Need help to create Search Engine

I have jsp page where user can enter their search parameter, search parameter can be any combination of street, city, state and country (USA only). At back end I have to find out which is street, which is city, which is state and so on, and then call the appropriate method. How can I do this without using database?

If this will be more than a simple application, you can use Lucene!

What kind of data source is this - files? If so, in what format?

At back end I have to find out which is street, which is city, which is state and so on

Why dont you just have an input field for each on the form instead of getting all tangled up in parsing. For state it makes sense to have a preset SELECT list of all the state abbreviations.

Bill
[ May 14, 2007: Message edited by: William Brogden ]

Sounds like the search on Google Maps. This zip and street gets my block: "18411 carnation" I'd be tempted to just use Google Maps. They have APIs and easy "mash up" integration.

I'm not sure about the "without database" requirement. That probably makes it pretty near impossible.

You can purchase products that wrap a database from the US Postal Service that knows every deliverable address in the country. We use them to "standardize" addresses before mailing. Send enough mail and it saves millions on postage.

Lucene will indeed search an index, but you have to build the index. You'd need that list of all deliverable addresses to build it.

Google Maps? Do you know what happens if you try to get from Washington DC to London? It tells you how to drive as far as the harbour at NYC, then you continue in France. In between, it suggests swimming.

That's cute! "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean. 3,462 mi"