WWW::Search and AutoSearch ========================== WHAT IS NEW WITH WWW::Search 1.009? ----------------------------------- overview: 1.009 is primarily a maintenance release to accommodate changes to LWP and some search engines. - change: search application renamed WebSearch (a more specific name) - bug-fix: the WWW::Search error in formatting is fixed (problem found by Larry Virden, fix by him and johnh) - bug-fix: RobotUA handling updated for new LWP in Search.pm - bug-fix: update for Infoseek (page format changed about 1 Jan 97) (problem found by Joseph McDonald, fix by Cesare Feroldi de Rosa) - bug-fix: update for Excite (page format changed about 9 Jan 97) (problem found by Juan Jose Amor, fix by GLen Pringle) WHAT IS WWW::Search? -------------------- WWW::Search is a collection of Perl modules which provide an API to WWW search engines. Currently WWW::Search includes back-ends for variations of AltaVista, Dejanews, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, and Lycos. We include two applications built from this library: AutoSearch (an program to automate tracking of search results over time), and WebSearch, 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 . 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 . For libwww-perl, see . Both are also available from the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). Visit 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 . WWW::Search is also available as part of CPAN. Visit 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 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 -n 'me on the web' -s '"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. FUTURE PLANS ------------ Some ideas: - application-level proxy support (I'm looking for a contribution here from someone who uses/needs proxy support) - more widespread use of new results tags across all back-ends - a test suite - a freeze/restore interface to suspend and resume in-progress queries - more back-ends Other than a test suite I don't have major plans in the immediate future (through 1Q1997); WWW::Search will be in maintenance mode. Contributions from others are always welcome. Send me e-mail if you plan a new back-end and to discuss architectural changes (to avoid duplicating work). RELEASE HISTORY --------------- 1.002: (11 October 1996) - First public release. 1.004: (31 October 1996) - new: AutoSearch, a client application (see below for details) - new: WWW::Search is now in CPAN (see GETTING WWW::Search for details) - bug fix: installation problem (no rule to make CLIENTS/search) fixed 1.005: (12 November 1996) - 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 1.006: (25 November 1996) - private beta release, see 1.007 for list of new features 1.007: (17 December 1996) - new: back-ends for Dejanews (from Cesare Feroldi de Rosa), Infoseek (also from Cesare Feroldi de Rosa), and Excite (from GLen Pringle) - new: more fields in SearchResult (score, dates, etc., see the man page) (problem found by Cesare Feroldi de Rosa) - new: better error handling on network failures (AutoSearch should report errors on its pages, $search->response() provides an API for error reporting) - new (internal): user_agent handling has changed - new: proxy support added to WWW::Search (still needed in applications) (problem and fix suggested by T. V. Raman) - bug-fix: numerous documentation updates (problems found by Larry Virden) - bug-fix: AltaVista web search was occasionally dropping hits (problem found by Larry Virden, fixed by Bill Scheding) - bug-fix: all non-alphanumeric characters are now escaped (problem found by Larry Virden) 1.008: (8 January 1997) - private alpha release, see 1.009 for list of new features SUPPORT AND CREDITS ------------------- The WWW::Search architecture is by John Heidemann with feedback from the other contributors. Components of AltaVista have been written by several people: APPLICATIONS: search John Heidemann AutoSearch William Scheding BACK-ENDS: AltaVista John Heidemann Dejanews Cesare Feroldi de Rosa Excite GLen Pringle HotBot William Scheding Infoseek Cesare Feroldi de Rosa Lycos William Scheding AutoSearch is based on an earlier implementation by Kedar Jog with advice from Joe Touch. Bugs and extensions (to the software and documentation) have been identified by William Scheding , T. V. Raman (proxy support, fix included), C. Feroldi (fix included), Larry Virden (fix included). Bugs have reported by Joseph McDonald , Juan Jose Amor . Feedback, bug reports and fixes, and new back-ends should be sent to John Heidemann . Before submitting a bug report, please check for any announcements about known bugs. 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 usr LocalWords: crontab HotBot autosearch Scheding Kedar Dejanews Infoseek lib de LocalWords: SearchResult LCI wls Cesare Feroldi GLen Pringle pringle monash LocalWords: au Raman raman Virden lvirden cas org LWP WebSearch RobotUA Amor LocalWords: joe smartlink jjamor infor es