You're reading the public-facing archive of the Category Theory Zulip server.
To join the server you need an invite. Anybody can get an invite by contacting Matteo Capucci at name dot surname at gmail dot com.
For all things related to this archive refer to the same person.
Fabrizio Genovese (Sep 05 2020 at 02:15):I recently discovered that you can download the whole wikipedia (about 95GB) and consult it offline. It would be great to be able to do the same for nlab, but it doesn't seem to be so easy because nlab appears to have some bandwith restrictions. I've read on the nforum that there are people keeping a local copy of nlab databases. I would like to know:
The main reason why I ask is that having offline copies of wiki and nlab would make it easier to work, say, when you are on a plane. As such I think there would be great value in mantaining a full, publically downloadable copy of the nlab. Any suggestions about this?
Nathanael Arkor (Sep 05 2020 at 02:43):The best place to ask about this would be the nForum. Richard Williamson is the administrator there.
John Baez (Sep 05 2020 at 04:08):Yeah, if you ask on the nForum they'll know. There's little intersection between people active there and those active here, though Todd Trimble and Mike Shulman have dropped by here.
David Michael Roberts (Sep 07 2020 at 07:43)::wave: (though I'm not massively active on either place, I guess)
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Feb 29 2024 at 03:54):@Fabrizio Romano Genovese did you figure it out?
Fabrizio Romano Genovese (Mar 02 2024 at 20:46):Matteo Capucci (he/him) said:
Fabrizio Romano Genovese did you figure it out?
Nope
Keith Elliott Peterson (Mar 03 2024 at 09:02):I once wget'ed the nlab.
I recommend giving the server a second between requests so as not to overload things.
The nlab as a purchasable reference book wouldn't be a bad idea though. Just an idea.
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Mar 04 2024 at 14:15):Probably useless as a printed book, but I'd love to have a local copy to consult during flights
Reid Barton (Mar 04 2024 at 16:25):You can clone the nlab content from https://github.com/ncatlab/nlab-content
Keith Elliott Peterson (Mar 05 2024 at 04:55):Matteo Capucci (he/him) said:
Probably useless as a printed book, but I'd love to have a local copy to consult during flights
Why would it be useless? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
Jason Erbele (Mar 05 2024 at 05:39):I'm guessing that since Matteo specifically mentioned consulting the nlab during flights, it would be rather inconvenient to have an extra book in carry-on luggage. Especially if a laptop that could have a copy of the nlab on it is already going to be included anyway.
In a different context the printed book version might be valuable and the digital version useless.
David Michael Roberts (Mar 05 2024 at 05:53):Also, there's a lot of stuff on the nLab that I'm not sure would be worth the extra paper. And the formatting is very spaced out in places. And there's duplication of a bunch of stuff via !includes to make pages a bit more standalone.
Mike Shulman (Mar 05 2024 at 06:34):I'm curious how many pages it would be, though.
Mike Shulman (Mar 05 2024 at 06:35):I mean, pages as in the kind you turn with your finger.
fosco (Mar 06 2024 at 11:55):
Mike Shulman said:
I'm curious how many pages it would be, though.
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Mar 07 2024 at 11:38):Keith Elliott Peterson said:
Matteo Capucci (he/him) said:
Probably useless as a printed book, but I'd love to have a local copy to consult during flights
Why would it be useless? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
Sorry maybe that was a bit harsh. It'd be useless to me because I expect it to be hundreds of pages long (not very portable) and chronically out of date (whereas a local copy should be updatable at will)
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Mar 07 2024 at 11:38):Oh, and the major point is: the nLab is an hypertext, so doesn't fit well into a linear structure. Also linking would be a nightmare.
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Mar 07 2024 at 11:38):But maybe it works for you 🤷🏻♂️
Kevin Arlin (Mar 07 2024 at 13:58):Surely thousands of pages.
David Michael Roberts (Mar 08 2024 at 00:23):@Kevin Arlin the nLab has O(10,000) individual named pages in it.
Now I check, it says
The nLab has 19112 pages.
David Michael Roberts (Mar 08 2024 at 00:23):https://ncatlab.org/nlab/all_pages
Jason Erbele (Mar 08 2024 at 00:28):Matteo Capucci (he/him) said:
Oh, and the major point is: the nLab is an hypertext, so doesn't fit well into a linear structure. Also linking would be a nightmare.
I had considered the possibility that hyperlinks might be part of the issue. I suppose it would require more than copy/paste effort to convert them into reasonable cross references, though maybe a nice script could do a good enough job. And of course, as with any local electronic version / paper version comparison, the paper version would be less greppable.
Related to the chronically out of date issue, it might also be worth noting that if you want to have version histories of pages, a local electronic copy can handle that much more gracefully than a paper copy.
Eric M Downes (Mar 12 2024 at 06:26):I realized the other day that a good 20% of my open chrome tabs were nLab articles... it is updated so often a book might get quickly out of date I fear, aside from being too massive a tome.
How about formatted as a dedicated app though, like the wikipedia app? If anyone else would be interested in exploring the difficulty to make this, reach out.