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From: John Heidemann <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl.announce,comp.lang.perl.modules
Subject: WWW::Search 1.012 released
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Date: 10 Nov 1997 04:41:28 GMT
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WWW::Search and AutoSearch
==========================


WHAT IS NEW WITH WWW::Search 1.012?
-----------------------------------

Overview:  an alpha release for test-suite testing
- new: for testing, HTTP results can be saved to disk and played back
- new: test scripts (try "make test")
- bug-fix: Lycos works again and is now maintained by John Heidemann
- bug-fix: AltaVista advanced and news searches have been repaired
- bug-fix: some uninitialized value warnings suppressed
 (fix suggested by R. Chandrasekar (Mickey))
- new: new back-ends PLweb
- new: documentation for PLweb (contributed by Paul Linder)
- new: new back-ends: Gopher, Simple (contributed by Paul Linder)
- new: WWW::Search mailing list:
 to subscribe, send "subscribe info-www-search" as
 the body of a message to <[email protected]>


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
<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 version 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
<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.