How to extend search with SearchBar

Question

I want to search through an array with strings in it. Therefore i use a searchbar. Here's my code:

for(NSString *string in itemsArray)
{
   NSRange nameRange = [string rangeOfString:text options:NSCaseInsensitiveSearch];
   if (nameRange.location != NSNotFound)
   {
      [filteredItemsArray addObject:string];
   }
}

It works great, but the problem is it just finds the string when I write it exactly the same way (except the case insensitivity). But I would also like to find it even if the strings doesn't fit a 100%. For example when I search for 'Ralle Turner' it should also find the string with 'Ralle/Ralph Turner'.

Thanks for your help guys!

Merlevede · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-17T22:14:57.607

0

You need to split the search string into words, and then iterate through each word to find a match.

You can split the string using this code inside your loop

for(NSString *string in itemsArray)
{
    NSArray *words = [text componentsSeparatedByString:@" "];
    for (NSString *word in words)
    {
        NSRange nameRange = [string rangeOfString:word options:NSCaseInsensitiveSearch];
        if (nameRange.location != NSNotFound)
        {
           [filteredItemsArray addObject:string];
           break;
        }
    }
}

edited Feb 17 '14 at 22:14

answered Feb 17 '14 at 21:36

Merlevede

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so the words array is that one with my data inside? – user3298017 Feb 17 '14 at 21:52
@user3298017 No, the words array contains each one of the words in the search string. In your example it would contain 2 words: Ralle and Turner. – Merlevede Feb 17 '14 at 21:53
and what's the mystring for? – user3298017 Feb 17 '14 at 21:53
@user3298017 myString contains "Ralle Turner", it's the searchSring... I think it's the same as your `text` variable. – Merlevede Feb 17 '14 at 21:56
sorry I don't get it yet. Why do I loop through the words array then and not through the array where the data is in? – user3298017 Feb 17 '14 at 22:10
@user3298017 You loop through both arrays!!! I modified the code in my answer, check it and test it. – Merlevede Feb 17 '14 at 22:15
thanks a lot it works now. I'm sorry for being so dumb. – user3298017 Feb 17 '14 at 22:30
now i got another problem, all entries with 'ralle' or 'turner' are shown now, but how can i get 'ralle/ralph turner' on top of the list? – user3298017 Feb 17 '14 at 22:33

Gomino · Answer 2 · 2014-02-17T23:49:26.240

0

You can compute the levenshtein distance of two string to see if there is a potential match. You can easily find some implementation on the web, for instance:

-via NSString Category

-via a single method

Or use one the others approximate string matching algorithms

edited Feb 17 '14 at 23:49

answered Feb 17 '14 at 21:53

Gomino