Search Guide

Searching is how you read data and generate results from the documents stored within your Engines.

The search endpoint will be invoked each time a search is performed by a user.

Unlike the other endpoints, which customize Engines, view analytics, tune relevance, or index documents, search is for, well... Searching!

You can use your Public Search Key or your Private API Key to query the search endpoint. The Public Search Key is for performing search using client side JavaScript, within mobile application development, or any other context where you are at risk of exposing your API Key.

The Public Search Key key begins with: search-. The responses generated by the search endpoint should contain data from your engines that you want your users to see. That is why it has its own special, public key.

What do I search?
How do I search?
Meta data
Why search?
Where to Next?

Or, instead read the Search API Reference to get coding.

What do I search?

Search is all about finding documents.

A document is an individual JSON object.

When you add data into your Engines, you are taking database or backend API objects and indexing them.

But what does it mean, to index?

To better understand this, we will look no further than a JSON object:

{
  "name": "SuperObject",
  "authors": "Examplio McDemonstratio",
  "downloads": "98765",
  "info": "A stunning look at potential."
}

That is one object. Your datastore will likely contain many.

During indexing, your set of objects, of documents, is evaluated to develop a schema.

The keys are translated into Fields.

The values are, by default, given the type of text.

Prior to your data being indexed, the schema is created:

Existing Field	Type
`name`	`Text`
`authors`	`Text`
`downloads`	`Text`
`info`	`Text`

Each document that you index can now be considered part of a set of data.

This changes the objects in a small way:

{
  "id": "1234",
  "name": "SuperObject",
  "authors": "Examplio McDemonstrate",
  "downloads": "98765",
  "info": "A stunning look at potential."
}

Each one now contains an id, this id is how your documents are known to your Engines.

By belonging to a defined - though still flexible - schema, the Engine can get deep into its analysis of the documents.

The end result is the ability to search vast sets of objects, of documents, with great precision.

How do I search?

If you are the visitor, then you arrive at an application, seek out the search bar or search box, or magic box, enter some text, then hit enter. If search is fast and relevant, then they click on a result, their experience continues and they consume the content, purchase the project, or accomplish whatever it was they sent out to do.

If you are the developer, then you develop applications that access a robust set of APIs. You can access the APIs via an official client, like Python, Ruby, JavaScript, NodeJS, or Java. Or, you can weave in whatever sort of programmatic brilliance that you can dream up.

The visitor has it easy.

They are not aware of the deep logic that is happening below the interface with which they interact.

The act of searching, in its most simple form, is a request against an Engine wherein the document they seek is indexed.