subsequence-search

Search for a given subsequence in a list of strings and transform the resulting list as required.

It behaves a lot like the sublime text fuzzy search.

The resulting list can be transformed using chainable transforms.

Demo it here.

###Installation

npm install subsequence-search --save

####Node

Go ahead and require('subsequence-search) in node after installation.

####Browser

After installation, serve:

• subsequence-search.js or
• subsequence-search.min.js

out of node_modules/subsequence-search/build/

In your browser code, go ahead and require('subsequence-search) to use it.

###Usage

####search(dataList, searchString, transforms)

• dataList is an array of strings that you want to match against
• searchString is the string you want to match against the dataList
• transforms is an object containing transform functions that are applied in order to the data list got after matching searchString and dataList. (transforms are explained later)

E.g.,

var subsearch = require('subsequence-search');
var data = ['there is some fog', 'have an apple', 'omg! potato?', 'foxes are kinda cool!'];
console.log(subsearch.search(data, 'fo', {
  rank: subsearch.transforms.rank,
  highlight: subsearch.transforms.highlight('highlightClass')
}));
//output
//["<span class="highlightClass">f</span><span class="highlightClass">o</span>xes are kinda cool!", "there is some <span class="highlightClass">f</span><span class="highlightClass">o</span>g"]

####transforms

A transform is a function that accepts an Array and returns a transformed Array.

The Array received by a transform function is of the form of an Array returned by String.prototype.match. For example:

var subsearch = require('subsequence-search');
//lets say you have the following data
var data = ['there is some fog', 'have an apple', 'omg! potato?', 'foxes are kinda cool!'];
//and you do
subsearch.search(data, 'fo', {
  myTransform: function(list){
    console.log(list);
    return list;
  }
});
//then you get an array containing to arrays printed in your console
//see the image below

As you can see in the image, each item is the same as what you get when you do 'some string'.match(/^(s)(.*?)(e)(.*)$/) i.e., a match with some capturing groups.

You can chain as many transforms as you want by passing them in the transforms object to the search call.

The only thing to keep in mind is that they are applied in order.

Keeping that in mind, you can do what you wish in those transforms to get the data in a format that is useful for your application.

subsequence-search ships with three transforms for your convenience. They are:

• rank : re-order the result to have most relevant results first
• highlight: accepts a css class and transforms the result set to encapsulate the matching letters in a span with the given css class.
• noHighlight: returns back plaintext matches

These are available on the transforms property on the object you get when you do require('subsequence-search') i.e.,

var subsearch = require('subsequence-search');
//built in transforms:
//subsearch.transforms.rank
//subsearch.transforms.highlight(classname)
//subsearch.transforms.noHighlight
var data = ['there is some fog', 'have an apple', 'omg! potato?', 'foxes are kinda cool!'];
console.log(subsearch.search(data, 'fo', {
  rank: subsearch.transforms.rank,
  highlight: subsearch.transforms.highlight('highlightClass')
}));
//output
//["<span class="highlightClass">f</span><span class="highlightClass">o</span>xes are kinda cool!", "there is some <span class="highlightClass">f</span><span class="highlightClass">o</span>g"]

###Changelog

• 0.1.2
  • Fixed package.json (missing git repo)
• 0.1.1
  • Fixed documentation (added demo)
• 0.1.0
  • added chainable transforms
  • added test suite