Boolean search

Search:

Boolean search

(Or "Boolean query") A query using the Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT, and parentheses to construct a complex condition from simpler criteria. A typical example is searching for combinatons of keywords on a World-Wide Web search engine.

Examples:

car or automobile

"New York" and not "New York state"

The term is sometimes stretched to include searches using other operators, e.g. "near".

Not to be confused with binary search.

See also: weighted search.

(1999-10-23)