Search API

In this article you'll learn everything you need to know in order to start searching for data in Ucommerce.

Search and indexing basic

In Ucommerce the main data store for editing data is SQL server. Every piece of data you'll edit ends up there. However this data store is not suited for presenting data on the front end for your visitors. For this purpose all catalog data you'll need to show for your visitors will be indexed in a read-fast pre-optimized data store. This data store is pluggable and transparent for the API so at this point it is not really important which one this is. The important thing to keep in mind is there'll be a process for how data is edited and how it can then later be indexed and presented in an optimized way.

The Search API allows you to access and search for indexed data. The most usual search capabilities you'd expect is possible.

The Search API has been designed with simplicity in mind. It will look very similar to LINQ but has been slimmed down to only allow simple search conditions.

Search API

To be able to search you need to resolve the indexed data you want to access. For example if you want to search for products, you resolve the matching index like so.

    
    Ucommerce.Search.IIndex<Ucommerce.Search.Models.Product> productIndex = Ucommerce.Infrastructure.ObjectFactory.Instance.Resolve<Ucommerce.Search.IIndex<Ucommerce.Search.Models.Product>>();
    
    

Once you have the right index to start querying it you'll typically use the Find method. This can either query and return the default Product model or your own projection.

    ISearch<Ucommerce.Search.Models.Product> query = productIndex.Find();
    
    ISearch<MyProjection> queryWithMyOwnProjection = productIndex.Find<MyProjection>();
    
    

Filtering

The ISearch interface allows you to narrow down what you need in a LINQ-like fashion. The following things are possible using the search interface

    Ucommerce.Search.Facets.FacetDictionary facetDictionary = new Ucommerce.Search.Facets.FacetDictionary();
    facetDictionary["color"] = new [] { "red", "blue" };
    
    query
        .Where(x => x.Sku == "something")
        .Where(facetDictionary)
        .Skip(100)
        .Take(100);
    
    

Results

Just like LINQ you can keep narrowing your search until you're happy and then ask for a specific result. Until you do so - just like LINQ, you're not punished as all queries are deferred executed. The following capabilities are possible:

    Ucommerce.Search.ResultSet<Product> result = query.ToList();
            
    var resultWithFacets = query.ToFacets();
    
    int count = query.Count();
    
    Product firstProduct = query.First();
    Product firstOrDefaultProduct = query.FirstOrDefault();
    
    Product singleProduct = query.Single();
    Product singleOrDefaultProduct = query.SingleOrDefault();
    
    

Please note from the example above that you can get a result with and without facets. In case you do not need them, save yourself some MS and stick to the ToList() method.