Sphider-plus    version 4.2025b  -  The PHP Search Engine




All required information.

[ Intro ]

The Sphider-plus search engine is based on the former Sphider scripts created by Ando Saabas.

Under continuously development, and improved since the year 2008, additional mods, functions, template designs and debugging have been performed. For details about all changes, please notice the chapter Change Log

This search engine offers a wide range of customizing the index and search procedures. By means of an Admin backend, all settings are presented. As stated above, this search engine uses some PHP libraries and extensions. When opening the 'Setting' interface, the existence of these libraries are tested by software, and in case that a library is not part of the server environment, the according option is not presented in the 'Settings' interface. For example, if the 'rar' extension is not available, it will not be possible to index RAR archives and the belonging checkbox will not be presented in 'Spider Settings'. In order to check the availability of all required libraries and extensions, the Debug mode will present the corresponding messages.

Sphider-plus does not contain a JavaScript engine. Consequently, all content created in real-time, while loading the page, will not be indexed.

 

Indexing with a search engine like Sphider-plus can be problematic on a 'Shared Hosting' server. Indexing huge amount of pages might be interrupted, because the granted time slice might end before index procedure is finished. Especially if you intend to index not only text, but also media content like images, as well as audio and video streams. Sphider-plus tries 3 times to reconnect to the database. But if the server canceled the script, it will become necessary to manually invoke again the index procedure to continue. Sphider-plus will remember the last indexed link and continue the suspended process. Some special functions like e.g. 'cyclical indexing' in any case will fail on a 'Shared Hosting' server.

Server problems were reported by customers, who tried to install Sphider-plus on 'Shared Hosting' servers offered by Hostinger, Hosting24 and A2Hosting. They even seem not to supply the PECL library to their hosting packages, which is obligatory for a Sphider-plus installation.

Please notice the additional chapter 'Preconditions for a Sphider-plus installation', presented herePreconditions

Consequently, it is recommended better NOT to install Sphider-plus on a 'Shared Hosting' server.