You can use wildcard query to perform fuzzy queries. A wildcard query is similar to the LIKE operator, which can be used to query data that contains a word or phrase in text.
If you want to use the NOT LIKE operator, you must use wildcard query together with the mustNotQueries parameter of Boolean query. For more information, see Boolean query.
Feature overview
You can use specific symbols in a wildcard query to perform fuzzy matching. This improves the accuracy and efficiency of data search.
When you use wildcard query to query data, you can use a string that contains the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcard characters to match data. The asterisk (*) wildcard character matches a string of any length at, before, or after a search term. The question mark (?) wildcard character matches a single character in a specific position. A query string can start with an asterisk (*) or a question mark (?). For example, if you search for the table*e
string, tablestore
is matched.
The Keyword and FuzzyKeyword types support wildcard query.
Keyword: the basic data type of strings. When the Keyword type is used, the performance of fuzzy queries, such as wildcard queries, on medium- and large-sized data is poor. The performance declines when the data size increases.
FuzzyKeyword: a data type that is optimized for fuzzy queries, such as wildcard queries. The FuzzyKeyword type provides better and more stable query performance than the Keyword type regardless of the data size. The performance does not decline when the data size increases.
To meet fuzzy query requirements in various scenarios, search indexes provides three types of wildcard query. The following table describes the three types of wildcard query.
This topic describes wildcard query based on the Keyword and FuzzyKeyword types. For information about fuzzy query based on the Text type, see Fuzzy query.
Data type | Query method | Advantage | Disadvantage |
Keyword | WildcardQuery | Compatible with Elasticsearch | The query performance declines when the size of index data increases. |
FuzzyKeyword | WildcardQuery | The performance is good and stable and does not decline when the data size increases. | Data expansion occurs. |
Text | MatchPhraseQuery | Data of the Text type can be case-insensitive. | Data expansion occurs. |
Usage notes
The length of a query string in wildcard queries on data of the Keyword or FuzzyKeyword type cannot exceed 32 characters in length.
API operation
To perform a wildcard query, call the Search or ParallelScan operation and set the query type to WildcardQuery.
Parameters
Parameter | Description |
fieldName | The name of the field that you want to query. |
value | The string that contains wildcard characters. The string cannot exceed 32 characters in length. |
query | The type of the query. Set this parameter to WildcardQuery. |
getTotalCount | Specifies whether to return the total number of rows that meet the query conditions. The default value of this parameter is false, which specifies that the total number of rows that meet the query conditions is not returned. If you set this parameter to true, the query performance is compromised. |
weight | The weight that you want to assign to the field that you want to query to calculate the BM25-based keyword relevance score. This parameter is used in full-text search scenarios. If you specify a higher weight for the field that you want to query, the BM25-based keyword relevance score for the field is higher. The value of this parameter is a positive floating point number. This parameter does not affect the number of rows that are returned but affects the BM25-based keyword relevance scores of the query results. |
tableName | The name of the data table. |
indexName | The name of the search index. |
columnsToGet | Specifies whether to return all columns of each row that meets the query conditions. You can configure the returnAll and columns fields for this parameter. The default value of the returnAll field is false, which specifies that not all columns are returned. In this case, you can use the columns field to specify the columns that you want to return. If you do not specify the columns that you want to return, only the primary key columns are returned. If you set the returnAll field to true, all columns are returned. |
Methods
You can use the Tablestore console, Tablestore CLI, or Tablestore SDKs to perform a wildcard query. Before you perform a wildcard query, make sure that the following preparations are made:
You can use only Tablestore SDKs to perform a wildcard query on data of the FuzzyKeyword type.
You have an Alibaba Cloud account or a RAM user that has permissions to perform operations on Tablestore. For information about how to grant Tablestore operation permissions to a RAM user, see Use a RAM policy to grant permissions to a RAM user.
If you want to use Tablestore SDKs or the Tablestore CLI to perform a query, an AccessKey pair is created for your Alibaba Cloud account or RAM user. For more information, see Create an AccessKey pair.
A data table is created. For more information, see Operations on tables.
A search index is created for the data table. For more information, see Create a search index.
If you want to use Tablestore SDKs to perform a query, an OTSClient instance is initialized. For more information, see Initialize an OTSClient instance.
If you want to use the Tablestore CLI to perform a query, the Tablestore CLI is downloaded and started, and information about the instance that you want to access and the data table are configured. For more information, see Download the Tablestore CLI, Start the Tablestore CLI and configure access information, and Operations on data tables.
Billing rules
When you use a search index to query data, you are charged for the read throughput that is consumed. For more information, see Billable items of search indexes.
FAQ
References
When you use a search index to query data, you can use the following query methods: term query, terms query, match all query, match query, match phrase query, prefix query, range query, wildcard query, fuzzy query, Boolean query, geo query, nested query, KNN vector query, and exists query. You can select query methods based on your business requirements to query data from multiple dimensions.
You can sort or paginate rows that meet the query conditions by using the sorting and paging features. For more information, see Perform sorting and paging.
You can use the collapse (distinct) feature to collapse the result set based on a specific column. This way, data of the specified type appears only once in the query results. For more information, see Collapse (distinct).
If you want to analyze data in a data table, you can use the aggregation feature of the Search operation or execute SQL statements. For example, you can obtain the minimum and maximum values, sum, and total number of rows. For more information, see Aggregation and SQL query.
If you want to obtain all rows that meet the query conditions without the need to sort the rows, you can call the ParallelScan and ComputeSplits operations to use the parallel scan feature. For more information, see Parallel scan.