Is there a way to search Google for non-word symbols?

April 13, 2004 12:25 PM

As a programmer, I'm often frustrated by the inability to search Google for non-word symbols such as =~, ||, and $_. Is there a way to do this, Google or otherwise?
posted by callmejay to computers & internet (9 comments total)

I don't know about Google, but if you're looking for Perl information (as your examples appear to demonstrate), PerlMonks is a good place (with a search that does allow you to search for those symbols).
posted by thebabelfish at 12:37 PM on April 13, 2004

Haven't got an answer, but I'd like to metoo the question. Definately very annoying. Usually crops up with perl-related searches, predictably enough.
posted by fvw at 12:37 PM on April 13, 2004

Ehm, yes; As thebabelfish pointed out, you were already referencing perl. Oops. Perhaps we could have a www.google.com/perl, just like /linux, /unclesam, etc.
posted by fvw at 12:39 PM on April 13, 2004

Thanks for the perlmonks; I'd forgotten about that site, which I originally found before I knew perl. :)

I was about to say that Google couldn't even tell "C++" from "C" or "C#", but I diligently tried it first and apparently now they can.

I'm sure there are other implications besides programming. (Math? Science? Engineering?)
posted by callmejay at 12:43 PM on April 13, 2004

Another metoo, and another implication besides programming. I've been looking for information on a product called Play@TV, and google keeps treating it as two words. :(
posted by hootch at 2:00 PM on April 13, 2004

Hootch: is it not this?
posted by fionab at 3:33 PM on April 13, 2004

One technique is to search for words that are likely to be found in the document you want. While ideally that will mean the non-alphanumeric symbol of your desires, you may find you can come at it by triangulation.

For example, a search for =~ may not work, but a quick googling for binding regex operator puts you in "I'm Feeling Lucky" country.
posted by majick at 4:04 PM on April 13, 2004

Funny, just two days ago, I ran across this very same problem and found it extremely frustrating.

I was going thorough my Safari bookmarks an found many that were of the following contruct:

http://domain.com/search?q=%25

I guessed that they were browser shortcuts, but I couldn't figure out whether they were imported from Mozilla or if I had worked out some way to make them work in Safari.

So, I went to Google but had no luck. Google apparently completely discards the %, even if it's surrounded by quotes.

When I put something in quotes, I mean it literally DAMMIT.

I'd be highly interested in a solution to this problem. (Note: Yes, I know I could go to the Mozilla site but it's the principle of the thing...)
posted by fooljay at 11:34 PM on April 13, 2004

fooljay, those are URL escape characters. %25 is the escape character for %.
posted by rory at 3:17 AM on April 14, 2004