[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Development to support traditional Boolean operators

[Rogan Hamby]

Hi Kathy,

I'm curious, are you thinking this will be ready for 2.4?


On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 4:32 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We've contracted with Catalyst IT Services to create an interface to
> support traditional Boolean operators in tpac. I wanted to share some of
> our plans on the list so that we can get feedback from the community before
> proceeding.
>
> This functionality was important to many of our libraries because, even
> though the advanced search interface provides a graphical way to do Boolean
> searches, there is no way to control the nesting of searches, making it
> difficult to perform more complex searches.
>
> For example, if a user were to enter the search terms in Advanced Search
> as drugs AND teenagers OR adolescents, the resulting query would be ((drugs
> && keyword:teenagers) || keyword:adolescents), when the intended query is
> drugs && (teenagers || adolescents). Performing a search with more complex
> nesting, something like "((mouse or rat) and trap) or mousetrap", requires
> free-form entry to get the nesting right. However, users are expected to
> know that && means "and" and that || means "or." Our academics, in
> particular, were concerned, because they often start their instruction in
> Boolean searching with the library catalog before moving on to full-text
> databases.
>
> Attached is a mock-up of the interface we would like to include. It would
> add a new Boolean search tab to the advanced search interface. When
> searching from this interface, if any Boolean operators are present based
> on the locale settings, the system will replace them accordingly with the
> correct syntax (&& || -) to perform the search. As part of the work,
> Catalyst will also leverage the Evergreen locale settings so that operators
> can be entered in other languages. After performing the search, clicking
> the "Refine Search" link will return the user to the Boolean search tab
> with their originally-entered search terms auto-populating the boxes. There
> will be a configuration setting to disable/enable this feature.
>
> Let me know if you have any thoughts on this project!
>
> Kathy
>
> --
> Kathy Lussier
> Project Coordinator
> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
> (508) 343-0128
> klussier at masslnc.org
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/**kmlussier<http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier>
>
>


-- 

Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA
Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services,
York County Library System

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit
me."
-- C.S. Lewis <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis>
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