When I started to work with fulltext search in Movable Type, I enhanced my Movable Type Weblog with a native MySQL fulltext search engine. Later I created a new website called MTLookup, which could be used for searching several websites at the same time.

After MTLookup was released, the search within the Movable Type Weblog was still based on the initial release: no Google-like keyphrase, only my weblog being indexed, some of the most recent articles not included at all.

Starting today, the search within the Movable Type Weblog will be powered by MTLookup, making all the enhancements of MTLookup available within the Movable Type Weblog.

Some more details

Although both websites - the Movable Type Weblog and MTLookup - have been developed by me, there is no internal connection between those two websites. The Movable Type Weblog addresses a URL for executing the search. Moreover, it hands over a template to MTLookup, which will be used for styling the result list.

That way, both websites are able to cooperate smoothly. If you initiate a search from within the Movable Type Weblog, your browser's URL will change to an MTLookup URL. Although the page looks as if it were an normal Movable Type Weblog page, it is indeed created by MTLookup. If you then click on one of the entries in the result list, control will be passed back.

Having no secret communication between the Movable Type Weblog and MTLookup means that other weblogs can use the MTLookup search, too. In August more websites will be included in the database. Then, a specification will describe the details.

If you initiate a search here on the Movable Type Weblog, all participating websites will be searched. That way, a larger result list will be offered. If you want, you can restrict the scope of the search, if the MTLookup dialog is shown.

The Changes

Not using the internal Movable Type Weblog search any longer has the following advantages...

• You do not have to use the MySQL syntax for defining the search phrase. You can use a Google-like syntax.
• By default, there is a logical AND between words. For example, if you had entered "category perl" into the Movable Type Weblog search in the past, this meant "category OR perl", which was the MySQL default. Now it means "category AND perl", which is the Google way of working.
• You can use an OR for searching any word from a list of words.
• You can use a site argument for searching multiple websites. If you are on the MTLookup website, this argument can be selected from a combobox.
• You can choose between whether you want to see an entry's title and teaser or just the tile.

You can read the details in the MTLookup website's help.

Want to read on?

If you are interested in this subject, please select the category »MTLookup« from the sidebar. It will show all related articles in chronological order.

mgs | 07/06/2005

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