sphinx-doc/sphinx

Can't search numbers, codes, digits...

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#776 opened on Jan 2, 2015

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 (12 comments) (1 reaction) (0 assignees)Python (5,625 stars) (1,985 forks)batch import
builder:htmlhelp wantedtype:enhancement

Description

Hi,

Since I've been writing documentation that includes some digital codes, I wanted to be able to retrieve documents that contain these codes. But it failed. I've noticed that the search tool is not able to retrieve documents containing numbers.

How to reproduce it:

  • create a simple sphinx documentation using //sphinx-quickstart//,
  • edit the index.rst page and add //"Hi! I'm 1234"// in it.
  • build it (make html)
  • serve the page through a simple webserver (I've used //"python -m SimpleHTTPServer"//)
  • search "1234" via the search form.
  • no result.

maybe these string are not considered as "words", and so they're not included in the index?

Contributor guide

Tech stack
python
Domain
search
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
None
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
85
Research direction
Examine the search indexing code in sphinx/search/. The issue states that numbers are not indexed as words. Look for a tokenizer or analyzer that filters out digits. Modify the code to include numeric tokens. Check existing comments and any linked PRs for proposed solutions. The fix likely involves a small change to a regex pattern or a configuration option.