20. Supporting Information Retrieval in Peer-to-Peer Systems

Abstract

This chapter focuses on information retrieval techniques in Peer-to-Peer infrastructures. Peer-to-peer systems are already being used for a vast number of applications in content exchange, but most searching is done by simple keyword lookups. In contrast information retrieval means that not only some more or less matching objects have to be retrieved, but a list of the best matching objects over the entire network given a user’s information needs. Since the 1960ies the information retrieval community considers ways to efficiently and effectively query document collections and designs dedicated retrieval systems like e.g. SMART [96].