Order of precedence

OK thanks Graham. I think it would be more intuitive to allow ad extra to operate without having to be explicit. Your reply raises another question, which is where in the order of precedence does NEAR fall. For instance is: wrath NEAR ad AND extra the same as (wrath NEAR ad) AND extra OR wrath NEAR (ad AND extra)?

Logos Wiki

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Graham Criddle

Thanks Paul

I think it would be more intuitive to allow ad extra to operate without having to be explicit.

I understand what you are saying - I think it is probably related to the need to have a well-defined parser.

For those who didn't see the earlier post the issue Paul is referring to is that while the AND operator is assumed and can be missed out, this is not the case of other operators are being used as well.

Your reply raises another question, which is where in the order of precedence does NEAR fall. For instance is: wrath NEAR ad AND extra the same as (wrath NEAR ad) AND extra OR wrath NEAR (ad AND extra)?

I am not aware of anywhere that defines the precedence of the various operators - but I believe NEAR is processed before AND.

Comparing your three searches side-by-side you get the results below:

I think the guidance from the Logos helpfile is useful here:

It will sometimes be necessary to resolve some ambiguities when using multiple terms and search operators.

When typing this OR that AND another, the intention may be (this OR that) AND another or it may mean this OR (that AND another). Adding the parenthesis removes the ambiguity.

Logos Help (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2018).

So where there is the possibility of ambiguity, it is a good idea to use parentheses.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1234221#Comment_1234221

So where there is the possibility of ambiguity, it is a good idea to use parentheses.

With God NEAR wrath AND might you might think this will ensure that both wrath and might are close to God. You might think the same if you expressed it as wrath AND might NEAR God. But they will produce very different results because NEAR has precedence and they are parsed as (God NEAR wrath) AND might & wrath AND (might NEAR God). So you must impress your precedence and use God NEAR (wrath AND might) or (wrath AND might) NEAR God.

So don't worry about precedence, just use parentheses!

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1234242#Comment_1234242

Thanks Dave

A much more comprehensive answer than mine!

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1234266#Comment_1234266

Thanks Dave

A much more comprehensive answer than mine!

I wasn't sure about the precedence until I ran the examples!