IRevalOO: An Object Oriented Framework for Retrieval Evaluation

Kevin Roitero, Eddy Maddalena, Yannick Ponte, Stefano Mizzaro

Abstract: We propose IRevalOO, a flexible Object Oriented framework that (i) can be used as-is as a replacement of the widely adopted trec\_eval software, and (ii) can be easily extended (or "instantiated'', in framework terminology) to implement different scenarios of test collection based retrieval evaluation. Instances of IRevalOO can provide a usable and convenient alternative to the state-of-the-art software commonly used by different initiatives (TREC, NTCIR, CLEF, FIRE, etc.). Also, those instances can be easily adapted to satisfy future customization needs of researchers, as: implementing and experimenting with new metrics, even based on new notions of relevance; using different formats for system output and "qrels''; and in general visualizing, comparing, and managing retrieval evaluation results.