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From: John Heidemann <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl.announce,comp.lang.perl.modules
Subject: WWW::Search 1.021 released
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Date: 28 Aug 1998 14:51:29 GMT
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WWW::Search and AutoSearch
==========================


WHAT IS NEW WITH WWW::Search 1.021?  (27-Aug-98)
------------------------------------------------
overview:  a general release

- new:  Windows installation is now supported by
       Jim Smyser <[email protected]>; please see his web
       page <http://pubinfo.phx.primenet.com/www.search/>
       for details.
- new:  MacPerl should now be supported.  Thanks to Chris Nandor
       for the problem and a fix.
- bug fix:  Infoseek, WebCrawler, Dejanews, HotBot by Martin Thurn
- bug fix:  AltaVista approx_count bug found by
       Darren Stalder <[email protected]>
- bug fix: documentation cleanups from Neil Bowers


Since the recent 1.020 was not widely announced, here's what was new then:

1.020, 12-Aug-98
overview:  lots of bug fixes and new back-ends
- bug fix:  maximum_to_retrieve now works for very small values.
       (Problem identified by Vidyut Luther <[email protected]>.)
- new back-ends: ExciteForWebServers, FolioViews, Livelink, MSIndexServer,
       Null, Search97
       all from Paul Lindner (thanks!)
- bug fix:  Gopher, PLweb, SFgate, Simple, Verity from Paul Lindner
- bug fix:  Lycos from John Heidemann
- new test suites:  PLweb, FolioViews, Null, MSIndexServer, Search97,
       SFgate, ExciteForWebServers rom Paul Lindner
- bug fix:  HotBot repair from Martin Thurn



Note:  WWW::Search may have problems with older libwww's (5.08).  If
"make test" dies with an error in RobotUA, upgrade libwww.  (Tested
with libwww-5.30.)



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, Lycos,
Magellan, PLweb, SFgate, Verity, WebCrawler, and Yahoo.  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.

Because WWW::Search depends on parsing the HTML output of web search
engines it will fail of the search engine operators change their
format (an unfortunately frequent occurrence).  WWW::Search includes a
test suite for most back-ends which verifies that it's functioning
correctly.  As of the day of the release the current back-end
status is:

AltaVista               working
Dejanews                working
Excite                  working
ExciteForWebServers     working
FolioViews              working
Gopher                  not working? (not in test suite)
HotBot                  working
Infoseek                working
Livelink                not working? (not in test suite)
Lycos                   working
Magellan                not working (maybe gone?)
MSIndexServer           working
Null                    working
PLweb                   working
Search97                working
SFgate                  working
Simple                  not working? (not in test suite)
Verity                  not working (not in test suite)
WebCrawler              working?
Yahoo                   working

Yahoo's test suites are sometimes flakey.

(others are currently under development, see contributors below for details)



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/tools/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 is tested under Perl version 5.004_04.



AVAILABILITY
------------

The latest version of WWW::Search should always be available from
<http://www.isi.edu/lsam/tools/WWW_SEARCH/>.  Alpha releases are only
available here (not at CPAN).

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.

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