Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Google expands its Code Search site

news
Jul 5, 20071 min

Coverage, ranking, and access boosted on the site that helps developers find source code on the Web

Google has updated its Google Code Search site for finding publicly available source code, adding greater coverage and improvements in ranking and access.

Launched in October 2006, Google Code Search enables developers to locate source code on the Web, searching through billions of lines of code.

“Today we made some updates to Code Search that will hopefully make it even easier to find the code you’re looking for,” said Google software engineer Aleksander Fedorynski in a blog entry Thursday about the improvements.

Coverage capabilities now include indexing of individual files and code snippets from all over the Web, Google said. Previously, only complete archives, such as .zip,.tar, and repositories, including CVS and Subversion, were indexed.

To improve ranking, Google has amended Code Search so class and method definitions now appear closer to the top of search results for certain queries.

Also, users now can access Code Search through several international domains, including Brazil, China, France, and Russia.

Right after the launch, Google’s Code Search was criticized as a potential resource for hackers looking to find bugs, password information, and proprietary code.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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