(field "value") -unqualified field name presumes the field is part of the DEFAULT attribute set.
(field = "value") - optional use of operators (= < >)
(field right-truncation "value") - optional use of other operators (right-truncation, phonetic)
([basic-1 field] "value") - field name is qualified by an attribute set name. Brackets required!
((field "value") and (field "value")) - compound filter expression using Boolean operator. Requires parentheses around whole filter expression, and around each field/"value" pair.
(([dcore-1 field] "value") and ([dcore-1 field] "value")) - compound filter expression with explicit attribute-set qualifiers on fields. Requires parentheses around whole filter expression, parentheses around each field/"value" pair, and brackets around each attribute-set/field combination.
An attribute set can be used explicitly in the query syntax to qualify a field. Alternatively, you can set a default attribute set using the "Default Attribute Set" drop-down list box on the input form. Remember that when STARTS processes a filter or ranking expression, all fields that are not explicitly qualified with an attribute-set name are treated, implicitly, as part of the default attribute set.
When you use an explicit attribute-set qualifier in a query, you can think of yourself as requesting an "override" of the default attribute set for that field. For example, if the default attribute set is "basic-1" and you want to specify a Dublin Core field in a filter expression, you will have to explicity qualify the field as follows:
([dcore-1 TITLE] "distributed")
This syntax will override the default attribute set, which is "basic-1" in this example.
NOTE that the Default Attribute Set also affects the modifiers used.
The qualifier "dcore-1" is used for the Dublin Core attribute set. Dublin Core fields should be entered using the formal, single-word labels (in capital letters), as specified in the Dublin Core Reference Description. The Dublin Core attribute set consists of the following fields:
Examples:
([dcore-1 CREATOR] "lagoze")
(CREATOR "lagoze") when the default attribute set is already set to dcore-1
(([dcore-1 TITLE] "text") and ([dcore-1 CREATOR "salton"))
The qualifier "Basic-1" is used for the Stanford attribute set which was developed as part of the STARTS protocol. Basic-1 fields can be entered in lower case. The Basic-1 attribute set consists of the following fields:
Examples:
([basic-1 author] "lagoze")
(author "lagoze") when the default attribute set is already set to basic-1
(linkage right-truncation "cornell") to specify an optional operator between the field and the value
The answer field list specifies which fields you would like reported in your query results. You can choose fields from any attribute set. Be careful to observe which attribute set is selected in the "Default Attribute Set" drop-down list box! Answer fields must be part of this default attribute set, unless you use the explicit attribute-set syntax to qualify fields. (Same rules apply as in the Filter Expression syntax.)
Example 1 - assumes a default attribute set of "basic-1" and does not qualify the fields:
Answer Field List: author title linkage
Example 2 - assumes a default attribute set of "dcore-1"
Answer Field List: IDENTIFIER TITLE
Example 3 - you can mix and match fields from different attribute sets using the attribute-set qualifier syntax:
Answer Field List: [dcore-1 IDENTIFIER] [basic-1 author] [basic-1 title]
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