In some sites (mine, for example), the pages are quasi-static, while the sidebar must be updated at each commit (because it contains some lists, like "last posts" or "last updates", or a tagcloud). As this sidebar is included in every page of the site, many commits can potentialy leat to a full re-compilation....
I think a sidebar included after the compilation (via a SSI mechanism for example) would make sense and reduce the dependencies.
Different things could be possible:
- output as .shtml instead of .html
- ignore the sidebar->page dependency links
- consider the real dependencies; pageA may include the title (only) of pageB, but don't need to be recompiled after each typo correction on pageB.
shtml output with open cgi web access is a potential security hole and can DoS the site, but it's not a problem for a single-editor site.
NicolasLimare
This is a good idea, though sadly not portable enough to be the default. Especially if the only way to do it is with .shtml. But I really like the idea of not rebuilding the sidebar all the time. Definitly a TODO, for me, if I can figure out how to do it. Patches eagerly accepted.
I have implemented a htmlext configuration item, that lets you control what extension ikiwiki uses for output html pages. So in theory, a sidebar could be done as you describe using .shtml. --Joey