Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc String Syntax in Legal Information Retrieval

The following is a basic concept of Ad Hoc String Syntax in relation to information retrieval. In addition to this, Ad Hoc String Syntax may be applied to legal texts, including case law, legislation and scholarly works. Ad hoc (to this) string syntax provides a means for coding natural language statements so that a computer program can convert them into meaningful index headings. The statements can be already existing, such as document titles, or they can be created as part of the indexing process. The coding tells the computer how to break up the statement into individual terms, how to arrange the terms within headings, and which terms to place in lead position as access points in a displayed index. NEPHIS (Nested Phrase Indexing System) is the ad hoc string syntax used for the index of this book.