This documentation refers to LIR version 0.7
LIR – Learning Information Retrieval ("Lehr- und Lernsystem Information Retrieval") is an experimental information retrieval environment to teach and learn information retrieval concepts. It is designed to be highly configurable and parametrisable. Refer to the original project overview and documentation for more background information.
The original aim (and still current use-case) was to support a practical course on Automatic Indexing at the Institute of Information Science at TH Köln. It should allow students to test their indexing results and experiment with different algorithms for relevance ranking.
The main interface is through a pair of CGI scripts for indexing and querying. This is completed by corresponding console scripts which provide a subset of the functionality.
First, you need to perform automatic indexing on your source documents (e.g., using Lingo) and obtain frequency counts for the index terms. Then you create index files for LIR with lir_index.pl (either CGI or console) and you're ready to query your collection through lir.pl (again, either CGI or console).
This project is more or less unmaintained and no longer actively developed. It's even unfinished in parts, but should be functional on the whole (you can find a working installation in the LINKS section below). YMMV, though.
LIR depends on some Perl modules and external programs. The following list names the Debian packages which need to be installed:
- libapache2-mod-perl2
- libhtml-template-perl
- libdatetime-perl
- libmldbm-perl
- pdl
Sample configuration for Apache (assuming that LIR has been installed in /usr/local/lir):
ScriptAlias /lir/cgi-bin /usr/local/lir/cgi-bin
<Directory /usr/local/lir/cgi-bin>
Options None
Require all granted
</Directory>
Alias /lir /usr/local/lir/web
<Directory /usr/local/lir/web>
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
Require all granted
AddType application/xhtml+xml .html
</Directory>
# Restrict access to lir_index.pl
<Files lir_index.pl>
AuthType Basic
AuthName "lir_index.pl"
AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/passwd
Require valid-user
</Files>The directory data/lab has to be writable by the web server process.
| Name | Link |
|---|---|
| Source code | https://github.com/blackwinter/lir |
| Demo | https://ixtrieve.fh-koeln.de/lir |
Copyright (C) 2004-2020 Jens Wille
LIR is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
LIR is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with LIR. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.