Wikipedia Dump Reader is a software tool that allows users to read text-only, compressed Wikipedia dumps easily.
I came across a handy offline Wikipedia reader on planetkde's blog and decided to share my own python-Qt program that I developed a few months ago. This Wikipedia Dump Reader reads the text-only compressed dumps of Wikipedia, accessible at pages-articles.xml.bz2. While the reader is still basic, it is functional for general Wikipedia reading. I initially developed this program for my own purposes, which explains why some features might not work perfectly. Nonetheless, this program has features such as a simple-looking Qt viewer featuring basic text markup, ability to track links, and capability to read directly from the .bz2 compressed file. Additionally, there is a tab-like list of articles that can be loaded in the background by default, and this program has an incredibly light source code.
To use the Python Dump Reader, you will require PyQt4 (however, some older PyQt 3 codes are included). I have tested this program on Fedora Core 4 and Kubuntu with PyQt4.1 (Python 2.4, Qt 4.2). Usage is simplified in four steps. First, enter "python dumpReader.py" on the command line or click the application icon on the file manager to launch the program. Second, locate and select the archive file, usually named *.xml.bz2. Third, if it's your first time running the program, it will take a while to create an index, and granting the program write permissions is required. Finally, the main window is divided into article title areas displayed at the top, main text areas in the left panel, and article history in the right panel.
To load an article of interest, type the name of the article into the search box and click "Go" or simply click on any link within the main text area. Links will load the article in the background by default. The search box also enables you to keyword search for specific articles, while clicking "Go" without any entry will redirect you to a random article. Overall, Wikipedia Dump Reader is an excellent application to have for offline Wikipedia reading, especially for those looking for a lightweight and easy-to-use program.
To use the Python Dump Reader, you will require PyQt4 (however, some older PyQt 3 codes are included). I have tested this program on Fedora Core 4 and Kubuntu with PyQt4.1 (Python 2.4, Qt 4.2). Usage is simplified in four steps. First, enter "python dumpReader.py" on the command line or click the application icon on the file manager to launch the program. Second, locate and select the archive file, usually named *.xml.bz2. Third, if it's your first time running the program, it will take a while to create an index, and granting the program write permissions is required. Finally, the main window is divided into article title areas displayed at the top, main text areas in the left panel, and article history in the right panel.
To load an article of interest, type the name of the article into the search box and click "Go" or simply click on any link within the main text area. Links will load the article in the background by default. The search box also enables you to keyword search for specific articles, while clicking "Go" without any entry will redirect you to a random article. Overall, Wikipedia Dump Reader is an excellent application to have for offline Wikipedia reading, especially for those looking for a lightweight and easy-to-use program.
What's New
Version 0.2.10: N/A