currently the search usecase results in a error when the search string a) is empty (occurs when clicking on "Go" or when clicking on a language icon on the search results page (see 43816) b) starts with a "+" c) starts with a "*" (maybe some more...) I think it would be nice to let the user know what happened and describe the problem on the (empty) search results page a) "Your search must not contain more than 1 character" b)/c) "Your search must not start with the keyword + or *" I was trying to find the right place to check the parameters and provide feedback - regex matcher in lucene/sitemap.xmap? - implement the parameter checking in search.jx? - or rather using java?
IMO the SearchGenerator should handle this, so it's a Cocoon bug. They would certainly be glad about a patch, though. Maybe we can ask on the Cocoon user mailing list if someone has already resolved this issue. BTW, empty search strings are handled now (no search is issued).