Index Server and Google-Style Searches

[Genimuse]

Has anyone written a parser in ASP that turns a Google-syntax into Index Server language, either Dialect 1 or Dialect 2?

Basically it would, for example, turn

"american dream" goats camels +hairy -bald

into something like (and I'm not too strong on the dialect yet)

@contents {phrase}american dream{/phrase}
@contents {freetext}goats camels{/freetext}
@contents {weight value = 1.0} hair
@contents !bald

Heck, I don't even know if those all belong on the same line or separate lines, or if that will even generate the right search... hence my hope that someone's already figured it out. Please feel free to tell me how I'm screwing it up.

I'm hoping to use Google-style searches since my users are familiar with them. Learning a new syntax isn't going to help them much, if I can help it.

 

[gijsterbeek]

Simple algorithm:

1. Locate all spaces (except the ones between "quotes")
2. Break up the string, using the locations from (1)
3. Check the firsy character of each piece.
4. Build your Index Server syntax, using (2) and (3)

 

[Genimuse]

Aye, it is simple, algorhithmically (I've written language parsers several times now, so that part's fairly trivial). It's translating it to Index Server Dialect 2 speak that I don't know how to do (don't know the dialect, not experimenting if I can help it). That, and I'm hoping to avoid the work.

Thanks for the suggestion!