Using Wikipedia APIs mobile-sections endpoint is deprecated

[johngian]

Related to: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T319303

It looks like kiwix is using the mobile-sections endpoint served by Wikipedia REST API:
https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/#/Mobile

This endpoint is considered deprecated and we are working towards sunsetting it.
Instead of mobile-sections its suggested to use the page content for mobile and specifically:
https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/#/Page%20content/getContent-mobile-html

[kelson42]

@johngian Good to know, nee to read more about the rationals behind this. Hopefully the new end-points are not too different.

[kelson42]

@johngian It seems the old is deprecated, but I wonder that you recommend to use a new API end-point which is effectively tagged as « experimental » and therefore not productionreqdy!? See https://de.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/#/Page%20content/getContent-mobile-html

[Jaifroid]

Given some outdated information as reported in #1397 is caused by using the deprecated mobile-sections API, and that this is only going to get more urgent, we need to work out what is needed to make this switch. I don't know these APIs well, but from what I can see, the mobile-sections endpoint produces JSON or something similar, whereas mobile-html produces (evidently) html.

[Exponent4806]

this is only going to get more urgent.

@kelson42 Using the deprecated mobile-sections API is a really severe issue. It is really frustrating for users and editors.

For example:

In 2021, I added more than 500 photos in the German Wiktionary. Not a single of those photos appear on the .zim version of the Wiktionary. Also, many translations and definitions are missing. Every month the issue is worse !

By the way, @johngian thanks for opening this issue on GitHub. I am the author of the "Bug report" on Phabricator.

[kelson42]

for the moment I'm a bit puzzled:

• new endpoint is still experimental
• reference links don't work in both directions
• I see strange edit icon at the right of each section title
• Sections are not collapsable (strange for a mobile output)

It seems simply not really ready to me.

On the top of this, I don't understand and I'm not informed about the high level plan and rationals:

• why changing of end-points? What are the differences between the old and the new end-points.
• why shoukd we move if there is already a plan to deprecate Restbase?

Do we have any document allowing to better unterstand what is going on at Wikimedia APIs?

[Jaifroid]

@kelson42 It looks like mwoffliner can get the scripts and styles needed for the mobile view by using this part of the API:

https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/#/Page%20content/get_page_mobile_html_offline_resources__title___revision_

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be now be reviewed manually. Thank you for your contributions.