rant: searching through MSDN

[David]

Everytime I press the search button in msdn, I feel the need for at least 90
days of anger management.

For example, I type "IEnumerable" and the top three results..

BaseDataListDesigner.GetDesignTimeDataSource Method (.NET Framework)
RepeaterDesigner.GetDesignTimeDataSource Method (.NET Framework)
System.Windows.Forms Hierarchy (.NET Framework)

Forms hierarchy? Data list designer? Repeater? WTF???

Then I go to Google and perform the exact same search and get the page that
is all about IEnumerable.
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpref/html
/frlrfsystemcollectionsienumerableclasstopic.asp)

Google knows MSDN better than MSDN knows MSDN.

What am I missing here. This isn't just an anti-Microsoft rant. A genuine
question here.

Upon further review, I see that why MSDN returns the page about
BaseDataListDesigner mentions the string "IEnumerable" 12 times where as the
page that actually defines IEnumerable mentions it 10 times.

OMG!!! So if I somehow sneak in a page that mentions it 13 times, it
becomes the most "relevant" page just because of its frequency.

OMG
OMG
OMG
OMG
OMG
OMG

What a bunch of Einsteins they got at Microsoft. Repeat the word enough and
the page makes its way to the top of the list.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Martin Dechev]

Hi, David,

Well...

The MSDN Library is a must for everyone that programs for a living with any
of the Microsoft programming languages, I think. So, if you have it
installed and need to find the IEnumerable topic you would simply go to the
index and type it there.

Just my 2 cents.

Greetings
Martin

 

[David]

No, I do not have it installed on my machine because somehow I foolishly
thought that if Microsoft went through the trouble of making the library
online, they'd have a halfway decent search engine.

 

[Martin Dechev]

The search is quite fine for *search*. What the online library lacks is the
index imo.

And btw google indexes the number of links leading to the page that contain
the words in the query. i.e. if 300 web-pages have link <a href="my
site">IEnumerable</a> and these pages get indexed most probably when you
search for "IEnumerable" the first result will be "my site".

Greetings
Martin

 

[Max]

I do most of my "research" thru google, enough to make it my browser's
homepage. A lot of times I find myself skipping any links to msdn, beacuse
usually all you get is a list of methods and msdn articles from 1999. Most
of what you find in the MSDN library (installed version or online version)
is in the VS.NET object browser and intellesence.

If I can't get what I need by just looking at the classes and methods, I go
on to Google and find myself on sites like asp101, w3schools, and 4guys!
Don't laugh, but I've seen even the higher paid programmers on these sites.
lol!

In any case, even the installed MSDN library gives me irrelavant searches to
Commerce Server and applications I don't even use. I know I can filter
results, but then I don't get any results. I used to be able to install only
the VB.NET library of the MSDN, but on the latest discs I have, I have to
install the whole thing for some reason.

Anyway, I agree Google and newgroups always prevail over MSDN.

-Max

 

[Kevin Spencer]

Microsoft certainly does have a halfway decent Search Engine. First, the
MSDN Library is huge; we're talking gigabytes of text information. Second,
you're comparing their search engine to the single best search engine in the
entire world. Microsoft even tried to BUY Google.

--
HTH,
Kevin Spencer
..Net Developer
Microsoft MVP
Big things are made up
of lots of little things.

 

[Max]

Just to add (sorta off topic to the rant) lol:

MSN does not use Google, like a lot of the major search engines do. I
believe Yahoo uses Google for its non-profit listings. Yahoo puts their
paying customers on top, rather than basing your search on relevance.

Google is one of the few search engines left that ranks sites fairly. It
only makes money off the keyword ads, which are clearly labeled "ads." They
do not affect your search.

-Max