An Experiment in Software Retrieval

This paper evaluates a knowledge-based approach for software retrieval. It describes a knowledge-based software information system that uses an expressive terminological knowledge representation to represent software and that offers a natural language query interface. The system is used to implement a cross reference tool for C++ and a tool for locating UNIX commands. The retrieval effectiveness is compared to approaches based on automatic indexing. It is shown that the knowledge-based approach is more precise than three different automatic indexing approaches, while providing excellent recall and adequate runtime performance.

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