Chapter 5. Basic multifield search

This chapter covers

  • Satisfying multiple user goals when searching
  • Searching more than one field in your documents to satisfy user searches
  • Transforming fields derived from your source data into a search-friendly form
  • Balancing the influence of different search fields against one another
  • Understanding the pros and cons of multifield search strategies

Earlier we compared search to a book’s index. Such an index lets you zero in on pages that discuss a subject you’re interested in. If you’re interested in the French Revolution, just browse to the back of your French history book and find the associated pages.

Similarly, a search engine can quickly identify documents that mention search terms by using an ...

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