How to Use DokuWiki
I was reading @ctietze 's article about choosing software for a ZK:
https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/#choosing-software
I followed his link on DokuWiki and started reading it. Then I realized I had already used this software to organize some information on one of my university professors, that was collaboratively assembled by a few of his students. This was 3+ years ago, so I had to think a bit about how this was done.
Perhaps someone who has used DokuWiki more extensively than I have can confirm if I understand what it is, correctly. I believe DokuWiki is a software package that must be loaded onto, hosted on, and accessed through a web site. I don't think it can be run directly on one's personal computer.
So you load the DokuWiki software package into a folder on your web site (using ftp), access that folder through a web browser, and then make whatever edits you want to the DokuWiki from within the web browser - meaning you have to have internet access.
I understand all the created files are plain text and can be recovered from within one of the DokuWiki sub-folders as such.
Do I understand this correctly? If not, can you correct my thinking? I've tried reading the DokuWiki manual, but it is rather convoluted and doesn't directly address this issue, at least not in any simple way.
Also, if someone wanted to create a ZK in a wiki-like environment that could run on his or her own (Windows or Mac) computer (perhaps still through a web browser), how would he or she do that?
Howdy, Stranger!
Comments
You could install MAMP: https://mamp.info/en/mac/
MAMP is a good start to get a local web server up and running. I believe macOS still ships with a web server out-of-the-box. So while installing latest versions of the software won't hurt, you might get away with: https://dyclassroom.com/howto-mac/how-to-install-apache-mysql-php-on-macos-catalina-10-15
@GeoEng51 The introduction was written by @Sascha by the way
Author at Zettelkasten.de • https://christiantietze.de/
Ah, my apologies, Sascha. It is very well done! Many of the questions coming to the forum from newbies like me could be answered just by reading "Introduction to the ZK Method".
@ctietze and @MartinBB
I tried following the instructions to get apache working on my computer, carefully creating and modifying files as indicated in the article suggested by @ctietze . This involved changing directories, creating files and even editing files in the macOS terminal - a new experience, but not totally foreign to someone who started his computer life with DOS. Everything seemed to "work" except at the last step PHP didn't seem to be implemented. Since I got a warning message stating that macOS will soon discontinue the use of PHP, I decided to try MAMP instead.
I was more successful getting MAMP installed and working, although the amount of information provided with the non-Pro version is pitiful. I downloaded DokuWiki and then pointed the Document Root to the download folder. But how to access it from a web browser? Finding that was total luck (running through some youtube videos), as it was nowhere stated in the overly sparse "help". Whoever thought "localhost:8888" should be obvious or intuitive ought to have their head examined.
It seems like DokuWiki is now functioning on my computer. I will play around with it, but I don't immediately see any advantage to using this software over The Archive. Any thoughts on why someone might want to use a Wiki to create a Zettelkasten?
Not that I'm all that serious about using DokuWiki for this purpose. I just got sidetracked by mention of it in @Sascha 's article and by being vaguely familiar with it before (I think this is called procrastinating by learning something new-ish).
I guess I need a trip to the shrink with an occupational disease
When I first read your post I thought "Well, just host a local server and access it on its port on localhost". I figure the linked articles would say so, too, but unfortunately not. Good that you found the answer, despite the struggle 
I use TiddlyWiki for my Zettelkasten, which, in my eyes, is way more on the lightweight, Zettelkasten-like side rather than the more "traditional" wikis like MediaWiki and DocuWiki. So I think there is a span of differences even in wiki software. What particularly are you thinking about wrt. "wiki software".
Personally, I use TiddlyWiki because I just really like how it works. I like that it is very flexible and open. I like how it presents notes and how navigation works.
Thanks for that suggestion! I stumbled upon TiddlyWiki yesterday. Apparently there is a version called "Stroll". It is meant for notetaking and is Zettelkasten-friendly. It is described as follows:
You can find more about Stroll at:
https://giffmex.org/stroll/stroll.html
I'm going to play around with Stroll for a while, not necessarily because I want to switch from The Archive, but because I want to understand its potential. In particular, I'd like to know if using a wiki for a zettelkasten makes it any easier to navigate around your ZK or to hunt out specific notes or notes on particular topics. One thing I like about TiddlyWiki (as opposed to DokuWiki) is that you don't need to host a local server, you just open the HTML file in your web browser.
If you could share some more about your experiences using TiddlyWiki for a Zettelkasten, that would be much appreciated. For example:
We can start a new thread on this, if you'd like, or continue here.
I'd love to fill in my replies and I think I will do so in a new thread, but I don't think I will have time this evening. Just for your information.
Great! I'm not in a panic