RSolr

A simple, extensible Ruby client for Apache Solr.

Notice: This document is only for the the 1.0 (pre-release) in the master branch. The last stable gem release documentation can be found here: github.com/mwmitchell/rsolr/tree/v0.12.1

Documentation

The code docs can be viewed here : rdoc.info/projects/mwmitchell/rsolr

Installation:

  sudo gem install rsolr

Example:

  require 'rubygems'
  require 'rsolr'

  # Direct connection
  solr = RSolr.connect :url => 'http://solrserver.com'

  # Connecting over a proxy server
  solr = RSolr.connect :url => 'http://solrserver.com', :proxy=>'http://user:pass@proxy.example.com:8080'

  # send a request to /select
  response = solr.get 'select', :params => {:q => '*:*'}

  # send a request to /catalog
  response = solr.get 'catalog', :params => {:q => '*:*'}

Querying

Use the #get / #post method to send search requests to the /select handler:

  response = solr.get 'select', :params => {
    :q=>'washington',
    :start=>0,
    :rows=>10
  }

The :params sent into the method are sent to Solr as-is. When an array is used, multiple parameters *with the same name* are generated for the Solr query. Example:

  solr.get 'select', :params => {:q=>'roses', :fq=>['red', 'violet']}

The above statement generates this Solr query:

  select?q=roses&fq=red&fq=violet

Method Missing

The RSolr::Client class also uses method_missing for setting the request handler/path:

  solr.paintings :params => {:q=>'roses', :fq=>['red', 'violet']}

This is sent to Solr as:

  paintings?q=roses&fq=red&fq=violet

Using POST for Search Queries

There may be cases where the query string is too long for a GET request. RSolr solves this issue by converting hash objects into form-encoded strings:

  response = solr.post "select", :data => enormous_params_hash

The :data hash is serialized as a form-encoded query string, and the correct content-type headers are sent along to Solr.

Updating Solr

Updating is done using native Ruby objects. Hashes are used for single documents and arrays are used for a collection of documents (hashes). These objects get turned into simple XML "messages". Raw XML strings can also be used.

Single document via #add

  solr.add :id=>1, :price=>1.00

Multiple documents via #add

  documents = [{:id=>1, :price=>1.00}, {:id=>2, :price=>10.50}]
  solr.add documents

The optional :add_attributes hash can also be used to set Solr "add" document attributes:

  solr.add documents, :add_attributes => {:commitWithin => 10}

Raw XML via #update

  solr.update :data => '<commit/>'
  solr.update :data => '<optimize/>'

When adding, you can also supply "add" xml element attributes and/or a block for manipulating other "add" related elements (docs and fields) by calling the xml method directly:

  doc = {:id=>1, :price=>1.00}
  add_attributes = {:allowDups=>false, :commitWithin=>10}
  add_xml = solr.xml.add(doc, add_attributes) do |doc|
    # boost each document
    doc.attrs[:boost] = 1.5
    # boost the price field:
    doc.field_by_name(:price).attrs[:boost] = 2.0
  end

Now the "add_xml" object can be sent to Solr like:

  solr.update :data => add_xml

Deleting

Delete by id

  solr.delete_by_id 1

or an array of ids

  solr.delete_by_id [1, 2, 3, 4]

Delete by query:

  solr.delete_by_query 'price:1.00'

Delete by array of queries

  solr.delete_by_query ['price:1.00', 'price:10.00']

Commit / Optimize

  solr.commit, :commit_attributes => {}
  solr.optimize, :optimize_attributes => {}

Response Formats

The default response format is Ruby. When the :wt param is set to :ruby, the response is eval’d resulting in a Hash. You can get a raw response by setting the :wt to "ruby" - notice, the string — not a symbol. RSolr will eval the Ruby string ONLY if the :wt value is :ruby. All other response formats are available as expected, :wt=>’xml’ etc..

Evaluated Ruby (default)

  solr.get 'select', :params => {:wt => :ruby} # notice :ruby is a Symbol

Raw Ruby

  solr.get 'select', :params => {:wt => 'ruby'} # notice 'ruby' is a String

XML:

  solr.get 'select', :params => {:wt => :xml}

JSON:

  solr.get 'select', :params => {:wt => :json}

Http Request Methods: get, post, and head

RSolr can send GET, POST and HEAD requests to Solr:

  response = solr.head "admin"

Related Resources & Projects

• RSolr Google Group — The RSolr discussion group
• rsolr-ext — An extension kit for RSolr
• rsolr-direct — JRuby direct connection for RSolr
• rsolr-nokogiri — Gives RSolr Nokogiri for XML generation.
• SunSpot — An awesome Solr DSL, built with RSolr
• Blacklight — A "next generation" Library OPAC, built with RSolr
• java_bin — Provides javabin/binary parsing for RSolr
• Solr — The Apache Solr project
• solr-ruby — The original Solr Ruby Gem!

Note on Patches/Pull Requests

• Fork the project.
• Make your feature addition or bug fix.
• Add tests for it. This is important so I don’t break it in a future version unintentionally.
• Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)
• Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.

Note on Patches/Pull Requests

• Fork the project.
• Make your feature addition or bug fix.
• Add tests for it. This is important so I don’t break it in a future version unintentionally.
• Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history. (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)
• Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.

Contributors

• Colin Steele
• Lorenzo Riccucci
• Mike Perham
• Mat Brown
• Shairon Toledo
• Matthew Rudy
• Fouad Mardini
• Jeremy Hinegardner
• Nathan Witmer
• Craig Smith

Author

Matt Mitchell <goodieboy@gmail.com>

Copyright

Copyright © 2008-2010 Matt Mitchell. See LICENSE for details.