Re: XyWriters: XyWWWeb Needs Your Help! Please read...

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from Harry Binswanger  on Tue, 10 Dec 2002
15:47:21 -0500

Harry:

> I searched for two things contained a Dec. 18, 1997 post by Tim Baehr:
> Subject: Re: XyDos to Win Clipboard
> and got no hits, even though the post is up there.

> 1. pad.pgm

That string ("pad.pgm") doesn't appear in the document.

> 2. "It assumes you've got filters for ASCII."

Drop the quotation marks. Works perfectly, instantly nails the one document
that contains that string (from tbaehr, 1997).

I assume that the reason the attached MIME code in that Tim Baehr message
didn't get converted into a downloadable attachment is that there is some
defect in the formulation of the HTML. The problem with 1997 (1998?) and
earlier is that these documents all were loaded into XyWrite before I got my
hands on them, and they were altered a bit -- lines got wrapped that shouldn't
be, for example -- and the toothpaste could not be shoved back in the tube (to
readopt their precise POP syntax) in all cases.... Nope, I'm looking at the
source file, and (in the form I have it) it is improperly encoded: there is no
indication in the header that this is a multipart MIME msg, so the mime stuff
gets treated as plain text, WYSIWYG.

Anyway, I now have access to (what I think is) a complete, unaltered archive of
1996-1998 msgs in POP form, and I will replace it all shortly.

As for quotation marks and "precise string" searching (query #2), phrase
searching is imprecise above two words. A true index of all strings, no matter
how long, in all messages, would be gigantic -- the stuff of mainframes. A
proximity technique is used instead. The solution is simply to not use
quotation marks.

Also, note well: the engine won't find instrings (substrings) unless you use
the * wildcard. For example, if you change:
 It assumes you've got filters for ASCII
(which works fine) to:
 It assume you've got filters for ASCII
you'll get zero hits. However this will work:
 It assume* you've got filters for ASCII

Thanks for the comment, Harry. Although the aside "not looking a great gift
horse in the mouth" seems internally contradictory: you _are_ looking it in
the mouth. I _asked_ you to.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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