Relevance ranking is used to control the order of results that are
returned in response to a keyword search. Record sorting is used to control the
order of records that are returned in response to any type of MDEX Engine query
that returns records.
Relevance ranking and record sorting
are closely related features but there are some distinct differences.
- Relevance ranking
determines which results are more relevant to the user, based on a set of rules
you define. For example, you can configure a rule that says "for multi-term
searches, rank records that match more of the terms higher than those that
match fewer terms." Relevance ranking is configured either as part of a search
interface, where each search interface has its own relevance ranking strategy,
or is specified in the record search query itself.
- Unlike relevance ranking
which is limited to keyword search queries, record sorting can be used with any
type of query that returns records. Record sorting is based on a sort key. The
sort key can either be defined as a default, or identified by the Web
application as part of the query.
Generally, if you have relevance ranking enabled, you would not specify
a record sort key within a record search query because record sort keys take
priority over all other types of ordering, making the relevance ranking
settings useless.
Note: A search interface is a named collection of properties and
dimensions, each of which has its Enable Record Search option checked. Search
interfaces allow your end-users to search on multiple properties and/or
dimensions simultaneously. The search interface's name is used just like a
normal property or dimension when performing record searches. A record search
query on a search interface returns results that match any of the properties or
dimensions in the interface.
