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Searching
Following are some hints and tips for constructing
searches on the TPF Web-Based Product Support page.
When composing a Web search, sometimes
a little experimentation will help you to get more hits, or a
better match between the hits you receive and what you are looking
for. If all else fails, try searching for your information on
some of the other sites that are linked to TPF Web-Based Product
Support.
Documents are indexed for searching using
an algorithm called full text search, meaning that all
significant words in the document (except for words such as a,
and, and the) are displayed in the search index. Documents
are weighted according to how close they come to
fulfilling the search, and highly weighted documents are displayed
near the top of the list that is returned from the search. For
example, if the search argument contained the word Java, a document
that had 15 occurrences of Java would be displayed closer to
the top of the list than a document that contained the word Java
only once. Other algorithms also are used in weighting to help
order the results.
Following are some of the syntax rules
for creating a search string:
1. Try to spell out words when possible.
An abbreviation from someone else might not be the same as yours.
However, if a product or concept has a commonly used acronym,
try that first. The word Include is better than inc,
but PC is fine for personal computer.
2. Use wildcard characters if appropriate.
Use a question mark (?) to replace a single character, or use
an asterisk (*) to replace one or more characters. For example,
pers* would return both personal and personality, or hint?
would return both hint1 and hint2.
3. Case is not significant in a search
string. Searching WebSphere and websphere returns
the same results list.
4. You can surround a phrase with quotation
marks, but it normally is not necessary. Use quotation marks to
narrow down a search. Entering "TPF
system" or TPF system into the search box returns
different results.
5. Use logical operators when needed. Use
AND to concatenate, OR to provide alternatives, and NOT to negate.
However, our experience has shown that NOT has some syntax problems,
so you may have to try some alternatives to get the search engine
to parse search strings that include NOT. Adding spaces between
words and operators sometimes helps.
IBM and the TPF organization have been
working to create better ways to locate and retrieve information.
Our goal is to provide you with the information that you need
when you need it. |
