Description

This file contains the class Parser, which contains the method parse, which converts Wikitext to HTML. It performs, among other things, the following actions:

1. Call helper function Parser::internalParse(), which in turns calls
   1. Parser::replaceVariables, which replaces magic variables, templates, and template arguments with the appropriate text.
      1. It calls Parser::preprocessToDom, which preprocesses some wikitext and returns the document tree.
      2. Next it creates a PPFrame DOM object and calls its expand() method to do the actual template magic.
   2. Sanitizer::removeHTMLtags(), which cleans up HTML, removes dangerous tags and attributes, and removes HTML comments.
   3. Parser::doTableStuff, which handles and renders the wikitext for tables.
   4. Parser::doDoubleUnderscore, which removes valid double-underscore items, like __NOTOC__, and records them in array $Parser->mDoubleUnderscores.
   5. Parser::doHeadings, which parses and renders section headers.
   6. Parser::replaceInternalLinks, which processes internal links ([[ ]]) and stores them in $Parser->mLinkHolders (a LinkHolderArray object),
   7. Parser::doAllQuotes, which replaces single quotes with HTML markup (‎<i>, ‎<b>, etc).
   8. Parser::replaceExternalLinks, which replaces and renders external links.
   9. Parser::doMagicLinks, which replaces special strings like "ISBN xxx" and "RFC xxx" with magic external links.
   10. Parser::formatHeadings, which:
       • auto numbers headings if that options is enabled,
       • adds an [edit] link to sections for users who have enabled the option and can edit the page,
       • adds a Table of contents on the top for users who have enabled the option, and
       • auto-anchors headings.
2. Next, parse() calls Parser::doBlockLevels, which renders lists from lines starting with ':', '*', '#', etc.
3. Parser::replaceLinkHolders is called, which calls LinkHolderArray::replace on $Parser->mLinkHolders to replace link placeholders with actual links, in the buffer Placeholders created in Skin::makeLinkObj()
4. Next, the text is language converted (when applicable) using the convert method of the appropriate Language object.
5. Parser::replaceTransparentTags is called, which replaces transparent tags with values which are provided by the callback functions in $Parser->mTransparentTagHooks. Transparent tag hooks are like regular XML-style tag hooks, except they operate late in the transformation sequence, on HTML instead of wikitext.
6. Sanitizer::normalizeCharReferences is called, which ensures that any entities and character references are legal for XML and XHTML specifically.
7. If HTML tidy is enabled, MWTidy::tidy is called to do the tidying.
8. Finally the rendered HTML result of the parse process is stored in the ParserOutput object $Parser->mOutput, which is returned to the caller of Parser::parse.

How to get a new parser

Since MediaWiki 1.36 you can't construct a Parser class directly. You should use ParserFactory instead, and then call its create method.

The constructor of the ParserFactory takes several arguments. To create a ParserFactory with default options, use MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->getParserFactory().

One-liner for getting a new Parser instance:

$localParser = MediaWikiServices::getInstance()->getParserFactory()->create();

Hooks

Accessors

• getCustomDefaultSort () Accessor for $mDefaultSort. Unlike getDefaultSort(), it will return false if none is set.
• getDefaultSort () Accessor for $mDefaultSort. Will use the empty string if none is set.
• getOptions () Get the ParserOptions object.
• getOutput () Get the ParserOutput object.
• getPreprocessor () Get a preprocessor object.
• getRevisionId () Get the ID of the revision we are parsing.
• getRevisionTimestamp () Get the timestamp associated with the current revision, adjusted for the default server-local timestamp.
• getRevisionUser () Get the name of the user that edited the last revision.
• getTags () Accessor.
• getTargetLanguage () Get the target language for the content being parsed.
• getTitle () Accessor for the Title object.
• getUser () Get a User object either from $this->mUser, if set, or from the ParserOptions object otherwise.

Set

• Parser::setFunctionHook() Create a function, e.g. {{sum:1|2|3}}. The callback function should have the form: function myParserFunction( &$parser, $arg1, $arg2, $arg3 ) { ... }.
• Parser::setFunctionTagHook() Create a tag function, e.g. {{tmpl|0=‎<test>$1‎</test>|some stuff}}. Unlike tag hooks, tag functions are parsed at preprocessor level. Unlike parser functions, their content is not preprocessed.
• Parser::setHook() Create an HTML-style tag, e.g. {{tmpl|0=‎<yourtag>$1‎</yourtag>|special text}}. The callback should have the following form: function myParserHook( $text, $params, $parser, $frame ) { ...}

See also

• Manual:Code – Overview of the key files and directories in the MediaWiki source code
• Manual:ParserOptions.php