Legal API - Basic Boolean Queries
Boolean queries are a type of search that allows combining keywords or even phrases using the operators listed below:
| Operator | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| x AND y | "x" and "y" will appear in the retrieved documents. | "Mesi"AND"Girona" |
| x OR y | In the retrieved documents, either "x" or "y" or both will appear. It is recommended to use () to avoid errors. | ("Mesi"OR"Girona") |
| NOT x | Documents that include "x" are not retrieved. | NOT"Mesi" |
Parentheses
Use parentheses to encapsulate OR statements so that search engines execute the query correctly.
The OR operator is interpreted as "I would like at least one of these terms."
(Barcelona OR Madrid OR París)
If you do not enclose all your OR statements in parentheses, your search may work, but it will not work as intended.
Quotation Marks
Quotation marks should be used when searching for exact phrases of more than one word, or else you may get documents with the phrase split into single-word components.
Casa Blanca
Your results could bring back pages that have Casa and Blanca but do not have to appear consecutively. It behaves like:
Casa AND Blanca
However, using quotes around your phrases solves this problem. When you use quotes around a phrase, you are telling the system to only bring back pages that include these search terms in this exact order.
"Casa Blanca"
Your search results will now only bring back pages that have all these words in the exact order they are written in.
Wild Cards
It is possible to use an asterisk (*) in place of some characters when constructing a query.
lavang\* (devolverá lavanguadia)
\*pais (devolverá elpais)
The asterisk saves time because it helps create longer statements or allows you to search for expressions even if you do not know their complete form.
More Information
For more information, you can refer to the complete Lucene query syntax manual ( here ), which is the basis of our search engine.