Function "enableSemantics"

Deprecated since Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x.: enableSemantics() is deprecated and no longer required. Use wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' ); instead. See migration below.1

Before Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x.: the error screen shown when the enableSemantics call was missing from "LocalSettings.php". This enforcement no longer applies, as wfLoadExtension alone is sufficient.

The enableSemantics function was historically added to the "LocalSettings.php" file to enable Semantic MediaWiki. As of Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x. it is deprecated: calling it emits a deprecation warning but has no other effect, and only wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' ) is required.

Migration

As of Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x., enableSemantics() is deprecated. Calling it emits a deprecation warning but has no other effect. To enable Semantic MediaWiki, only wfLoadExtension is needed:

wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' );

RDF namespace URI

The RDF namespace URI (configuration parameter $smwgNamespaceSets the namespace of exported URIs) is now automatically derived from Special:URIResolver when not explicitly set. If you previously passed a domain to enableSemantics() and need a custom URI, set $smwgNamespace directly:2

wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' );
$smwgNamespace = 'https://example.org/id/';

Namespace indices

The configuration parameter $smwgNamespaceIndexSets the index of the first namespace to be used by Semantic MediaWiki setting was removed in Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x.. To use non-default namespace indices, define the six SMW_NS_* constants directly in "LocalSettings.php" before the wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' ) call. See configuration parameter $smwgNamespaceIndexSets the index of the first namespace to be used by Semantic MediaWiki for the ready-to-copy snippet.

Configuration preloading

The loadDefaultConfigFrom() and loadConfigFrom() methods on enableSemantics() are no longer available. Use require instead:

// Before (deprecated)
enableSemantics( 'example.org' )->loadDefaultConfigFrom( 'media.php' );

// After
wfLoadExtension( 'SemanticMediaWiki' );
require "$IP/extensions/SemanticMediaWiki/data/config/media.php";

See configuration preloading for details.

Legacy behaviour

The following describes the behaviour of the enableSemantics function before Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x., retained for reference. The function is now a deprecated no-op.

Before Semantic MediaWiki 7.0.0Released on 4 June 2026 and compatible with MW 1.43.x - 1.46.x., enableSemantics took two parameters:

• The domain name, used as URI namespace in RDF.
• An optional second parameter indicating whether the URI namespace was already completed or not.

Since Semantic MediaWiki 3.2.0Released on 7 September 2020 and compatible with MW 1.31.0 - 1.35.x. a configuration preloading feature is available as a mechanism to preload a set of configurations.3

Examples

enableSemantics( 'wiki.example.org' );

enableSemantics( 'example.org/id/' );

Specifying the protocol

enableSemantics( 'https://example.org/id/', true );

Empty identifier

For a local installation where no domain was available (or necessary), the enableSemantics function could be used simply with:

enableSemantics();

Context

Loading Semantic MediaWiki (with wfLoadExtension, formerly enableSemantics) ensures that:

• An URI related namespace is set up for the RDF export and the SPARQLStore replication process
• Namespace constants (e.g. SMW_NS_PROPERTY) are accessible in the "LocalSettings.php" file when making changes to configuration parameters like configuration parameter $smwgNamespacesWithSemanticLinksDefines for which namespaces the semantic links and annotations are to be evaluated

See also

• Help page on installing Semantic MediaWiki
• Help page on configuration preloading
• Help page on extension registration mechanism
• Help page on importing vocabulary
• Help page on pretty URIs