a Google Clone
Building a Search Engine from Scratch
A Product Manager Candidate's Technical and Strategic Journey
I believe that the best way to truly understand a technology is to build it from scratch. With this philosophy, I decided to bring to life one of the most complex systems at the heart of the digital world - a search engine - all by myself.
In today's world of ready-made libraries and frameworks, why did I embark on this journey with "pure" PHP?
My goal is to understand at the most fundamental level how a web crawler scans the internet, how data is indexed, and how results are ranked through hands-on experience.
By building this fundamental infrastructure myself, I'm preparing flexible and understandable groundwork for future AI integrations with Large Language Models like Gemini.
Instead of relying on the "magic" of external libraries, I wanted to personally manage the logic and trade-offs behind each decision.
The "Why" Behind Every Line of Code
| PM Document | Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Product Requirements Document (PRD) | The constitution that defines the "WHY" and "WHAT" of the project. | Available as PDF |
| Decision Log | A record book explaining the "WHY" behind important technical and product decisions. | Available as PDF |
| Product Roadmap | Strategic plan showing project phases and future features. | Detailed Below |
Big goals are achieved through manageable steps. I've divided the Doodle Project into four main phases:
In this phase that forms the heart of the project, I'm implementing basic text search functionality. My goal is to build a solid foundation that works in its simplest form.
Deliverables:I'll focus on taking the user experience to the next level. I'll modernize the interface and make navigating through results easier.
Planned Features:Embracing the "build, measure, and learn" philosophy, I'll make my future decisions data-driven.
Planned Metrics:I aim to add new and exciting capabilities like Visual Search and AI-Powered Instant Answers on top of the basic infrastructure.
Future Vision:I'm building this project transparently with the "Build in Public" philosophy, together with everyone passionate about technology and product development.
Where the code's heart beats. Access all my source code, technical documentation, and real-time progress here.
View on GitHub →Behind the scenes of the project. My writings where I share technical decisions, product management philosophy, and lessons learned.
Read My Blog Posts →