Using Fast String Search for Quran Text Auto-completion on Android

Abstract

Text auto-completion speeds up user input on the desktop PC by proposing a list of alternative words to select from after typing few characters. This useful feature is even more important on mobile devices because their human-computer-interface is restricted. We find it very helpful to extend auto-completion to the Holy Quran text, by allowing the user to select from alternative Ayat () where the characters he typed appear, instead of typing the Aya () he wants to cite manually or copying it from another source. To achieve this goal, we have implemented Quran text auto-completion on the Android platform by extending an open-source software keyboard application. As this feature needs to search quickly and repetitively the whole Quran text, we tested a number of string search methods, including the Boyer Moore algorithm, to determine the fastest search solution to use. The result is an application that proposes a fast and smooth user experience that is available freely in the play store under the name ().