Re: nnir/freeWAIS-sf

[Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (Kai Großjohann)]

On 21 Jul 2000, Harry Putnam wrote:

> What exactly does `GLOBAL' mean and how is that index accessed?
> Can one make a `free text' query using the nnir example *.fmt?  it
> appears not.  Which index holds `GLOBAL' data?

If you say `foo=xyzzy', then the foo field is searched for xyzzy.
If you say `xyzzy', then the global field is searched.

Parens can be used for grouping, so that `foo=a b' searches for `a' in
the foo field and for `b' in the global field, but `foo=(a b)'
searches for a in the foo field and for b in the foo field.  (The last
query is the same as `foo=a foo=b'.)

(I said `and', but the actual operator used is `or'.  This means, it's
sufficient if one condition is true for a document to come out.  But
the documents that fulfill both conditions come out first in the
ranking list, they get a higher score.  nnir displays the score in the
subject line in square brackets.)

In the *.fmt file, the two regexes after `region:' and `end:' define a
region in each document.  And if the field definition says `GLOBAL' or
`BOTH', the terms found in the document region are put in the global
field.  If the field definition says `LOCAL', the terms from that
document region are NOT put in the global field.

> Do you mean a buffer containing the string matches, not full
> messages?

nnir.el only needs the file names.  Not the matching lines, not the
whole message.  Just the file names.

> What would really be cool would be having both available.  The
> ephemeral group assembled and a buffer similar to the emacs M-x grep
> buffer with hypertext that takes one to the exact hit.

Ah, yes.  It's not clear how to implement this, but it would be a cool
feature.  SFgate provides what's known as `search term highlighting'.
This means if you issue a query `foo bar' then all occurrences of
`foo' and of `bar' will be red, or bold, or blinking, or whatever.

> Since all gnus needs is the file names to generate the group maybe
> glimpse could be run with out the `-l' flag and let gnus snatch them
> out by regexp, allowing the other output to be available for such a
> buffer.

That's what (setq nnir-engine 'glimpse) does.  See the
nnir-run-glimpse function.

> Thanks for the tips on this but in truth its not likely I'll attempt
> it any time too soon.  Fact is I'm no where near competent in any
> programming language.. let alone lisp.
> 
> The only thing I can say I know even a small amount about is `awk'
> and its not a real programming language.

>From a theoretical point of view, awk is just as much a `real'
programming language as C or Lisp or whatever.  But awk allows you a
slow start into programming.  I'm sure that before you know it you'll
be a programmer.

kai
-- 
I like BOTH kinds of music.