PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a language for programming web pages
PLM
Product Lifecycle Management, systems which allow for the management of a product from design to retirement
Plug-and-play
Modules that can be used without any reprogramming, “out of the box”
POC
Proof of concept, an application that proves that something can be done, though it may not be optimized for performance
Portal
A web interface to a data source
Primary key
In a relational database, a value corresponding to a unique entity, that allows tables to be joined for a given entity
RDBMS
Relational database management system
Redundancy
Storing the same data in two different places in a data base, or information system. This can cause problems of consistency if one of the values is changed and not the other
Relational model
A model for databases in which data is represented as tables. Some values, called primary keys, link tables together
Relevancy
For a given query, a heuristically determined score of the supposed pertinence of a document to the query
REST
Representational State Transfer, protocol used in web services, in which no state is preserved, but in which every operation of reading or writing is self sufficient
RFID
Radio Frequency Identification, systems using embedded chips to transmit information
RSS
Really Simple Syndication, an XML format for transmitting frequently updated data
R tree
An efficient data structure for storing GPS-indexed points and finding all the points in a given radius around a point
RDF
Resource Description Framework, a format for representing data as sets of triples, used in semantic web representations
SBA
Search Based Applications, an information access or analysis application built on a search engine, rather than on a database.
SCM
Supply Chain Management
Scalability
The desirable quality of being able to treat larger and larger data sets without a decrease in performance, or rise in cost
Search engine
A computer program for indexing and searching in documents
Semantic Web
Collection of web pages that are annotated with machine readable descriptions of their content
Semi-structured data
Data found in places where the data type can be surmised, such as in explicitly labeled metadata, or in structured tables on web pages
SEO
Search engine optimization, strategies that help a web page owner to improve a site’s ranking in common web search engines
SERP
Search engine results page, the output of a query to a search engine
Silo
An imagery-filled term for an isolated information system
SMART system
An early search engine developed by Gerald Salton at Cornell
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol, a format for transmitting data between services
Social media
Data uploaded by identified users, such as in YouTube, FaceBook, Flickr
SQL
Structured Query Language, commonly used language for manipulating relational databases
Structured data
Data organized according to an explicit schema and broken down into discrete units of meaning, with units represented using consistent data types and formats (databases, log files, spreadsheets)
SVM
Support vector machine, used in classification
Table
Part of a relational database, a body of related information. Each row of the table corresponds to one entity, and each column, to some attribute of this entity
Taxonomy
A hierarchically typed system of entities, such as mammals being part of animals being part of living beings
TCO
Total cost of ownership, how much an application costs when all implicit and explicit costs are factored in over time
Timestamp
A chronological value indicating when some data was created
Top-k
The k highest ranked responses in a database system that can rank answers to a query
Transaction
In databases, a sequence of actions that should be performed as an uninterruptable unit, for example, purchasing a seat on a flight
Unstructured data
Data that is not formally or consistently organized, such as textual data (email, reports, documents) and multimedia content
URL
Universal Resource Locator, the address of a web page
Usability
The desirable quality of being able to be used by a large population of users with little or no training
Vertical application
An application built for a specific domain, such as pharmaceuticals, finance, or manufacturing. A horizontal application could be used in a number of different domains.
XML
eXtended Markup Language, a standard for including metadata in a document
W3C
World Wide Web Consortium
WYSIWYG
What You See Is What You Get
YPG
Yellow Pages Group, Canada
CHAPTER 1
Search Based Applications
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.1: Can you see the search engine behind these screens?
Management of information via computers is undergoing a revolutionary change as the frontier between databases and search engines is disappearing. Against this backdrop of nascent convergence, a new class of software has emerged that combines the advantages of each technology, right now, in Search Based Applications.
Until just a short while ago, the lines were still relatively clear. Database software
