Understanding the PeopleSoft Search Framework Classes

In previous PeopleTools releases, search functionality was provided in a non-declarative fashion in which search engine indexes were built using custom PeopleCode and Application Engine programs. Each PeopleSoft application used a unique method for creating and maintaining search artifacts like collections and indexes—all of which required search engine-specific calls, commands, syntax, and so on.

The PeopleSoft Search Framework enables application developers and implementation teams to create search artifacts in a declarative manner and to deploy and maintain search indexes using one standard interface, regardless of PeopleSoft application.

The PeopleSoft Search Framework consists of PeopleSoft components (pages and records provided by PeopleTools), which provide a centralized interface for configuring PeopleSoft integration with the search engine, creating search artifacts such as search definitions and search categories, and building and maintaining search indexes. The PeopleSoft Search Framework was developed to provide an interaction layer that is independent of any specific search engine. In particular, the PeopleSoft Search Framework classes documented in this chapter are general purpose classes not associated with any particular search engine.

In addition to the user interface, the PeopleSoft Search Framework is supported by several PeopleCode application classes including PT_SEARCH and several PTSF application packages. The PT_SEARCH application package provides the administration and query service interfaces for integration with web service based free-text search engines. The root package comprises a factory class, interfaces, superclasses, and implementations for classes that are not dependent on a specific search engine.