about it.

Could just extend %INCLUDE functionality in a plugin but that might cause conflicts with documentation...

-- MartinCleaver - 30 Apr 2003

Another useful idea!

Aside: I have this vision of TWiki someday including 1000's of plugins — although the functionality (of CachePagePluginDev - or of 1000's of plugins? - MC) sounds nice, the administration sounds like a nightmare. I'm not discouraging the extra functionality, I guess I'm just registering a note that someday TWiki may need to be rewritten in a compiled language, with more of the plugin features incorporated in the base, probably as options.

-- RandyKramer - 30 Apr 2003

This seems to be trying to solve the disappearing URL problem, but only for Includes - there is a similar problem with any link from a TWiki page. A suitable persistent caching proxy may help, e.g. you could try Google:wwwoffle, but I don't really see why TWiki should try to partially solve this problem when more complete solutions exist anyway.

As for having too many plugins - the idea is that really useful plugins can be bundled with TWiki, as some already are, removing administration problems since they are built in. Rewriting TWiki in a compiled language is something of a red herring that is quite separate from whether code is built in or is in plugins - changing language is unlikely to happen anyway.

-- RichardDonkin - 30 Apr 2003

You are completely right, I am thinking about solving the disappearing URL problem and you are right again in that we do need a generic plugin to check for deadlinks to pages. A more important goal is to talk about a DeadLinkDetectionPluginDev

It is questionable whether TWiki should provide such a caching page feature, and if so, it is certainly within the realm of a plugin's feature set rather than that of a core feature. I posted the topic to gauge how much demand there is. For implementing caching of pages, integration with a tool such as wwwoffle would be entirely proper - I think it is apparent how much I dislike the practice of rewriting stuff that it already out there.

Talking of Google's cache sparked another interim solution - as it retains pages for a considerable while after they expire we could make dead links to point via that cache.

Randy - above did you mean functionality of CachePagePluginDev - or of 1000's of plugins? M.

-- MartinCleaver - 03 May 2003