$qual .= join $joiner, @{$s->{eq_specs_sql}};
}

$s->save_specs();

# set max_matches based on the lower of the pragma & the search parameter
# (so end-users can further restrict the size of the result set, but not increase it)
my $max_matches;
{
  no warnings 'uninitialized';
  $max_matches = $::Pragma->{max_matches};
  undef $max_matches if $max_matches < 1;
  my $search_mm = $s->{mv_max_matches};
  $max_matches = $search_mm
    if $search_mm > 0 and (!$max_matches or $search_mm < $max_matches);