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Zoom Seach V5 - XML/RSS output for A9 & Opensearch

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  • Zoom Seach V5 - XML/RSS output for A9 & Opensearch

    Version 5.0 will allow an RSS/XML output option for the CGI version.

    This will allow for a number of possibilities:

    - By providing OpenSearch compatibility, you will be able to integrate your search engine with a number of OpenSearch platforms. This includes the ability to submit your search engine to an aggregator such as a9.com, or as a search provider to IE7/Firefox browsers. For more information on OpenSearch, see this website:
    http://opensearch.a9.com/

    - Developers can easily process the XML output from Zoom and post-process or reformat the search results for use in another script or web application.

    - The possibility of providing RSS feeds for end-users to monitor the results for a subject they are interested in.

    - This will also allow us to develop a load-balancing solution in the future, for searching over several million pages.
    --Ray
    Wrensoft Web Software
    Sydney, Australia
    Zoom Search Engine

  • #2
    Will this RSS/xml output be obtainable via a querystring? I'd hate to have to spider content twice for two instances of the cgi: one for plain text search outputs in a template and another for the RSS outputs.

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    • #3
      Yes. You can switch between HTML and RSS/XML output via a URL parameter "zoom_xml".

      The option in the Configuration window controls the default behaviour (when no zoom_xml parameter is specified).

      So this URL would display the search results for "dog" in HTML:

      Code:
      search.cgi?zoom_query=dog&zoom_xml=0
      And this would display the search results for "dog" in XML/RSS:

      Code:
      search.cgi?zoom_query=dog&zoom_xml=1
      --Ray
      Wrensoft Web Software
      Sydney, Australia
      Zoom Search Engine

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      • #4
        Perfect! This will really open the door for OpenSearch.

        Keep up the great work!

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        • #5
          Hello,

          Would it be possible for the XML output to include the number of results found in each category, or would that be server intensive?

          Thanks
          AG!

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          • #6
            Originally posted by AG! View Post
            Would it be possible for the XML output to include the number of results found in each category, or would that be server intensive?
            Adding such a feature can hinder performance: we don't know the number of results per category until we tally them up - which means it forces the search script to run through the entire set of results everytime. We've also not had anyone else ask for such a feature, so it is not something being considered at this time.
            --Ray
            Wrensoft Web Software
            Sydney, Australia
            Zoom Search Engine

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            • #7
              It doesn't appear like the xml output is passing along the highlighted tags for the text (when using the highlight = 1 option)?

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              • #8
                That's correct, the XML output does not include highlighting. The main reason for this is that the OpenSearch specifications do not provide a highlight tag. Secondly, highlighting is considered to be a presentation aspect and the XML output is supposed to be content-only. This means that it would be up to you to implement the highlighting (and all other presentation aspects), if you wish to use the XML output.
                --Ray
                Wrensoft Web Software
                Sydney, Australia
                Zoom Search Engine

                Comment


                • #9
                  Great feature for meta search engines.

                  I currently pull search newsfeeds from Google, MSN and Yahoo into my search pages, and wonder if ZoomEngine is a compliment to those 2 search engines as an add-on to my overall search pages.

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                  • #10
                    Using the XML/RSS output, you can certainly use the OpenSearch format to accumulate search results from other search engines in conjunction with the search results from your own Zoom-created search engine.

                    There are various solutions for aggregating search results in the OpenSearch format (including the option to roll-your-own). At an enterprise level, we have been working on a solution of our own call "MasterNode" which you can read more about here:
                    http://www.wrensoft.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1213
                    --Ray
                    Wrensoft Web Software
                    Sydney, Australia
                    Zoom Search Engine

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