Web Developer.com(r) Guide to Search Engines [Paperback]

Wes Sonnenreich (Author), Tim Macinta (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471246387 | ISBN-13: 978-0471246381 | Publication Date: February 4, 1998 | Edition: 1

This comprehensive reference teaches readers how to choose the right engine or directory for their search, as well as how to select and implement the best engine to run behind a site. Companion Web site contains freeware, shareware, and a demo version of a commercial search engine, as well as examples used throughout the book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This comprehensive reference teaches readers how to choose the right engine or directory for their search, as well as how to select and implement the best engine to run behind a site. Companion Web site contains freeware, shareware, and a demo version of a commercial search engine, as well as examples used throughout the book.

From the Back Cover

"This book is the most comprehensive review of search engines for intranet and Internet use that I am aware of . . . [it] is a superb guide to adding searchability to any site, large or small."--Steve Kirsch Chairman, Infoseek.

You need the Web Developer.com

Guide to Search Engines if:
* Your company network has grown too big for manual searches and you need to install a reliable, high-performance search engine ASAP
* You're a webmaster setting up a search engine, ensuring that only the information you choose will be indexed, while increasing your users' ability to find what they need
* You need to quickly zero in on specific types of information online, and you want to find the most efficient search strategy.

Web Developer.com Guide to Search Engines is a complete guide to choosing, obtaining, installing, configuring, supporting, and building the perfect search engine for your website, intranet, enterprise network, or Internet needs. Wes Sonnenreich and Tim Macinta, two former members of the MIT Media Lab, critically appraise the leading search engines, explaining who built them, how they work, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. Plus, they tell you everything you need to know in order to:
* Determine your ideal search parameters and create a profile of your site
* Match your site profile with the best engine for the job
* Obtain, install, configure, maintain, and get help for each engine
* Build your own custom search engine from scratch.

The companion website at www.wiley.com/compbooks/sonnenreich gives you:
* Tons of freeware and shareware
* A demo version of a commercial search engine
* Links to all of the engines covered in the book
* Updates about the current state of search engine systems
* Code for all the examples in the book.

Visit our website at www.wiley.com/compbooks/

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 4, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471246387
• ISBN-13: 978-0471246381
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,670,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A complete rip-off !, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Web Developer.com(r) Guide to Search Engines (Paperback)

The Java search project is not available as the book claims. The Java code in the book is of *lousy* quality. The project's design is so bad that it would require and entire redesign/rewrite to make it work. Publisher claims the author's can't be found. A real piece of work!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tool for designing search engines, May 31, 2001

By 

John Perrine (Gaithersburg, MD (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Developer.com(r) Guide to Search Engines (Paperback)

I used this textbook to implement a search engine for my company's modest intranet. The textbook is direct and straightforward which allowed me to get a search engine operational by the second day of having the book. The chapters are segmented for exactly the information you need. In fact, the author tells you at the beginning of each chapter if you should read the chapter or skip ahead. This allows the book to be useful for the novice to advance programmer. The textbook is also written with a very animated active voice, which makes the reading entertaining. I found this book to be an excellent resource for my needs and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in implementing their own search engine for their inter/intranet. One of the biggest advantages of the text book was the companion website which offered source code and additional help. I was even able to receive direct help from the author, Tim Macinta. I really got my monies worth on this purchase.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid information on complex programs, October 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Web Developer.com(r) Guide to Search Engines (Paperback)

This book has some fun background on Web Searching, though it doesn't give enough credit to the years of research in Information Retrieval.

If you have any of the site search products covered in this book -- AltaVista Intranet, Excite for Web Servers, Harvest, ht://Dig, Phantom or Ultraseek, the book provides excellent and detailed instructions.