Personal Knowledge Container

PersonalKnowledgeContainer, abbreviated as PKC, is a data management tool with an automated process that democratizes the ownership of MediaWiki-based knowledge management technologies in network environments of your choice. After the installation, the MediaWiki service can operate on your own computer with or without Internet connection.

Context

Data has infiltrated every aspect of human life. Those who understand how to organize, process, secure and deploy data possess the most valuable and sought after asset in the world. Until recently this privilege required an incredible amount of hardware and financial resources; however due to the recent advancements of computer hardware, software infrastructure and cloud computing, globally-scaled data management systems can be created using Open Source tools with an astonishingly short amount of time and surprisingly low costs.

Cybersecurity in the era of Big Data

How Accounting has influenced the history of Data

In the era of Big Data, it is increasingly more important to have proper cybersecurity protocols in place to protect your data assets. It is possible to store and retrieve inter-linked data content using web-based microservice technologies that work even when a computer has no Internet connection. This off-line capability will enable you to enjoy the full power of open source software without exposing your data assets to unnecessary security risks.

In order to ensure that your own data will always be accessible to you, this self-operated service must have a simple procedure to perform data backup and restoration, so that your data management system can seamlessly transfer to a different computer; Moreover, having a data backup gives you the ability to read your own data even if the display software your using has evolved to a new version and no longer works with data stored by previous versions.

Your Data Assets can be compromised when they require 3rd party software to be displayed and stored correctly. This project intends to resolve this challenge by giving everyone the choice to run their own chosen version of MediaWiki software, given that all the images that have been proven to work maintain publicly available images; therefore, even if the software has been abandoned, one may use Application virtualization technologies to continue operate the software. For the detail explanation of design rationale, see Why PKC?

Goal

Create a basic set of services, files, and page content to help individuals operate a MediaWiki website on any machine of their choosing. This will allow them to continuously work with their own data assets, independent of future changes.

Success Criteria

1. Allow Individuals to install an instance of MediaWiki service by reading this REAME.md file. 2. Make all textual content, executable software images, installation scripts in the public domain, so that everyone can share and use them at will. 3. Provide instructions to learn about how to use PKC in the initial MediaWiki's database, so that people can start learning to use PKC through their own instance of MediaWiki.

Required Resources

1. A computer that you have access to its "root" or "administrator" previledge.
2. Operatng Systems that support Docker: Windows 10, Mac OS X Big Sur 11.2.3 and Linux.
3. Under Windows 10 Environment, some VPN software might interfere with [Docker]'s Windows Subsystem for Linux, a.k.a. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), you will need to remove VPN software before installing [Docker]. In case you don't want to remvoe your VPN software, or your Docker and Bash have compatibility issues, please try to [VirtualBox PKC] solution.
4. Access to the Internet during intallation time. Please try to perform the installation on a network with 10Mbps+ to the Internet. After installation, this system can operated without access to the Internet.

Installation Procedure/Implementation Process

1. Installation must be conducted by a person who possess the root password of the target machine. When it starts installing, root password needs to be provided in a command line interface (CLI).
2. Install [Docker], the Installation instructions and downloadable files can be found here: https://docs.docker.com/get-started/
3. Go to a [command line], or so called [terminal] application, move your working directory using the command cd", meaning change your working directory, to a directory in your file system. For Mac OS X and Linux operating systems, Terminal applications are bundled during installation. For Windows 10, we recommend you to use Git Bash, when you install [git] for Windows, Git Bash is included the installation process.

Assume the directory you keep your working files is called: Workspace. Your terminal application/command line interface (CLI) should present a prompt, similar to the following format: (your environment might also display machine name and user name along with the working directory name)

 Workspace$

Download the entire package using git. You may copy the instruction as follows:

 Workspace$ git clone https://github.com/benkoo/PKC.git

1. After the git clone instruction copied relevant data to your working directory, using the command cd to the PKC directory that contains the script up.sh, and type: ./up.sh to execute the script.

 Workspace$ cd PKC
 PersonalKnowledgeContainer$ ./up.sh

1. After you submitted the ./up.sh in your command line interface, you will be asked for a password, type in the root password for the machine you are trying to install.
2. Open a browser: type the following URL to the browser's URL field: http://localhost:9352 or https://yourhostname.com (if your specified https transport in your .env file.
3. If you plan to set up https for your PKC, please refer to the page:Nginx as Reverse Proxy.

Expected Outcome

1. Every 30 minutes, all the changes you made to this local instance of MediaWiki will be automatically backed up to the directory's "backup/" sub-directory.
2. The textual content stored in MediaWiki's database can will be stored in an XML file: XLPLATEST.xml
3. All the uploaded files, assuming the file names are accepted by the host operating system, will be dumped to the "backup/MediaFile/" sub-directory.

Boundary Conditions

1. We can not warrant any reliability, completeness, and accuracy of this installation procedure. Any action you take upon this information and execute this script is at your own risk, We will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection to the use of the actions and software prescribed here.
2. We have only tested on a small number of machines and configurations, your mileage may vary.
3. Do not remove any of the files in the directory with backup/, such as docker-compose.yml and the LocalSettings.php. These files are the configuration files for Docker and MediaWiki respectively. Missing them, this system will cease to work.
4. Many pre-defined parameters can be replaced in the .env file stored in the PKC directory. It allows flexible configuration of your system. For more information, please read Configure your own PKC instance.
5. For the sake of reducing typos, the project has moved from https://github.com/xlp0/PersonalKnowledgeContainer to https://github.com/xlp0/PKC. For the current implementation of Github, these two git repository names point to the same source. When GitHub change this practice, it will change. We recommend you to use the shorter version.