Token graphsedit
When a tokenizer converts a text into a stream of tokens, it also records the following:
-
The
positionof each token in the stream -
The
positionLength, the number of positions that a token spans
Using these, you can create a directed acyclic graph, called a token graph, for a stream. In a token graph, each position represents a node. Each token represents an edge or arc, pointing to the next position.
Synonymsedit
Some token filters can add new tokens, like synonyms, to an existing token stream. These synonyms often span the same positions as existing tokens.
In the following graph, quick and its synonym fast both have a position of
0. They span the same positions.
Multi-position tokensedit
Some token filters can add tokens that span multiple positions. These can include tokens for multi-word synonyms, such as using "atm" as a synonym for "automatic teller machine."
However, only some token filters, known as graph token filters, accurately
record the positionLength for multi-position tokens. This filters include:
In the following graph, domain name system and its synonym, dns, both have a
position of 0. However, dns has a positionLength of 3. Other tokens in
the graph have a default positionLength of 1.
Using token graphs for searchedit
Indexing ignores the positionLength attribute
and does not support token graphs containing multi-position tokens.
However, queries, such as the match or
match_phrase query, can use these graphs to
generate multiple sub-queries from a single query string.
Example
A user runs a search for the following phrase using the match_phrase query:
domain name system is fragile
During search analysis, dns, a synonym for
domain name system, is added to the query string’s token stream. The dns
token has a positionLength of 3.
The match_phrase query uses this graph to generate sub-queries for the
following phrases:
dns is fragile domain name system is fragile
This means the query matches documents containing either dns is fragile or
domain name system is fragile.
Invalid token graphsedit
The following token filters can add tokens that span multiple positions but
only record a default positionLength of 1:
This means these filters will produce invalid token graphs for streams containing such tokens.
In the following graph, dns is a multi-position synonym for domain name
system. However, dns has the default positionLength value of 1, resulting
in an invalid graph.
Avoid using invalid token graphs for search. Invalid graphs can cause unexpected search results.