SphinxConnector.NET Features

Saving & Deleting Documents

To save a document to a real-time index you only need to pass an instance of your document model to the Save method of the IFulltextSession interface:

using (IFulltextSession session = fulltextStore.StartSession())
{
    session.Save(new Book
    {
        Id = 1,
        Author = "George R.R. Martin",
        Title = "A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One",
        EbookAvailable = true,
        Categories = new long[] { 1, 2 },
        Price = 5.60m,
        ReleaseDate = new DateTime(1997, 8, 4)
     });
     
     session.FlushChanges();
}

To delete one or more documents from a real-time index you can pass their id's to the Delete method or an instance of a document you would like to delete:

using (IFulltextSession session = fulltextStore.StartSession())
{
    session.Delete<Book>(1, 2, 3);
    
    session.FlushChanges();
}

As you can see from the examples, you call FlushChanges to let SphinxConnector.NET know that the changes you made should be made persistent.

Automatic Optimization and Batching

When you call FlushChanges, all pending saves and deletes are gathered and executed in the most efficient manner. For the example above, that means that all deletes are executed in a single DELETE statement thus avoiding unnecessary network round-trips.

When SphinxConnector.NET detects that it needs to save more than one document, it inserts them in batches by generating a single REPLACE statement for each batch. This leads to a speed-up by several orders of magnitude compared to inserting documents one by one. The batch size is of course configurable, so you can fine tune it to your workload.

Convention over Configuration

SphinxConnector.NET uses a convention based approach for many of its configuration settings. For example, when it comes to mapping objects to indexes or properties to attributes, you do not have to provide any manual mappings or clutter your code with custom attributes. The mapping is done via conventions that are defined in the FulltextStore class. You can of course change the default conventions if necessary.

Example for an index name convention for a main-delta setup:

IFulltextStore fulltextStore = new FulltextStore().Initialize();
fulltextStore.Conventions.GetIndexName = (type, ctx) => String.Format("{0}, {0}_delta", type.Name.ToLowerInvariant() + "s");

Notice that the conventions are defined via delegates. Often you have to implement interfaces or inherit from base classes to change some behavior in a component that you are using. We think that most of the time, this poses an unnecessary overhead because the customizations are just a few lines of code. In these cases providing a simple delegate saves time, keeps the code clean and easy to maintain. And, in more complex scenarios, you have the option to implement abstractions the way you see fit without being limited or constrained in your design by some 3rd party interfaces.

Object Mapping for SphinxQL

If needed, you can also execute SphinxQL queries directly and have SphinxConnector.NET map the results to your document objects:

Example

using (IFulltextSession fulltextSession = fulltextStore.StartSession())
{
    ISphinxQLExecutor sphinxQLExecutor = fulltextSession.Advanced.CreateSphinxQLExecutor();

    var parameters = new { query = "a product", categories = new[] { 23, 42 } };

    var results = sphinxQLExecutor.Query<Product>("SELECT * FROM products WHERE MATCH(@query) AND categories IN @categories",                                                   parameters);        
}

Designed for Testability

All functionality of the fluent API is exposed via interfaces. By applying techniques such as Inversion of Control and Dependency Injection, you can easily test your code by substituting these interfaces by mocks if necessary.

Using the fluent API with your favorite DI container is also straightforward:

Example

Configuring Castle Windsor for SphinxConnector.NET

public class SphinxConnectorInstaller : IWindsorInstaller
{
    public void Install(IWindsorContainer container, IConfigurationStore store)
    {
        container.Register(Component.For<IFulltextStore>().Instance(new FulltextStore().Initialize()).
                                     LifestyleSingleton(),
                           Component.For<IFulltextSession>().
                                     UsingFactoryMethod(kernel => kernel.Resolve<IFulltextStore>().StartSession()).
                                     LifestylePerWebRequest());
    }
}