New Search Tool - Workin' on it.

[robertlipe]

quote:

---

Originally posted by StitchesOnQuilts:

 

You may have already incorporated this, but I'd like to be able to request difficulties and/or terrains *less than* a number, rather than just greater than.

 

Shannah

---

 

With no inside knowledge, I'm guessing you can do that. Look carefully at the picture and you'll that the "is greater equal than" text appears on a pulldown menu. While it's possible that a programmer would put a sole option on a menu, no self-respecting one would. If they went to the trouble to make it a menu, it's likely becuase there are other variations ("is greater than or equal to", "is lesser than", "is equal to", etc.) that are available.

[+Boundertom]

This sounds great! I also am kind of a non-techie, so I hope you will be able to post suitable (easy to understand)instructions once you get this running . I understand you are taking one step at a time. Ultimately I would really like to have the cache detail page (with decrypted hint)and also the logs. Perhaps these could be made optional, or you could choose how many logs you wanted.

Thanks for the hard work on this!

Guess its time to start reading up on PDAs!

[+Boundertom]

This sounds great! I also am kind of a non-techie, so I hope you will be able to post suitable (easy to understand)instructions once you get this running . I understand you are taking one step at a time. Ultimately I would really like to have the cache detail page (with decrypted hint)and also the logs. Perhaps these could be made optional, or you could choose how many logs you wanted.

Thanks for the hard work on this!

Guess its time to start reading up on PDAs!

[+newoldstock]

We're looking forward to it.

[Elias]

quote:

---

Originally posted by sbell111:

For us 'non-techies' that didn't understand the first bit of any of the comments above, will there be instruction on the website that explains how to work this engine and what to do with the output?

---

Don't worry about some of the technical questions being asked about the search feature. The most common use for this will be to e-mail you an EasyGPS LOC file which you can use to upload the caches to your GPS unit, and/or use the ebook as a portable format for the cache pages which will be readable by a Palm, Pocket PC, laptop or desktop computer (much like an Acrobat PDF).

 

-Elias

[Elias]

quote:

---

Originally posted by StitchesOnQuilts:

You may have already incorporated this, but I'd like to be able to request difficulties and/or terrains *less than* a number, rather than just greater than.

---

Definately. The drop down shown on the image above doesn't work, but on the acutal search page, you'll be able to choose the less-than operator as well.

 

-Elias

[+GoldKey]

Will this new search feature be a members only feature?

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Elias:

quote:

---

Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

Is this new engine going to replace or complement the current engine?

---

Its a separate feature. The quick searches you're used to will always be available.

 

-Elias

---

[Eric O'Connor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldKey:

Will this new search feature be a members only feature?

---

 

God, I hope so.

[+Bear and Ting]

WOW!

 

If I read correctly, I'll be able to store 5 different searchs?? WOW! And the output will be XML? Even better! This will give us the opportunity to place the data we want and need in our PDAs as well as in our GPSs. It is just what many of us have been asking for.

 

May I make a suggestion for after you get htis launched? In regards to routes, there is a way already to see a map of the area with caches overlaid on it. Would it be possible to use that function to select the cache's along a route and group them in a result set (similar to the search result set) and have them mailed or saved? Just an idea.

 

Geocachers don't NEED to ask for directions!

[robertlipe]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bear & Ting:

And the output will be XML?

---

Well, that isn't QUITE my reading of the teasers so far. My understanding is that the "PDA Output" will be openebook which is an XML mutant, but it's not yet clear if it will actually be in a reusable format allowing us to choose our own readers or if it uses facilities like the Digital Rights Management stuff to make massaging the data and portablity of the data more difficult. Elias' comment that it's "compiled and binary" sure doesn't sound very open.

 

The GPX output (which doesn't sound like it may make it to rollout of this) is standard, documented XML and to me, that's a much more interesting and useful format. (I fully realize

that I'm in a minority; those people that'll use whatever program and hardware is recommended will probably be tickled pink with the approach being discussed.)

 

It's unfortunate that both data formats will exclude the logs. In the field, I find that "three no-finds in a row", "your coords are 450 feet off", "this is now in a copperhead nest" log entries to be quite valuable in the PDA. I do realize there's a 'freshness' problem with the logs.

 

Until I lay my fingers on the new data - and I'm looking forward to it - I won't speculate any further.

[+Chris n Maria]

I know that 5 is a limit that has been picked to keep the traffic managable. But I think an even number would be better - I currently monitor 3 areas which I download to Palm & GPS. This makes 6 Searches.

 

Anyone who downloads to both Palm & GPS will need an even number...or am I missing something?

 

Chris

"We're not lost - we just don't know where we are"

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

[Jeremy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris n Maria:

 

Anyone who downloads to both Palm & GPS will need an even number...or am I missing something?

 

Chris

"We're not lost - we just don't know where we are"

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

 

One search will include an output file (EasyGPS LOC initially) and an eBook format. So you'll only need 3 searches.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location

[+majicman]

This is PERFECTION!!!!

 

Love it - Thanks for the hard work!

 

majicman

[+parkrrrr]

I've been thinking about the "caches along a route" question, and trying to find a way to offload the actual computation of the route and the finding of the caches onto the user's computer, as mentioned in my mostly-ignored post over in the Geocaching Discussion forum, and it occurs to me that for that application, it would be nice if there were a search that could return the ID, lat, and long of any caches within a given rectangular area. This seems like an easy query to write, depending on your database structure, and it seems like it would take less time than even the standard "caches near " search, since it's just a pair of ranges rather than a complex distance calculation. Given that it's already possible to do virtually-unlimited queries for caches within a circle, and given that those queries are more expensive to geocaching.com than the simpler rectangle-based query (which, in addition to being easier to search, wouldn't have to send as much filler text) wouldn't it make sense to add the rectangular query for those who would like to layer more functionality on top of the geocaching.com database without adding undue server load in the process?

 

[teamwsmf]

quote:

---

Originally posted by AllenLacy:

Or raw XML, I got several tools that could easily process XML.

---

 

Yep, since XML is the lingua franca of data, and this stuff is data, I think an XML output would almost be a defualt.

 

A little XML, a little perl, maybe a python object or two...yep things can get mightyusefull fast.

 

-tom

 

----------------------------

TeamWSMF@wsmf.org

[+mrcpu]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:

I've been thinking about the "caches along a route" question, and trying to find a way to offload the actual computation of the route and the finding of the caches onto the user's computer, as mentioned in my mostly-ignored post over in the Geocaching Discussion forum, and it occurs to me that for that application, it would be nice if there were a search that could return the ID, lat, and long of any caches within a given rectangular area. This seems like an easy query to write, depending on your database structure, and it seems like it would take less time than even the standard "caches near " search, since it's just a pair of ranges rather than a complex distance calculation. Given that it's already possible to do virtually-unlimited queries for caches within a circle, and given that those queries are more expensive to geocaching.com than the simpler rectangle-based query (which, in addition to being easier to search, wouldn't have to send as much filler text) wouldn't it make sense to add the rectangular query for those who would like to layer more functionality on top of the geocaching.com database without adding undue server load in the process?

 

http://216.202.195.127/warm.gif

---

 

Personally, just the ability to mass download cache information would be awsome! I can use streets and trips to do all my geographical searching and "Along a Route" searching with Ease. If you visit http://ian.kenetic.com he maintains a complete list of Canadian caches in .csv format for importing into Streets and Trips. It takes him about half an hour every week to maintain this list (Canada only has around 1000 caches).

 

Buy using this CSV you can add all the caches in Canada to your Streets and Trips map, zoom in and out and do searching from a point or on a route. When you find a cache you like you double click on it to expose the URL, click it and your web browser brings you back to Geocaching.com

 

Personally I much prefer to see the caches in my area on a zoomable street map like Streets and Trips. It gives me a great over view. I have a dataset called FOUND, NOT FOUND and HIDDEN and I use different coloured push pins for each so I can look at a map of my area centred on my home and in about 2 seconds see exactly where new caches are.

 

I start and end every geocaching trip in Streets and Trips!

 

Cheers,

 

Rob

Mobile Cache Command

[+TresOkies]

Any idea of an ETA on the new search feature?

 

The reason I'm asking is that I have a lot of travel planned this summer. One trip was this last weekend to Omaha. I loaded up all the geocaches within 50 miles. I didn't print them out because it would be too many pages, I just downloaded them to my GPSR. I had a non-GPS person with me, so I was trying to show him how fun our little obsession could be. Well, the first three places we tried were apparently virtuals or letterboxes because we couldn't find them and I didn't have the instructions with me. My friend now thinks I'm a moron.

 

I've stated in another thread that I think the different cache types should have separate prefixes. I still think that's a good idea, especially given the increase of virtuals and locationless caches. I'll settle for being able to search on regular and micros.

 

-E

 

--

N35°32.981 W98°34.631

[+ClayJar]

I'm leaving on Bacon Quest III: Bacon + Cheese = PI a week from Thursday morning... if you get close enough to want to test, feel free to use my itenerary as a test case, hehe.

[+ClayJar]

I'm leaving on Bacon Quest III: Bacon + Cheese = PI a week from Thursday morning... if you get close enough to want to test, feel free to use my itenerary as a test case, hehe.

[+parkrrrr]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ClayJar:

I'm leaving on _Bacon Quest III: Bacon + Cheese = PI_ a week from Thursday morning... if you get close enough to want to test, feel free to use my itenerary as a test case, hehe.

---

 

I already used part of your itenerary as an example case; isn't that good enough?

 

quote:

---

From my post in the "Geocaching Discussion" forum:

For example, let's say I want caches between Jackson, MS and Lake Charles, LA on Interstates 55, 12, and 10.

---

 

[+parkrrrr]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ClayJar:

I'm leaving on _Bacon Quest III: Bacon + Cheese = PI_ a week from Thursday morning... if you get close enough to want to test, feel free to use my itenerary as a test case, hehe.

---

 

I already used part of your itenerary as an example case; isn't that good enough?

 

quote:

---

From my post in the "Geocaching Discussion" forum:

For example, let's say I want caches between Jackson, MS and Lake Charles, LA on Interstates 55, 12, and 10.

---

 

[+Rockdoctors]

Looks great. Will make good use of it. Thanks.

[+ClayJar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:

I already used part of your itenerary as an example case; isn't that good enough?

---

Actually, in this case, that's perfectly useless. You see, BaconQuest III leaves Baton Rouge, LA, and heads non-stop (well, non-cache-stop) all the way to the Chicago area before the first cache hunt. (See, I'm doing "Hard as PI" for find #100, since its caching tenure is only two weeks shy of mine.)

 

So, I'd really like to do a search for anything near Chicago or up into Wisconsin. Anything Tennessee or south I can do (and have done) on weekends.

 

(Guess I'll just do it the old-fashioned way for now... anybody know of any good caches around Wisconsin? Oh, yeah, I should ask in the Midwest forum. )

[+ClayJar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:

I already used part of your itenerary as an example case; isn't that good enough?

---

Actually, in this case, that's perfectly useless. You see, BaconQuest III leaves Baton Rouge, LA, and heads non-stop (well, non-cache-stop) all the way to the Chicago area before the first cache hunt. (See, I'm doing "Hard as PI" for find #100, since its caching tenure is only two weeks shy of mine.)

 

So, I'd really like to do a search for anything near Chicago or up into Wisconsin. Anything Tennessee or south I can do (and have done) on weekends.

 

(Guess I'll just do it the old-fashioned way for now... anybody know of any good caches around Wisconsin? Oh, yeah, I should ask in the Midwest forum. )