Mul language
For a lot of instances multiple languages typically have identical labels, aliases, and descriptions.
As a consequence Wikidata has storage and performance problems with redundant labels, aliases and descriptions, taking up redundant storage and memory.
Therefore in 2024 a new functionality was introduced: the mul labels and mul aliases. If a specific language does not have a label, the mul label is shown (without notice) instead. The emphasis on English language is lowered. Therefore, as a principle, every item should have a mul label. The discription should still be filled for each language, except wghen the label would be the same for all instances (e.g. firstname, lastname, category, etc.).
Examples
edit- Names of persons, firstnames, lastnames → labels only to be stored for the mul language (no description); the same for aliases
- Descriptions of instances of firstnames, lastnames, categories, → should not be stored; to be retrieved at runtime from the instance language label
- Scolar articles and editions (title only as mul label)
Impacted functions
edit- Item creation, item update
- Retrieval of labels
- Pywikibot scripts
- Personal Babel registry
Wikidata project documentation
edit- Only the mul-label is stored (Wikidata)
- Do not store obvious item descriptions (Phabricator)