Faceted Search and Data Classification

Related Topic: Databases (SQL, NoSQL, SharePoint, etc.)

Faceted Search

  • Faceted search is an option for classifying data at the user interface level. Using faceted search, the end-user can “drill down” through various topics to hone in on the correct topical subset prior to performing a search.
  • The dtSearch Engine offers APIs to implement faceted search.
  • CodeProject also has two articles on faceted search and the dtSearch Engine.
  • The dtSearch Engine SDK includes cross-platform sample code demonstrating faceted search using ASP.NET Core, in the examples\NetStd\WebDemo folder. To try it, see: faceted search live demo — select "SEC Filings" for faceted search

Faceted Search vs. Data Classification Overview

Article explains how faceted search and data classification facilitate remote data access and the they functionally differ:

On a functional level with the dtSearch Engine, faceted searching works visually at the front-end user interface to allow the end-user to drill down through various metadata facets, while data classification occurs invisibly at the backend. More information

Additional API Options for Data Classification

Crossing the Full-Text Search / Fielded Data Divide from a Development Perspective (PDF)

Crossing the Full-Text Search / Fielded Data Divide from a Development Perspective (PDF)

  • While faceted search typically operates at the user interface level, the dtSearch Engine also offers additional options for data classification for filtering data prior to search results delivery.
  • A wide range of API filters and objects can categorize documents and other data via full-text document contents, document metadata content, backend database content, or data attributes attached during document indexing.
  • For example, search filter objects work in conjunction with end-user query dialects to allow multiple users with different security classifications to search the same document collection, without having to maintain separate indexes corresponding to each classification level.
  • A single query can include an “exact phrase” full-text end-user search request; second-level Boolean search expressions (such as one or more field or metadata search criteria); and developer-added filtering expressions (such as a filtering expression to filter out documents that do not match a user’s security classification).
  • For more information on database indexing, adding metadata "on the fly" while indexing, API-driven sorting and relevancy-ranking options, and displaying a synopsis or other metadata in search results, see the Databases and Field Searching topic and the Displaying Search Results topics in Selected Articles by Subject.