Flixster
editSearch Function
editSearch in an important function on any webpage because it makes the page easier to use and navigate, if a site is confusing and difficult for new users to use the popularity of it will plummet and the page won’t be successful and probably die.
- The search function allows a user to type in exactly what he/she is looking for into a small box that will start a process of searching through the information stored for that site and return results with the keywords that were typed. On Flixster, instead of the user having to read through endless lists of movies or actor’s names to find what they want, they simply have to type the name of the movie or actor they are interested in and hit enter.
- The user interface, or the stuff on the screen that the user interacts with, for the search function is a small box on the right hand side and at the top on the screen. When a user begins typing what he/she is looking for the Flixster search bar creates a drop down menu of first movies then actors that have the letters used in the search box in their titles of names.
- When the user interacts with the search box, he/she is unknowingly starting an algorithm. The algorithm is a series of commands created by the keystrokes of the user. When the user types into Flixster search he/she starts a process: first, before the user even hits enter, the algorithm is retrieving information from the data server based on the first few letters the user types and what is popular right now. Once the user hits the enter button a whole page or more of results pop up that are somehow related or relevant to what was typed in the box. People do this all the time without really knowing what is happening behind the scenes or behind the user interface. The user is actually creating a list of commands that an algorithm interprets and uses to carry out the things that the user wants. The algorithm uses the keystrokes of the user to ask the data server of the website you are searching for the information the user is looking for and then brings it back to the user in an organized fashion that helps the user find exactly what he/she wants. The algorithm starts at the user interface level then travels through the web to the server to be processed, then it asks the server in a language that it will understand for the information searched and any information related to it, it is then brought back through the web to again be processed and then shown to the user through the user interface.
- What information types and organizational structures does search use?
Information Model: Movies
editAn information model shows a type of information, like movies, items of that type, like The Prince of Persia, its attributes, like the date is was released and the actors in it, the values for those attributes, like 2010 and Jake Gyllenhaal, and the relationship it has to other types, like theaters.
