SharePoint Search: An Open Source Widget
If you have SharePoint responsibilities, you know how fabulous Microsoft’s Swiss Army knife solution is. Let me explain. The “fabulousness” applies to consultants, integrators, and “experts” who can make the rusty blade cut better than it does once the system is installed.
I learned about “SharePoint 2013 Search Query Tool” from one of the ArnoldIT SharePoint experts. You can download tool to test out and debug search queries against the SharePoint 2013 REST API. The tool does not help improve either the system or the user queries, but I find this software interesting for three reasons:
After years of Microsoft innovation, there are still issues with getting relevant results. Ergo the open source tool.
SharePoint does not provide a native administrative function to perform this type of testing.
Open source may be edging toward SharePoint. If the baby steps mature, will an open source snap in to replace the wild and crazy Fast Search & Transfer technology pop into being?
Stephen E Arnold, one of the world’s leading experts in information retrieval said:
Fast Search is on a technical par with SharePoint. The idea that two flawed systems can cope with changing user needs, Big Data, and unexpected system interactions is making SharePoint software which boosts costs. Change may be forced on Microsoft and without warning.
Worth thinking about and checking out the free widget.
Stuart Schram
