Add metasearching to your web-site painlessly

+ The MasterKey Widget Set provides the easiest possible way to + enhance an existing web-site with customised searching across + multiple sources, ranking and merging the results. +

+ All you need to do is pull in our JavaScript and optional + stylesheet, then add <div>s to your page that + have special id attributes. We do the rest. +

Example

+ Here is a completely functional (though ugly) MKWS-based + searching application: +

+<script type="text/javascript"
+        src="http://mkws.indexdata.com/mkws-complete.js"></script>
+<div id="mkwsSearch"></div>
+<div id="mkwsResults"></div>

+ That's it. A complete metasearching application. Everything + else is refinement. +

Documentation

+ The README -- mostly technical details. +
+ The whitepaper, including a + reference section. + This is a much better introduction. +

Tools

+ Here are the files that this web-site provides: +

+ mkws.js + -- + JavaScript code that powers the MasterKey Widget Set +
+ pazpar2/js/pz2.js + -- + Low-level JavaScript library for access to the MasterKey web + service. +
+ handlebars-v1.1.2.js + -- + A local copy of + the Handlebars templating library, + since it doesn't like to be hotlinked. +
+ mkws-complete.js + -- + A single large JavaScript file containing everything needed for + MKWS to work: the widget-set itself, the API library, and + the prerequisites jQuery and Handlebars. +
+ mkws.css + -- + A stylesheet which styles only MasterKey widgets, and does not + otherwise interfere with application-site's styles. +

+ (This domain also hosts two web-service endpoints that are used by + running MKWS-based applications: + /service-proxy-auth + is used to authenticate new sessions and + /service-proxy/ + is the main endpoint for searching and retrieval. But there is + no need to use these directly: the widgets take care of that.) +

Examples using the widget-set

+ It's worth viewing the source of these to see how small they + are and how various things are done. +

+ A very simple application at + http://example.indexdata.com/. +
+ The absolutely minimal application + listed above. +
+ A more detailed version + that contains a configuration structure instead of accepting + the defaults. Includes a custom translation option to present + the application in Arabic. +
+ The + jQuery plugin + version, consisting of a single JavaScript statement. +
+ An application that + uses lower-level MKWS components + rather than the all-in-one #mkwsResults division, + allowing it to use a rather different layout. +
+ An application that specifies how to display brief and full records + using Handlebar templates. + (Read about + the templating language.) +
+ A version suitable for mobile devices, + with a responsive design that moves components around + depending on the screen size. +
+ A version that uses a jQuery popup. +
+ An application that uses MKWS to find dictionary + definitions of words when you highlight them. +
+ An application that runs an automatic search on load. +
+ An application that uses a local authentication regime, + and the corresponding + Apache2 configuration stanza. +
+ An existing web-site, + The Self-Appointed Grammar Police, + which has been fitted with an MKWS searching widget. + (See also the MKWS-widget customisations in + that site's stylesheet.) +
+ Another existing web-site, + The Zthes specifications, + which has been fitted with a popup MKWS search-box. +

Target maintainance

+ The set of targets provided by MKWS by default can be + maintained using + MKAdmin + by users with appropriate credentials. + Go to MasterKey Admin Console, + >the main console and act as the "MK Demo" library administrator. - - -