on-site search system

[Peter_LT]

Hello folks,

I'm looking to transfer hosts, but before I sign-up, I'd like to be able to resolve
one particular issue. Rather than rely on unreliable 3rd party spidering, I want to
install an on-site search system for .php files that are mainly XHTML with limited
php functions. All of the substantive content for search indexing is in each file.

Looking through the Fantastico list there isn't such an option. Can anyone
recommend a system that could be used easily on your servers? Thanks.

[Administrator]

Scripts like Blog, Forums and CMS in Fantastico have their inbuilt Search Functionality. You can install wordpress blog like we have at http://blog.webhosting.uk.com and you will see a search box on right side to search text from all posts.

I am not sure what else would be there based on XHTML but you need to wait for some time as some of our senior members on this forum may be here to give you some suggestions.

[Peter_LT]

Hi there,
Thanks for the quick reply. There are over 700 pages of text and graphics
that form the main substance of the site and it's these pages that I'm seeking
to index locally. I was thinking of something like "Sphider", but you guys may
be able to suggest something better...

[Peter_LT]

Hello Folks,

Originally Posted by Administrator

...but you need to wait for some time as some of our senior members on this forum
may be here to give you some suggestions.

Is the lack of a reply so far due to reticence on having such a search engine on
a site that you host? I'm not sure why this is, because a search engine is
provided for .htm pages, so why not for .php?

[jon123]

Afraid I have no experience with any pre-written scripts for site search engines.

The only search system I use is my own database queries but my pages are database driven anyway.

Finding some script that can read and examine over 700 pages and create search strings for, i'm not sure about! I guess with such a large site it wouldn't be possible to create your own search database using phrases from each page and inserting them into a database. A huge undertaking I know

[Administrator]

Originally Posted by Peter_LT

Hello Folks,



Is the lack of a reply so far due to reticence on having such a search engine on
a site that you host? I'm not sure why this is, because a search engine is
provided for .htm pages, so why not for .php?

as I mentioned earlier that our staff has limited knowledge of such search functionality so either you need to hire a webmaster to implement this or you need to wait and see if someone would like to assist you with your requirement over here.

[Peter_LT]

Hello Folks,

Well, I've signed-up and transferred the site. Visitor feedback is positive,
especially on how quickly the pages load. I've also installed a .php search
engine that works way beyond my expectations!

The basic requirement is to install it on your local server, build the database
and test the install. The next step is _not_ to then try the same thing on
the remote server, the 60 second script running limit will stop the indexing.
What you do is use phpmyadmin to export or backup the database locally.
Then create the database on the remote server, assign the user name and
then import the data from the local machine.

The script I used comes from Sphider and it needed a bit of tweaking to
get it working exactly the same on the remote server as it does locally.

The output pages presently don't validate, the greater majority of the errors
coming from improperly formed ampersands. Changing &domain to

&amp ;domain (close gap; forced to show real code)

for example, solved about 20 errors in one go!

Anyway, I'm dead pleased with the final result - a very quick and very precise
in-house site search.

Regards,
Steve (Peter S.)
Caronia II Timeline Webmaster