WWW::Search
===========


WHAT IS NEW WITH WWW::Search 1.005?
-----------------------------------

- new: back-ends for HotBot, Lycos, and several AltaVista variants
- new: application support for search-engine selection
- new: application and library support for search-engine options



WHAT IS WWW::Search?
--------------------

WWW::Search is a collection of Perl modules which provide an API to
WWW search engines like AltaVista, Lycos, Hotbot, WebCrawler, and so
on.  Currently WWW::Search includes back-ends for variations of
AltaVista, Lycos, and HotBot.  We include two applications built from
this library: AutoSearch (an program to automate tracking of search
results over time), and a small demonstration program to drive the
library.  Back-ends for other search engines and more sophisticated
clients are currently under development.



WHAT IS AutoSearch?
-------------------

WWW::Search's primary client is AutoSearch.  AutoSearch performs a
web-based search and puts the results set in a web page.  It
periodically updates this web page, indicating how the search changes
over time.  Sample output from WWW::Search can be found at
<http://www.isi.edu/lsam/autosearch/>.  Output format is configurable.

See the man page for AutoSearch details, or Demonstration section
below for the quick-start instructions.



REQUIREMENTS
------------

WWW::Search requires Perl5 and libwww-perl.
For information on Perl5, see <http://www.perl.com>.
For libwww-perl, see <http://www.sn.no/libwww-perl/>.
Both are also available from the Comprehensive Perl Archive
Network (CPAN). Visit <http://www.perl.com/CPAN/> to find a CPAN
site near you.

At this time WWW::Search has been tested with Perl versions 5.002 and
5.003.



AVAILABILITY
------------

The latest version of WWW::Search should always be available from
<http://www.isi.edu/lsam/tools/WWW_SEARCH/>.

WWW::Search is also available as part of CPAN.  Visit
<URL:http://www.perl.com/CPAN/> to find a CPAN site near you.

Feedback about WWW::Search is encouraged.  If you're using it for a
neat application, please let us know.  If you'd like to (or have)
implemented a new back-end for WWW::Search, let us know so we don't
duplicate work.




INSTALLATION
------------

In order to use this package you will need Perl version 5.002 or
better.  You install WWW::Search, as you would install any perl module
library, by running these commands:

    perl Makefile.PL
    make
    make install

If you want to install a private copy of WWW::Search in your home
directory, then you should try to produce the initial Makefile with
something like this command:

    perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/perl


Note:  make of the current release reports the following error which can be ignored:

    /usr/local/bin/pod2man: bad option in paragraph 35 of lib/WWW/Search.pm: ``native_query('search-engine-specific+query+string',
        { option1 => 'able', option2 => 'baker' } )'' should be [LCI]<native_query('search-engine-specific+query+string',
        { option1 => 'able', option2 => 'baker' } )>



DEMONSTRATION
-------------

After installing the client programs,
try
	search '"Your Name Here"'
to see who's talking about you on the web.

Then (in your web page directory), try
	AutoSearch -m 'me on the web' -q '"Your Name Here"' me
and the web page me/index.html will be created summarizing
this information.
Then add
	0 3 * * 1 AutoSearch /path/to/your/web/pages/me
to your crontab(1) to update this search once a week.



DOCUMENTATION
-------------

See WWW/Search.pm for an overview of the library.
POD-style documentation is included in all modules
and scripts.  These are normally converted to manual pages and
installed as part of the "make install" process.  You should also be
able to use the 'perldoc' utility to extract documentation from the
module files directly.



SUPPORT AND CREDITS
-------------------

Question about how to use this library should be directed to 
<johnh@isi.edu> at this time.

WWW::Search is based on code written by John Heidemann and William
Scheding.  An earlier implementation of AutoSearch was done by Kedar
Jog with advice from Joe Touch.



COPYRIGHT
---------

Copyright (c) 1996 University of Southern California.
All rights reserved.                                            
                                                               
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising
materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use
acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of
Southern California, Information Sciences Institute.  The name of the
University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from
this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


Portions of this README are derived from the README for libwww-perl.



ISPELL
------

 LocalWords:  AltaVista Lycos Hotbot WebCrawler libwww perl com sn CPAN isi PL
 LocalWords:  lsam pl pm perldoc README LocalWords AutoSearch Search's html
 LocalWords:  crontab HotBot autosearch Scheding Kedar