Search Algorithms

$1.99 Web Hosting

All the part of the search engine are important, but the search algorithm is the subordinate who performs an important but routine function that makes everything work. It might be more accurate to say that the search algorithm is the foundation on which everything else is built.

In very general terms, a search algorithm is a problem solving procedure that takes a problem, evaluates a number of possible answers, and then returns the solution to that problem. There are several search algorithms, and each search engine uses algorithms that are slightly different. Some of the most common search algorithms are as follows:

• List Search: A list search algorithm searches through specified data looking for a single key. The data is searched in very linear, list style methods. The result of a list search is usually a single element.

• Tree Search: The algorithm searches a data set from the broadest to the narrowest or from the narrowest to the broadest. Data set are like trees; a single piece of data can branch too many other piece of data.

• SQL Search: A SQL search allows data to be searched in a non hierarchical manner, which means that data can be searched from any subset of data.

• Informed Search: An informed search algorithm looks for a specific answer to specific problem in a tree like data set. The informed search, despite its name, is not always the best choice for web searches of the general nature of the answer being sought.

• Adversarial Search: This algorithm looks for all the solutions to a problem, much like finding all the possible solutions in a game.

• Constraint Satisfaction Search: The Constraint Satisfaction Search algorithm is most likely to satisfy your desire to find something. Constraint Satisfaction Search can be very useful for searching the web.