Regular expressions
The Princeton Geniza Project database allows for search expressions containing certain 'regular expressions'. Regular expressions are codes that can be inserted in search queries to match patterns of text.
| ^string | Matches the text at the beginning of the string |
| string$ | Matches the text at the end of the string |
| . | Matches any single character (including special characters) |
| a* | Matches the sequence of zero or more of the specified character |
| a+ | Matches the sequence of one or more of the specified character |
| a? | Matches zero or one occurrence of the specified character |
| abc|def | | Matches either one of the specified strings
| [abc] | Matches any one of the specified characters |
Boolean Search
The Princeton Geniza Project database uses a boolean full-text search. This type of search allows users to combine keywords with operators to refine searches. Possible operators and examples of their use:
| מולאנא מולאי | Search for rows that contain either of two words by simply typing them consecutively. In this case, the search will find documents that contain either מולאי or מולאנא. |
| כתאבי +מולאי+ | Use a + sign before word to search for rows that contain all of them (in this case the words כתאבי and מולאי) |
כתאבי AND מולאי
כתאבי OR מולאי | The keyword AND indicates that both search terms must be present in the results. OR matches either search term. |
| כתאב –כתאבה |
Use a - sign to exclude a term from your results (in this case, the search will include כתאב but exclude כתאבה) |
*כתאב
?כתאב |
Use an asterisk or a question mark as a wildcard. An asterix matches any number of characters. A question mark matches any single character |
T-S 12.501
Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly sent from Alexandria to an unidentified dignitary in Fustat (though Goitein suggests that the sender is in Fustat and the addressee in Alexandria.) The sender asks the addressee to continue visiting him as his late father ('al-ḥaver') and paternal uncle used to do. He heard that the addressee wanted to be in Fustat for the 9th of Av. The messenger reported to the sender that 18.5 dinars have been raised for the redemption of captives (Goitein apparently understood it differently, that the sender gave 18.5 dinars to the messenger). The sender has sent another letter either on behalf of or intended for (bi-rasm) Sayyidnā; the addressee is asked to deliver it. The margins of recto and the entirety of verso are filled with a list of names and numbers in tiny Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals—needs examination. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)
