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

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 ( Open image in new window ) where the characters he typed appear, instead of typing the Aya ( Open image in new window ) 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 ( Open image in new window ).