Roshei & Sofei Possukim with a New Option

I took the few lines of code previously applied to the Equidistant Letter Sequences search method, which gave the user the option to search his letters in either the same or reversed order, and applied it now to both Roshei and Sofei Possukim search methods.

This last addition seems to have made my simple and user-friendly interface wholesome in the sense that all minimal options a user might want have been now fully implemented, thank God!

New Option for Equidistant Letter Sequences

Good code allows small changes to yield significant features.

By adding a few more lines of javascript code, I introduced a new option in the Equidistant Letters search; Now the user can specify he wants results where his input characters shall be regarded in reverse order.

For example, if his input was “חשמונאי”, he can now also explore the result as if he had entered “יאנומשח”, with this new radio button option in place.

"Single Word Hits" is a New Gematria Option

A complaint came my way, why did I not allow capture of gematria words as “single word hits”. The user wanted to screen out all hits where more than one word was involved. He justified this because he wanted to explore relationships between gematria-equal single words, thinking he could speculate on their shared value. He made a wise point and therefore I introduced among the 4 options already available - a 5th option: A “single word hits” option. Glad to have obliged and make a customer happy.

Next thing you know, someone'll want only pairs of words, or trios only. I dread thinking to now incorporate a "How many words should manifest?" algorithm.

Now at version 32.

New Gematria Valuation Option

I introduced to the Gematria search options the ability to choose from different ways of figuring gematria. Until now it was just the “regular” calculus. Now you can also choose the “at-bash” valuation method.

Now, if I want to add another valuation method, it'll be a lot easier to implement.

No change in HTML, a few bytes added to CSS, and a few lines of javascript, and voila. My files neatly separate design, structure and function making maintenance or further development a rather simple undertaking. Boruch Hashem.

Revised Home Page's Awkward Validation Code

I had an annoying error arise when the limits of the RANGE were changed by the user **. (The awkwardness came from my validation of each range limit the moment it was changed. Thus, if the user wanted to change both range values and managed to change only one to start with, he may prematurely have met an error dialogue that would reset the range to original default values.)

Now I validate Home Page parameters upon departure from Home Page (and not "onchange" of either range value). I also, now, restore the user's new values when Home Page reloads.

I used the new sessionStorage object featured in HTML 5. If a session started and the user changed the home-page parameters from their original default values, the modified values survive until the user again changes them.

Now at version 30.

** (In June 6th post I made reference to this annoying problem.)

New Gematria Option Added

It occurred to me consecutive possukim can hold a desired gematria value. Until now only single whole possukim were searched (or words within and across possukim could also be requested.)

Accordingly, this new option resolves that demand. Now more than one whole possuk is looked at to determine if they equal the user's gematria value.

The Results Page will show all successive whole possukim that yield the user's input value.

Now at version 29.

Two New Search Methods Added

In response to a suggestion, I added two new methods:

Roshei Possukim finds the letters in the user's input string where each letter is the first letter of a possuk, in a sequence of possukim.

While testing my code I noticed that so many of Torah's possukim start with the letter Vov. For example, from Shmot 1:11 there are 52 possukim in a row that begin with Vov!

(Only the letter Yud beats out the count of Vovs in Torah.)

Sofei Possukim does the same thing - only this time the last letter of the possuk is relevant.

Now at version 27.

Sefer Yeshayahu Added to the Database

Just added the sefer Yeshayahu to the database.

When I count the number of possukim I added, that is, the number of possukim in the whole sefer of Yeshayahu, I come up with 1290, which is 5 short of what the sefer shows in the "סימנים" section at the end, in small print. There it states the total is 1295!

I have one or two more such discrepancies but I remain entirely ignorant as to why. Will appreciate if someone can solve this riddle for me.

New "Count" Method Implemented

A new search method now allows you to count parshas, prokim, psukim, words and letters, in your chosen range. Why some numbers don't match the commentaries' values, as seen at the end of chumashim, for instance,  I don't know. I sure hope my words and verses are all correctly texted.

Sometimes this discrepancy has to do with the 3 piskot in Torah, where a possuk really counts as two. But other inconsistent counts, even as much as an 8 letter difference, or 5 words, exist that I cannot yet grasp. Any help from users would be nice.

I sure hope my data is "otherwise" accurate.

This code was written during a 4-day respite in the Catskills.

UPDATE (Oct. 6/15): Removed this method because of incorrect results!

A New Look

From the beginning, my coding was geared modularly by entirely separating out design from javascript function. CSS integrates nicely with HTML to accomplish that. This inordinately facilitates maintenance and modification over the course of time. The files too are therefore in separate directories.

Here I switched to a new look. Mainly two colors. Not much user-entry required; Only a few basic parameters and options, as the range to search through, or the limit that sets the maximum number of finds in the Results page, and the user's single input field.

Toraware.com hopes it achieved its desired clean, intuitive interface to let users explore Torah using ancient methodology - easily. Anything to simplify the mechanism, either with choice few words or icons, my functional motto always has been “the simpler the better”. (Look how simple Google is - 1 field of input!) E.g., two-word title.

This website is an engine. Under its hood the engine's rpm's rummage through its database, the Pentateuch (and other of the 24 holy books, as they are little by little appended to the end).

The user can choose to search any range of the database the parameters allows for. For example, the user can change the default settings and specify a strictly Tehilim-only search.

This site only serves up 3 pages: Home page, Options & Input page; and Results page. It sports only two buttons.

The Home page collects some parameters and waits for a search method to be invoked; The Options Page provides options apt for that search method, and accepts user input. The Results Page then displays the list of “hits”.

The “hovering” feature over anchor (that highlights the search method a cursor hovers overs) tags that CSS so simply implements, provides enormous, unexpected user-friendliness, with only a few extra bytes of code; The selection of search methods immediately becomes more intuitive. This same code also has the same unexpected but most welcome feature of highlighting any single result te user was to selectively inspect. This shows up on the Results page hit list. The user can easily eyeball exactly the row of data he wants to look at, without other nearby legibility interference.

Most search methods, all but the “embedded text” method - to be specific, are rather speedy and momentary in execution. The lone exception is the “embedded” method. I therein post a warning in red for users to know this, because it’s not usual for browsers to delay as much as this time it will, This method suffers from relatively slow response times, especially with lengthy user strings. But at least a 50-count skip factor can be ranged through fast enough to provide at least a slow response if not a fast one.

New logo was designed by TA Productions. They're relatively cheap, efficient, reliable and on-time.

A Few Bytes of CSS Load a Mighty Punch

CSS is turning out to be a very powerful tool in that so little code is required to make elaborate changes that remarkably enhance the site at so little effort.

Earlier a CSS "hover" technique enhanced my Home and Result pages. Literally a few bytes of extra CSS code and voila, eye-opening, exciting new function, enhancing user-friendliness with more intuitive features.

Now I discovered a simple "border-effect" (courtesy of css-tricks.com) that was as easy as pie to code. So today the site got its new facelift.

Factors in Possuk Gematria

Boruch Hashem, implemented another search method.

Suppose you search a gematria and cannot find it ("No Finds "). But perhaps a possuk exists whose gematria is a fraction, or MULTIPLE, of that gematria. For example, in Torah no possuk has a gematria value of 770. However, there happen to be 11 possukim in Torah that have 770 as a multiple of this value (from 3 to 8 times that).

If you use this engine and find something interesting, won't you please report it. Thanks .

Embedded-Text Search Method Now Renders Quicker

For the nitty-gritty-minded:


A significant increase in processing speed I gained by eliminating repetitive code that was only needed to avoid an error during the end-of-file encounter. Instead of continually end-checking for an “overflow” event, to know I reached the end, using the following AND logic:

... && ... !== undefined ...

(embedded in so many IF statements!), I simply added a few bytes to the end of my database array, an “EOF” record, setting its indexing parameter beyond the record above it (i.e., "one chapter ahead").

This component of many IF statements can now be eliminated because only the greater-than comparison - by itself - is needed, even at the end-of-file situation.

Although this did improve processing speed, it’s still not fast enough to combine the 0-50 and 51-100 skip options into one (“0 - 100”) (and to an another option, eg, 101-200).

Different Methods Yield the Same Result

... as demonstrated here:

A Few Icons Enhance Design

Gave my site a new "facial". Hope you like it.

NEW Search Method Implemented

Glad to report, and thankful to Hashem, that I've added a new search method to the original 5.

This 6th method, called "equally-spaced embedded text", takes your character input and searches across the range of scripture you specified (Start and End parameters on the Home Page), reporting all places this string is found evenly spread out, using the skip factor 100 as the maximum characters to skip over.

For now the only option is to choose one of two skip ranges. A future option might be SameOrder/AnyOrder. Another option would be to allow for a greater skip factor.

Unlike the other 5 searches, this search often suffers a significant latency. But I did manage to decimate the response time from an earlier version (which I never posted).

Please do report a bug if you catch one!

Come to think of it, inasmuch as this program is driven by javascript, it's all happening at the user's browser platform, and not on a remote server's, which ought therefore to enhance its steady performance - I would think.

Setting Range on Home Page of toraware.com

You may want to change the search range from its defaults, FROM: Beraishis TO: End of וזאת הברכה, to, instead, say, FROM: Tehilim TO: Tehilim.

This, in effect, means, "Look only into Sefer Tehilim"; Just search תהילים!

Depending on which limit you first set, an alert dialog box might insist you set the other boundary first. I can't well explain it, but just set the limits so the 1st parameter is less than the second. Usually, if you set the last parameter first, you can avoid this annoying feature.

A Solo Possuk in Tehilim

Random searches sometimes reveal unique results. I punched in my son’s name, with his parents’ names included. No possuk in Torah shares that name’s gematria.

However, one sole possuk in Tehilim does.

Another interesting tidbit: This possuk in Tehilim starts with and ends in a yud (“bookends” => “יי”). Although in Tehilim plenty exist, only one possuk in all Torah has this feature.

Tehilim Added to the Database

Glad to say our database has expanded to include the sefer Tehilim, against which all available search methods can be applied.

The Prophecy that Came to Naimonides

Here is the result of searching (in all of Torah) Roshei Teivot, every 3rd letter of successive words, for אבנר:

I don't recall the story exactly but that one of Naimonides' students had jettisoned his Jewish heritage and converted; Later he approached Naimonides and the student, of considerable status by now, confronted and put to test the faith of his x-teacher (Naimonides); He questioned the truth of Naimonides' assertion that all people are mentioned in the parsha of Ha'azinu. He, the student, could never find it so it cannot be a true teaching.

Naimonides asked Hashem in prayer to send him a prophetic vision, and when said spiritual revelation materialized he gave the student the answer to his riddle and, also miraculously, the words foretold this student's demise. For the student, in order to rectify his past weighty, sinful "luggage", he had to disappear. In fact, his destiny remained undiscovered. The meaning of these 4 words is, "I will terminate them, eradicate their remembrance from mankind".

UPDATE: Here's a wonderful lecture on this story of the Ramban, and the correct version of it: LINK

JUST LAUNCHED - toraware.com

ט׳׳ו סיון ה׳תשע׳׳ה

I create this blog to monitor and record my website's developmental progress. It now launched on a host server.

Maybe here I'll get some feedback too. Anyhow, this project is still a "diamond in the rough" continually undergoing development.

I hope it'll spark your interest. It’s got GEMATRIA and other methods of search. It's simple and intuitive.

It’s well enough now to be up and running. Hope you’ll like it.

Please, if you find something remarkable, do tell us about it.

Please visit the site:
toraware.com
and thanks!

  There's hardware, 
    there's software; 
      And then there's toraware!