I am a teacher in a high school. I would like to create a search
engine for my students to access past year exams questions, which are
in pdf format. Ideally, they should be able to search for the
questions by keyword, topic, year, etc. 

I believe that the search engine have to reside in a server, where the
question in pdf format are also parked. I have only basic computer
knowledge, but I will be able to get my students who are more computer
knowledgeable to help create the programme. 

I have 2 related questions here:
a) What are the possible methods (including using existing software)
and their differences and problems that I will face (summarised in
point form) that I can use and will face when creating this search
engine?
b) Among these methods, which is the easiest one to create the search
engine? (This is because I have a limited time to do this job.)

   Thank you in advance.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sgtcory-ga on 20 Dec 2004 06:22 PST

Hello,

Do you already have a server with root access? If so, is it a Linux/Unix server?

Thanks for the clarification -

SgtCory

---

Clarification of Question by pkuanko-ga on 20 Dec 2004 06:54 PST

I'm not so sure what is a server with root access - I'll try to check
it up. I do not think it is a Linux/Unix server.

You can also answer the question by outlining the easiest way to get
the job done and indicate whether are there any software which will do
the job easily.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sgtcory-ga on 20 Dec 2004 08:06 PST

Hello,

"You can also answer the question by outlining the easiest way to get
the job done and indicate whether are there any software which will do
the job easily..."

This free resource would work on just about any Unix server, with a
web front end. The same software would cost money for a supported
Windows version.

Mnogo Search Software
http://search.mnogo.ru/

Basically the steps involved would be :

1) Downloading the software.
2) Installing it on your server.
3) Configuring it for your server and PDF indexing. (Means reading the files)
4) Access to a database such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Interbase etc..

Does this sound like a solution headed in the right direction? I want
to ensure you have the ability to use what I am able to offer as
answer, thus the clarification. There are more solutions like the
Google Desktop mentioned in the comments section. This would be used
if you only wanted to have this feature available on one local
computer - with no internet access to the database.

Thanks -

SgtCory

---

Clarification of Question by pkuanko-ga on 21 Dec 2004 00:27 PST

To sgt cory:
Thank you for your reply. I'm now trying out mnogosearch. Do you know
whether if I were to create a user friendly student interface, would
it be possible to link the mnogosearch to the interface so that the
students would not have to type in anything complicated but only the
keywords at the interface level to retrieve the items?
Appreciate your answer if you know - and also please claim your $4 by
using the answer button!
I may be posting more questions in future, so do keep a lookout.
Thanks for your help!
P/s - By the way, my server is a Windows NT server.

Hello pkuanko,

Thank you.

Q. Do you know whether if I were to create a user friendly student
interface, would it be possible to link the mnogosearch to the
interface so that the
students would not have to type in anything complicated but only the
keywords at the interface level to retrieve the items?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If I understand the question correctly, you want to know if there is a
way to have an HTML page that your students use and enter a simple
query - much like Google? The answer is yes. By default, this software
comes with a simple form already created for you to use.

If you browse the Mnogosearch users page, you'll see that there are
many institutions that have a working installation, with an easy to
use interface.

Mnogo Users Page
http://www.mnogosearch.org/users.html

Here are few good examples that I pulled out of the list for easier reading :

UnError Network
http://search.unerror.net/

Our Brisbane
http://search.ourbrisbane.com/

WebServerTalk
http://www.webservertalk.com/cgi-bin/sitesearch.cgi


If you simply mean you wish to create a page that the students can go
to, this is also very easy. You would use the supplied HTML and copy
it into a file. Then you name the file whatever you like, and have
your students go to that page.

Let's assume you name the page 'students.html', and your domain name
was www.ourschoolsearch.com. Assuming you upload the file to the base
web directory on your server, you would simply have your students go
to the following address where the simple search form would reside :

http://www.ourschoolsearch.com/students.html

Within that page resides the form that would link to the script
itself. All  simple queries are entered on this page, and forwarded to
the script, which dynamically creates your results from your database.

The software has built in indexing, which means that it will associate
and bundle keywords/phrases to ensure good results for your searches.
This can be tweaked at your discretion, but it seems to work rather
well right out of the box.

Let me know if you need further clarification and I'll be sure to
reply as soon as possible.


To assist with this answer I looked at some products that I have used
in the past. However, if interested, there are more options available
to you. You can find related products by using Google to search for :

search engine software
://www.google.com/search?q=search+engine+software

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any other questions you may have -

SgtCory

---

Request for Answer Clarification by pkuanko-ga on 21 Dec 2004 17:15 PST

To sgt cory:
You have been very helpful and I'm very pleased with your answers. One
final question: Do you know of any free search engine that can run on
Windows NT, preferably one that is easy to use and can also be linked
to our own student search page which we will create?

---

Clarification of Answer by sgtcory-ga on 21 Dec 2004 20:45 PST

Hello,

I do know of one that is free for non-commercial sites and non-profit
organizations. It is called Alkaline, and it also has the ability to
index PDF documents. Other than this option, I'm not familiar with any
other free solutions. (If you are not using this software on a site
that generates revenue, you'll likely qualify for the free version.)

Alkaline
http://alkaline.vestris.com/

Windows Installation Instructions
http://alkaline.vestris.com/docs/alkaline/install-nt.html

Download directory
http://alkaline.vestris.com/download/WinNT/

I hope this helps with your search engine project. Let me know if you
need any further assitance -

SgtCory

---

Clarification of Answer by sgtcory-ga on 21 Dec 2004 20:50 PST

P.S.

It does require a little bit of work with the command line, but the
walk-through at their website is very thorough. Students will be able
to use the built in front end to send searches, much like the other
software I listed.

- SgtCory

I've very pleased with his answers. Sgt Cory has been very helpful.

Hey, you'll probobly want to make a database of the questions. You can
use Microsoft Access for that.
Or if you want it to be a webpage, you should make a mySQL database.

Thank you for the rating and the tip! Good luck with the installation -

SgtCory