This easy-to-use, time-saving guide describes, evaluates, and explains how to locate information with popular search tools that use automatic indexing software to efficiently and effectively discover, harvest, and index Web pages. Here are some of the features of this unique manual:
-- an introduction to search engines and chapters offering individual looks at the most widely known and used, such as WebCrawler, Lycos, Infoseek, OpenText, Altavista, Excite, and HotBot
-- a general explanation of how all Web search tools create and search their indexes and databases
-- a discussion of the interface (the medium that allows the user to enter a query, and then translates the query for the search engine)
-- an explanation of how robots discover resources on the Web and their limitations, as well as depth-first vs. breadth-first searching
-- handy charts that help you compare search engine features
Each description of a search engine contains information about who created it, the size of its database, the spiderbot or harvester it uses to retrieve information, how often it is updated, what is indexed, how this is determined, and the step-by-step methods to find information with each. Additional chapters offer a comparison of the various search engines, a look at the economics of search engines, an annotated listing of meta-engines, and a glossary.
Maze, Moxley, and Smith explain the striking differences among online search engines and why they matter. The authors start by explaining the features common to all the major search engines, including the structure of the World Wide Web and the software robots that explore and index sites.
By going into this basic material and the nature of search-site databases, the authors lay a solid groundwork for the reader to clearly understand the advantages and disadvantages of different search engine designs. While their short discussion of the various interfaces may seem to cover the obvious, the authors dispel some common misconceptions about what really happens when words or phrases are entered into the search field.
After covering the basics, the authors do a detailed comparison of seven leading search engines--WebCrawler, Lycos, Infoseek, Open Text, AltaVista, Excite, and HotBot. They include shorter explorations of Yahoo!, Magellan, the Argus Clearinghouse, and the WWW Virtual Library. The comparisons make it easier to choose the best search engine to use for various research projects. This book is a gold mine of knowledge for those new to online research, but even highly experienced researchers are likely to find new and useful information. --Elizabeth Lewis
