Content-and-Structure Query

Synonyms

CAS query; CO+S query

Definition

A content-and-structure query is a formulation of an information need in XML retrieval or, more generally, in semi-structured text retrieval that includes explicit information about the structure of the desired result.

Key Points

Content-and-structure query is a term from semi-structured text retrieval, used predominantly for XML retrieval. The term refers to a specific way of querying a structured document collection. In addition to describing the (topical) content of the desired result, content-and-structure queries include explicit hints about the structure of the desired result or the structure of the context it appears in. Content-and-structure queries are useful for users who have knowledge about the collection structure and want to express the precise structure of the information they are after. For example, they can express the granularity of the desired results, e.g., return sectionsabout architecture, or they can express the...