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In this section, let's talk about some of the different forefathers of wiki technology. The first is the BBS or bulletin board system. This allowed users to dial into a telephone number and connect to a system which allowed them to post messages and perform tasks. The next is the online forum or message board. These were usually web applications that allow users to post messages and share ideas. These are often topical in nature and are considered the next generation from the dial-up BBS. The world-wide web 1.0 allowed static HTML pages for a variety of uses. Now, what is web 1.0? It allowed users to create a static page as opposed to a dynamic page that can be updated at any point in time. This allowed pages for an endless number of uses, personal interests, business, sharing of software, sharing of information, so on and so forth. The next is the database or a collection of data. A database is defined as the collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system. A computer program or a user uses a sentence structure called a query to retrieve data in patterns to help form decisions. The central concept here is a collection of separate records that are linked to other records. Keep this concept in mind. The next forefather of the wiki is a program called Apple hypercard which allowed users to create virtual card stacks with links between various cards. Hypercard was a hyper-media system. So what exactly is a hyper-media system? It's a file structure in which graphics, audio, video, text and links create a non-linear distribution system. It was very similar to database in concept, meaning that it stored the information but it was a graphical interface. It was also flexible and easily modifiable. Again, the central concept in data linking is very important here. The next forefather of wiki technology is HTML or the hyper-text markup language. This is the predominant language of the world-wide web 1.0 and mostly the Internet as a whole. Imagine a language that allows the user to describe the structure of a page from the color of the page to the size of the text to the content embedded within. HTML has evolved to support style languages such as CSS or cascading style sheets. This more easily accommodates presentation within a page. Finally, the final forefather of the wiki was the Portland Pattern Repository. This was created by Ward Cunningham, the father of wikis, to allow users to share patterns for use in software development. Cunningham was interested in the concepts of reasonable patterns in software development. PPR was a repository that people could log in and modify and add patterns; the idea creating a space that allowed people to talk and share. You can see where this would lead in naturally to the wiki technology.