Oracle ATG Web Commerce Search queries can include constraints, which limit the search space within the index. This chapter describes the following topics:

Document set and item constraints can be arbitrarily combined into a single Boolean expression of individual constraints. Documents that satisfy the Boolean expression are accessible for searching; documents that do not satisfy the expression are inaccessible.

Search uses XML to represent the query constraint expressions. Constraints are included in a query through the expression tag and its subtags (see the Combining Query Constraints section of this chapter for XML details). If you want to give your customers access to this feature, you must include the appropriate controls in the form handler.

The XML is constructed programmatically. Constraints can also be configured using metadata or query rules; see the ATG Search Administration Guide for information on these methods.