Krugle.org Quick Start Guide
Krugle helps programmers find existing source code and the information they need to evaluate, deploy and fix code. Before using the Krugle search engine, please take a few minutes to review the following material, where you'll learn how to:
1. Search for Code
Krugle allows you to search from selected "channels" of information. Channels include Code (default), and Project. Each channel is associated with a colored tab at the top of the krugle screen.
To search for Open Source code, type your search phrase into the search box, and click the "Search" button. Feel free to use descriptive terms ("security", "hashing", "ruby", etc.) or object names that you already know (e.g. "ismcsitelocal"), or a combination of terms. A list of source code files matching your search term is displayed in the results area. Clicking on a filename in this list will open the source code file.
The first time you open a source code file, the directory pane will open in the right hand portion of the screen. The directory pane displays all source code files in the project that contains the code file you are viewing. When a code file is open, the directory pane shows where that file is located in the project.
Advanced tip: You can drill down on code search results by selecting any terms or groups of terms in the code by clicking and dragging over the desired text. Once a term is selected, click on the "Search Selected" command above the code results. Options in the "Search Selected" dialog allow you to specify where to search (file, project, all) and what code instances to find (definitions, calls, etc.) This is a useful way to explore and track code relationships and dependencies.
Advanced tip: Use the drop down lists and search fields located to the right of the search button to filter results by language (c, java, etc.), area of code searched (comments, code, etc) and specified project name. Important Note - settings made will be retained until changed.
2. Browse Open Source Projects
A project is a name that uniquely identifies a collection of code files available in the public domain of the web. There are over 150,000 public and open source projects in the Krugle.org index.
To search for a specific project, enter the search term associated with the project you want to find. You may also enter a specific language to help narrow the scope of your search.
When you select a specific project from the search results, detail about a specific project is displayed. The project specific information includes a description, URL's for the project documentation and bug database, and valuable meta data such as associated licenses and the number of files by language. A simple chart is also displayed, providing visibility to lines of code and number of files for each language used for a specific project.
Advanced:
By clicking on a the link of the languages or licenses associated with the project, a secondary search will be performed using the item you have selected. This is especially valuable when attempting to find a solution to a problem that spans multiple programming languages.
3. Search Code themed "Tech Pages"
Originally, Krugle was a "code only" search engine, but early testing made it apparent that users required additional capabilities. Users needed simultaneous access to documentation, bug reports, discussion threads, legal information, release news, application notes and other information associated with code. This is the genesis of the "Tech Pages" search option.
To find content related documents, first click the "Tech Pages" search tab. Then type your search phrase into the search box and then hit the enter key.
A listing of content results is displayed in the results pane. Clicking on a result listing opens the selected page in a new pane for your review. Related results from other relevant content channels are briefly listed on the right.
Note: Each content and code result that you choose to view has its own results pane with a unique tab. An abbreviated form of the file name (for code results) and url (content results) is shown in the tab. To see the full file name or url, hover your cursor over the abbreviated name.
Note: When viewing a tech page, inside of Krugle, you can view the same file outside of Krugle, in a new browser window, by clicking the "outlink" icon in the result listing.
4. Saving Results
There are two primary options for saving information that you find in Krugle.
To save a reference to the current results displayed in Krugle (all the results in tabs to the right of "Results" tab), click the "Create Link" button. This will create a single URL to all your results - you can bookmark, email or post this URL to your blog or website to provide one-click access to your results.
To save your currently displayed code file results for access to a fully formatted code file (not html), just click the "Save File..." command in the code file info bar. Specify the location where the code file will be saved on your computer.
Advanced Tip: A new result pane will be created for each file that you open. If there is a particular file that you no longer want to view, click the "x" in the tab for that file to close it.
5. Adding Comments to and sharing your search results
To add a comment to the current file, click the "Add Note" button. Enter a Title for the Note that summarizes its purpose. Add keywords in the Tag field that will help match the note to search terms. Then, indicate whether you want the comment to be associated with (a) the current file or (b) the selected location in the current file. Enter the note text and un check the "make this note public checkbox" if you want to keep the note private.
When the note is complete, a visual note indicator will appear in the leftmost portion of the code file.
To recall search results associated with a tag, click the note icon in leftmost column.
These tags will be publicly viewable by all Krugle users if you check the "Make this note public" option in the Add Note dialog.
Advanced Tip: Notes can enhance rankings for selected results associated with the tag. Enter keywords that users are likely to type into their search query for the tag name and as part of the tag notes. Krugle will then match queries against tag names and notes.
