On Tue, 14 Dec 2004, Mike Taylor wrote:
>> From: Dr Robert Sanderson <[log in to unmask]>

>> Secondly, if you do want to split URIs up by punctuation, you would
>> search as a keyword in an index of uris, not as a combined uri/word?
>
> Ahhhh ...  I think you've got something there.  An index that
> _contains_ URIs -- for any kind of searching, string or word -- is not
> necessarily related to the _term-structure_ URI.

Yes, well put.

> But it then follows that URIs are search-compatible with either string
> or word searching.  So they can't be a subclass of either.

Yes, true.  You might want to find URIs in a free text style search, where
you would want them to be treated as individual words.

> Conclusion: the URIness or otherwise of a term's structure tells us
> nothing about whether that term is to be interpreted as a string or a
> term.  URIness is orthogonal.

Not at all. It tells you how you should break up the term.

foo.text any "http://a.b.c/d/e z3950r:a.b.c.d/e?f=g"

If you were to tell me that the term structure was word, I would find you
the following words:
   "http a b c d e z3950r a b c d e f g"

But if you tell me that it's a string, I'll find you one string. If you
tel me it's a URI, then I'll find you two URIs like you intended.


>> [...] unless the server thinks that it should be numeric
>> equality. (eg if the term is numeric and the index is numeric)
>
> Eh?  I certainly don't remember agreeing this.  It seems dangerously
> error-prone to me.  I don't think the server can recognise what is and
> isn't a "number" lexicographically.

weather.temperature = 3

I'm going to treat that as a number unless told otherwise because that's
the "right thing to do".  Hence I'll match 3.00 and 000003 not just the
string/word of "3"

= is used:
     * For word adjacency, when the term is a list of words. That is to say
that the words appear in that order with no others intervening.
     * Otherwise, for exact equality of value.

That value for my numeric index is exactly equal to 3.00 rather than "3"

> Let me re-state it this way: when I search for
>        foo < fruit
> is "fruit" to be interpreted as a string or a word?

Totally unspecified, I think.

You would also have to justify why you need to say:
    foo.numericIndex >/cql.number 3

and not just
    foo.numericIndex > 3

Rob

       ,'/:.          Dr Robert Sanderson ([log in to unmask])
     ,'-/::::.        http://www.o-r-g.org/~azaroth/
   ,'--/::(@)::.      Dept. of Computer Science, Room 805
,'---/::::::::::.    University of Liverpool
____/:::::::::::::.  L5R Shop: http://www.cardsnotwords.com/
I L L U M I N A T I