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Copyright and Header 


##############################################################################
# Simple Search                 Version 1.0                                  #
# Copyright 1996 Matt Wright    mattw@worldwidemart.com                      #
# Created 12/16/95              Last Modified 12/16/95                       #
# Scripts Archive at:           http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/        #
##############################################################################
# If you run into any problems while trying to configure this scripts, help  #
# is available.  The steps you should take to get the fastest results, are:  #
#       1) Read this file thoroughly                                         #
#       2) Consult the Matt's Script Archive Frequently Asked Questions:     #
#               http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq/                    #
#       3) If you are still having difficulty installing this script, send   #
#          e-mail to: scripts-help@tahoenet.com                              #
#          Include any error messages you are receiving and as much detail   # 
#          as you can so we can spot your problem.  Also include the variable#
#          configuration block that is located at the top of the script.     #
#                                                                            #
# Hopefully we will be able to help you solve your problems.  Thank you.     #
##############################################################################
# COPYRIGHT NOTICE                                                           #
# Copyright 1996 Matthew M. Wright  All Rights Reserved.                     #
#                                                                            #
# Simple Search may be used and modified free of charge by anyone so long as #
# this copyright notice and the comments above remain intact.  By using this #
# code you agree to indemnify Matthew M. Wright from any liability that      #  
# might arise from it's use.                                                 #  
#                                                                            #
# Selling the code for this program without prior written consent is         #
# expressly forbidden.  In other words, please ask first before you try and  #
# make money off of my program.                                              #
#                                                                            #
# Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or #
# in any other medium.  In all cases copyright and header must remain intact.#
##############################################################################

Overview

  • The simple search script was written to allow people to set up a search of their site, so their users could enter keywords and find all documents matching those keywords. It was written to be simple, so there are not many options. When the search returns pages, it returns them in no real order, and they are referenced with the <title> tag of that page.

    The instructions below explain how to set up and configure the Simple Search script. The script should have come with three files:

    1. README - Useful installation instructions.
    2. search.pl - The Perl script which does the searching.
    3. search.html - A sample HTML Search Page.

search.pl

  • This script is the one that you will need to define what files you want to be searched and the locations of those files. First you need to define the variables:
    $basedir = '';
    This is the base directory to the files you will want to search. If you have all of your files in /home/joe/public_html and you want to search files that are in /home/joe/public_html/work and /home/joe/public_html/fun, then you would set your base directory at /home/joe/public_html/ and then put subdirectories into the @files array, since they will be put together at run time. The $basedir variable just saves you the time of having to type out the basedir over and over again for every file you want to include.
    $baseurl = '';
    This is very similar to the basedir variable except that it will be used as a base reference to the files you want to search in terms of the web. For the example above with user joe, his baseurl would probably be something like: http://joe.host.com/~joe/ so that when the searched files are appended to this baseurl, they form a complete url to his files to place in the results.
    @files = ();
    This is an array that includes all of the files you want to search. The directory paths and filenames should be in reference to $basedir. Wild cards are allowed in this array, so if joe wanted to search all html files in fun/ and work/, he would set his @files array up as: @files = ('fun/*.html','work/*.html'); You can also search whole directories at one time, like: @files = ('fun/','work/'); This would search all text files located in these directories. Putting exact filenames will search only that filename.
    $title = "";
    This variable is used to display the title of your page in the search results and used to link back to your main page.
    $title_url = '';
    This is the url that would link to the page $title.
    $search_url = '';
    This is the url to the search.html page you set up, so that it can be referenced from in the results page if users want to make another search.


    That is all of the variables that need to be configured in your script. You must also chmod this script to 755 so that all users can execute it and place it in your cgi-bin or change the name to search.cgi. Now you simply have to edit the search.html page and you are ready to go!

search.html

  • This page needs only a little changing. You will probably want to change the title and header of this page to match your site, and you may want to change the background and other features of it to make it fit into your site better.

    The main thing you will need to change is the action="" of your script from the fake url, to the url of your search.pl script. Once you have changed this, and have implemented the changes listed above in search.pl, the search program should work.

    search.html should be chmoded 744 so that it is readable by everyone.

History 

     Version 1.0  -  12/16/95  - First Version Released.

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