This tutorial shows you how to use the simple and powerful query language of ECIS. With the Query Language functionality you can take full advantage of the advanced capabilities of the tool to refine and improve the accuracy of your searches. Use Boolean operators Boolean operators allow you to search for documents that contain exactly the words you are looking for. Boolean operators include AND, ANDNOT, OR, and parentheses. If no boolean operator is specified, ECIS uses AND by default. AND Documents found must contain all words joined by the AND operator. For example, to find documents that contain the words "picasso" and "prevert", enter: picasso AND prevert ANDNOT Documents found cannot contain the word that follows the "ANDNOT" operator. For example, to find documents that contain the word "flaubert", but not the word "proust", enter: flaubert ANDNOT proust OR Documents found must contain at least one of the words joined by OR. For example, to find documents that contain the word "monet" or the word "renoir", enter: monet OR renoir (   ) Parentheses are used to group portions of Boolean queries together for complex queries. For example, to find documents that contain the word "fruit" and either the word "banana" or the word "apple", enter: fruit AND (banana OR apple)

Topics:    Search Tutorial    Examples    Query language    Syntax   Query results

Use proximity operators

Proximity operators look for documents including search terms within close proximity of each other.

• NEAR / NEAR(distance)
  Documents found must contain the two words joined by the NEAR operator within a certain distance and in any order. For example, to find documents that mention the phrase "Chaco Canyon" and the word "Park" in any order, but with a maximum distance of 10 words, enter: "Chaco Canyon" NEAR Park.
  If the word Park must be exactly 2 words from "Chaco canyon", specify the distance between parentheses. In the example, enter: "Chaco Canyon" NEAR(2) Park.
• WITHIN / WITHIN(distance)
  Documents found must contain the two words joined by the WITHIN operator within a certain distance and in a given order. For example, to find documents that mention first the word "Katchina" before "Hopi" with a maximum distance of 10 words, enter: Katchina WITHIN Hopi.
  To specify the distance between the words, use WITHIN(distance). For example, Katchina WITHIN(4) Hopi.

Proximity operators are not universally supported. The sources are then questioned with the operator AND by default. The results are filtered in ECIS to answer the search criteria.

Additional rules

You must apply the following rules:

• In the search area, enter the words and operators separated by a space
• If you need to use any of these operator words as search words in a query, you must place them in quotation marks "".
• The search is not case-sensitive. The case of words in the retrieved documents is ignored. For example, the search dog AND Dalmatians is equal to the search DOG and dalmatians (see advanced search filtering)
• To search for a phrase including several words, use double quotes. For example, "knowledge management"

Syntax

The following syntax is applicable to any individual attribute and allows you to define complex search criteria from within the standard search area.
 

The most general form of a search criteria is:

[attribute name]:[operator]:[attribute value]

[first criteria] / [second criteria] / [third criteria]

Attribute names are listed next to each source in the domain page. They are also available in the advanced search page. You can also use any arbitrary name for your search. The system automatically adjuts the search to the capabilities of the sources selected and notifies you when a given source is not available.

Attribute values are complex boolean expressions. Enter your keywords combined with boolean or proximity operators.

Available operators are listed below:

Name	Semantic	Usage
CONTAINS	attribute contains a sub-string that matches the value (default)	title:CONTAINS:Chaco canyon music title:Chaco canyon music
EQUALS	attribute is equal to the string	author:EQUALS:balzac
<	attribute is less than the numerical value	sum:<:29.29
<=	attribute is less than or equal to the numerical value	sum:<=:29.29
=	attribute is equal to the numerical value	sum:=:29.29
>=	attribute is greater than or equal to the numerical value	sum:>=:29.29
>	attribute is superior to the numerical value<	sum:>:29.29
AFTER	date is after day	date:AFTER:1997-01-29
BEFORE	date is before day	date:BEFORE:1997-01-29

To search for a specific date, use the international standard date notation (ISO 8601): YYYY-MM-DD where YYYY is the year in the usual Gregorian calendar, MM is the month of the year between 01 (January) and 12 (December), and DD is the day of the month between 01 and 31. For example, the fourth day of February in the year 1995 is written in the standard notation as 1995-02-04.

Query samples

General, Library
author:equals:flaubert or stendhal / title:contains:(madame AND bovary) OR (chartreuse AND parme)
body:contains:flaubert or stendhal / title:contains:(madame AND bovary) OR (chartreuse AND parme)

General
title:contains:"find good paying jobs" / date:after:2002-09-01

Shopping
title:contains:Tolkien or (Lord and rings) / price:<=:20