LameNerd has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hello Monks,
I wondering what you all think about "search engine software". You know ... I want to have a ...
<FORM action= blah blah ba;h>
Search:<input type=text>
<input type=submit>
</FORM>
... for my site. I have looked at HTML::Index and wanted to get Monkish feedback.
I guess I could also roll-my-own ... but I know the Monks feelings about such solutions so I will consider
a non-roll-your-own solution. Any suggections?

Tanks in advance.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Is HTML::Index the right tool for me?
by PodMaster (Abbot) on Jun 30, 2003 at 00:30 UTC
[reply]
      I too, was looking for a good search engine, and based on your advice I checked out, then installed the Perlfect search tool. I am still working on the fine tuning, but I was very impressed at how fast it was up and running, spewing out useful results.

      So my initial conclusion is that it may be everything most sites need.

[reply]
Re: Is HTML::Index the right tool for me?
by Cody Pendant (Prior) on Jun 30, 2003 at 00:06 UTC
    I think it all depends on the size of the content you're going to search.

    I had a fifty-page website and rolled my own, simply for the fun of it. Fifty pages is nothing, especially as the hits were counted in the hundreds a week, not thousands or millions.

    If the number of pages is in the hundreds and there are lots of hits then you probably do want a more professional solution.

    Let me know if you want to see my home-rolled solution. It's based on an article on Webmonkey called, coincidentally, Roll Your Own Search Engine, but mine adds a weighting system to the basic "either the word is in there or it isn't" model.


    “Every bit of code is either naturally related to the problem at hand, or else it's an accidental side effect of the fact that you happened to solve the problem using a digital computer.”
    M-J D
[reply]
Re: Is HTML::Index the right tool for me?
by bbfu (Curate) on Jun 30, 2003 at 17:23 UTC

    If the site is a public website, you could always just use Google and their -site:www.blah.com option. Free, crazy easy to set up, and a good search engine. Of course, it doesn't work out if the site's not public, or not indexed by Google for some reason.

    bbfu
    Black flowers blossom
    Fearless on my breath

[reply]
      Hmm ... I tried Google site search but I guess my site is "not indexed by Googel for some reason". Do you think google just hasn't gotten aroud to it or is there something I can do?
[reply]
        Google has a FAQ for webmasters that addresses why a site might not be indexed by Google, and what you can do about it.
[reply]

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