Wyszukiwanie

Wyszukiwanie, w języku polskim, denotes the action of locating information, objects, or answers within a data source, system or environment. It is used in everyday language to describe the act of looking for something, as well as in specialized domains such as computing, libraries, and data management. The term derives from the verb wyszukać, with the noun-form wyszukiwanie formed by the suffix -anie; the prefix wy- adds a sense of completeness or thoroughness to the action.

In information technology, wyszukiwanie is commonly referred to as information retrieval. It encompasses methods for finding relevant items in large collections, including full-text search, keyword search, and structured search over databases. Core components include data indexing to support fast lookup, query processing to interpret user input, and ranking algorithms to order results by relevance. Typical technologies include inverted indexes, relational databases with search extensions, and search engines that crawl, index, and query web content. Advanced search features may provide boolean operators, wildcard patterns, phrase and proximity searches, filters, and auto-completion.

Beyond computing, wyszukiwanie also concerns cataloging in libraries and archives, where metadata, controlled vocabularies, and subject indexing guide users through catalogs and discovery systems. In everyday contexts, effective wyszukiwanie depends on clear search queries, awareness of synonyms and spelling variations, and an understanding of the data structure being explored.

See also information retrieval, search engine, database query.