Re: a * question

This WebDNA talk-list message is from

2003


It keeps the original formatting.
numero = 54147
interpreted = N
texte = >>>is a-z first or numeric first or what? >> >>You cannot assume that webdna is going to sort in ascii order, > >ASCII sort order is very easy to understand and has been defined for >more than 40 years! I didn't say it's hard to understand, I said you cannot assume that webdna sorts in ascii order. In fact webdna does NOT sort in ascii order ... and since the docs are still deficient in this area, the only way to know the facts about webdna's sort order is to run some tests. >Where Ken is confusing things is that unless you request a specific >sort order within WebCat, it will return in a "best match" order >using an unpublished and proprietary algorithm. I'm sorry to confuse you John. I hope I haven't confused anyone else. Here's a (hopefully) better explanation of what's going on and how to properly deal with it: Everyone knows (or should know) that webdna's ranking system is ON by default. When it is ON it will take precedence over any sort parameters you use in your searches. Since ranking take precedence over your sort parameters, you must "turn it off" or "disable it" if you do not want it to possibly affect the way your results are sorted. There are two ways to stop webdna from ranking your results: The first way is to TURN IT OFF by putting "&rank=OFF" into your search string. This will stop webdna from ranking the results, but it will also cause webdna to ignore any other sort parameters in your search. In this case the results are displayed in the same order those records appear in the db file -- and that's not what we need in this situation. The other way is to DISABLE IT by using "&allhit=1" in your search parameters. This allows you to sort the results using your normal sort parameters, thus giving you true control over the way your results are sorted. This is what we need for a test. The reason I suggested using this search in a test: [search db=xxx.db&neskudatarq=[blank]&as[fieldname]sort=1&allhit=1] ... is because webdna's ranking system is disabled via the "&allhit=1" parameter, thus allowing the sort parameter to display the results in alphabetical order without being overridden by webdna's ranking. The results will tell us exactly what webdna understands to be "alphabetical order". :) >What I don't know off the top of my head is whether WebCatalog sorts >in a case-insensitive way (though it should be easy to find out). When you tell webdna to sort alphabetically, it does not sort in ascii order. An ascii sort order would look something like this: ....ABC...XYZ...abc ...xyz... But webdna sorts like this: ...AaBbCc...XxYyZz... Webdna *may* try to follow the ascii decimal order when dealing with non-alpha characters, but we don't know that for sure until we finish performing a test .. or until SMSI updates the docs. -- Sincerely, Kenneth Grome ------------------------------------------------------------- Outsource your WebDNA programming for $18 an hour or less! ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to the mailing list . To unsubscribe, E-mail to: To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to Web Archive of this list is at: http://webdna.smithmicro.com/ Associated Messages, from the most recent to the oldest:

    
  1. Re: a * question ( Kenneth Grome 2003)
  2. Re: a * question ( John Peacock 2003)
  3. Re: a * question ( Kenneth Grome 2003)
  4. Re: a * question ( Kalin Mintchev 2003)
  5. Re: a * question ( Rob Marquardt 2003)
  6. Re: a * question ( Kalin Mintchev 2003)
  7. Re: a * question ( Gary Krockover 2003)
  8. Re: a * question ( Kalin Mintchev 2003)
  9. Re: a * question ( Kenneth Grome 2003)
  10. a * question ( Kalin Mintchev 2003)
>>>is a-z first or numeric first or what? >> >>You cannot assume that webdna is going to sort in ascii order, > >ASCII sort order is very easy to understand and has been defined for >more than 40 years! I didn't say it's hard to understand, I said you cannot assume that webdna sorts in ascii order. In fact webdna does NOT sort in ascii order ... and since the docs are still deficient in this area, the only way to know the facts about webdna's sort order is to run some tests. >Where Ken is confusing things is that unless you request a specific >sort order within WebCat, it will return in a "best match" order >using an unpublished and proprietary algorithm. I'm sorry to confuse you John. I hope I haven't confused anyone else. Here's a (hopefully) better explanation of what's going on and how to properly deal with it: Everyone knows (or should know) that webdna's ranking system is ON by default. When it is ON it will take precedence over any sort parameters you use in your searches. Since ranking take precedence over your sort parameters, you must "turn it off" or "disable it" if you do not want it to possibly affect the way your results are sorted. There are two ways to stop webdna from ranking your results: The first way is to TURN IT OFF by putting "&rank=OFF" into your search string. This will stop webdna from ranking the results, but it will also cause webdna to ignore any other sort parameters in your search. In this case the results are displayed in the same order those records appear in the db file -- and that's not what we need in this situation. The other way is to DISABLE IT by using "&allhit=1" in your search parameters. This allows you to sort the results using your normal sort parameters, thus giving you true control over the way your results are sorted. This is what we need for a test. The reason I suggested using this search in a test: [search db=xxx.db&neskudatarq=[blank]&as[fieldname]sort=1&allhit=1] ... is because webdna's ranking system is disabled via the "&allhit=1" parameter, thus allowing the sort parameter to display the results in alphabetical order without being overridden by webdna's ranking. The results will tell us exactly what webdna understands to be "alphabetical order". :) >What I don't know off the top of my head is whether WebCatalog sorts >in a case-insensitive way (though it should be easy to find out). When you tell webdna to sort alphabetically, it does not sort in ascii order. An ascii sort order would look something like this: ....ABC...XYZ...abc ...xyz... But webdna sorts like this: ...AaBbCc...XxYyZz... Webdna *may* try to follow the ascii decimal order when dealing with non-alpha characters, but we don't know that for sure until we finish performing a test .. or until SMSI updates the docs. -- Sincerely, Kenneth Grome ------------------------------------------------------------- Outsource your WebDNA programming for $18 an hour or less! ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to the mailing list . To unsubscribe, E-mail to: To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to Web Archive of this list is at: http://webdna.smithmicro.com/ Kenneth Grome

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