String search
String-searching algorithms are used to find the occurrences of a search string in a given text (or in other kinds of information, for example in genes in biology). String searching algorithm searches for all occurrences of a specified string (the pattern) in another string (the text).
String searching is different from word-searching (cf., word) although systems allowing combined left-truncation and right truncation may perform a kind of string search on words. In string searching is it possible, however, to search across blanks (which may also be done in systems based on words in inverted files if proximity operators are available).
Literature:
Harding, A. F. et. al. (1983). Document Retrieval Using a Serial Bit String Search. Information Processing and Management, 19(1), 1-8.
Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia. (2006). String searching algorithm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_search_algorithm
Birger Hjørland
Last edited: 30-04-2006