Feature Proposal: Result Sets to abstract search results, lists, and GROUP definition

Motivation

Closes the loop on ExtractAndCentralizeFormattingRefactor, by allowing a user to send any list of results to a %FORMAT%.

Description and Documentation

this propsal may be as simple as designating a 'special' TML variable RESULTSET, or some markup to tell TWiki to store a named result, so that it can be called upon at a later date. Similar to SpreadSheetPlugins's $SET and $GET, but used as a list if results that are automatically converted to a TWikiIterator.

The specific syntax is quite negotiable - this may drive more TOM definition.

Examples

For example:

Topic ListOfBadBugs may contain a SEARCH that returns that list. Instead of replicatin that SEARCH in other places, it would be possible to seperate the query execution from the formatting, and name the search result ListOfBadBugs.result

then in other topics (or that same one) use a | ListOfBadBugs.result | $someTOMSTATEMENT(ListOfBadBugs.result) |

or | ListOfBadBugs.RESULTSET | $someTOMSTATEMENT(ListOfBadBugs.RESULTSET) |

Impact

WhatDoesItAffect:

API, Documentation, Performance, Prefs, Refactoring, Rendering, Search, Usability, Vars %WHATDOESITAFFECT%

edit

Implementation

-- Contributors: SvenDowideit - 21 Dec 2007

Discussion

Have a look at the FormQueryPlugin. It has support to store queries, refine then and generate reports. Pretty cool.

-- MichaelDaum - 21 Dec 2007

Good idea. I am looking for something like that for my SearchEngineKinoSearchAddOn. Thus I could concentrate on searching the results and can leave the rendering and formatting to something else. I will have a closer look on FormQueryPlugin, but nevertheless, I think an independent module just for this would be a better solution.

-- MarkusHesse - 21 Dec 2007

Agreed. Abstracting the formatting code from FQP would not be hard, but I would not recommend starting there. Since it was written, our understanding of format expansion has matured a lot, and we can do a much better job now.

Note that the change notification code in MailerContrib also has to process result sets and generate formatted output. It is driven by templates, rather than format strings, but is solving essentially the same problem.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 21 Dec 2007

Considering that internally we already have TWikiIterators, I was going to start from there, and then work to bring the concept up into the User space.

-- SvenDowideit - 29 Dec 2007

I am happy to see how most proposals are being treated by the community giving the proposer the needed feedback. And once again there is no issue with the proposal which is accepted by 14-day rule. It is going to be a busy 2008 for you Sven But we appreciate it.

-- KennethLavrsen - 08 Jan 2008

Foswiki trunk has implemented this to a point. more re-writing is going on to improve performance and to streamline the code though.

-- SvenDowideit - 06 Mar 2010

Changing this to Merged to core. Task is closed.

-- GeorgeClark - 19 Nov 2015

Commenting is disabled while not logged in