On 13/04/06, Brion Vibber brion@pobox.com wrote:
I understand that searching is a difficult problem best left to Google, but is there a way where it could at least be hacked to check for articles whose name matches the search string verbatim?
Click the "go" button or hit "enter" when searching.
I noticed a related problem today. The Wikipedia search box in FireFox performs a "search" not a "go". Hence if you search for a term that has been defined recently, you get nuttin'.
How about this: On the search results screen, simply provide a link to the term, behaving differently if the term actually has an article behind it. Currently, you see this:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You searched for "aouoeau" [Index]
However, the colour of the link is identical whether aouoeau exists or not. Perhaps it could be modified as follows:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
No page with that title exists. You can create this article or request it.
Results 1-20...
or alternatively
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The page <a href...>Swiss National Museum</a> exists.
Results 1-20...
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That way, you get the best of both worlds, the search index can be left broken, and the functionalities of "go" and "search" are combined, with a minimum of effort.
What say you?
Steve