In Typesense, filtering by empty values (i.e., fields that are either null or contain an empty string) directly within a query is not inherently supported. However, you can work around this limitation by pre-processing your data before indexing it in Typesense. Specifically, you can replace empty values with a placeholder value (such as "not specified") during the indexing process. Then, you can filter for this placeholder value in your queries.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to handle this:
### Step-by-Step Guide
#### Step 1: Pre-process Your Data
Replace empty values in your data with a placeholder value before indexing. Here’s an example in JavaScript:
```javascript
const data = [
{ id: '1', Account_Language: 'en' },
{ id: '2', Account_Language: '' },
{ id: '3', Account_Language: 'fr' },
{ id: '4', Account_Language: '' },
];
// Replace empty values with "not specified"
const processedData = data.map(doc => ({
...doc,
Account_Language: doc.Account_Language || 'not specified'
}));
console.log(processedData);
```
#### Step 2: Index the Processed Data in Typesense
Use the Typesense client to create a collection and index the processed data.
```javascript
import Typesense from 'typesense';
const client = new Typesense.Client({
nodes: [{
host: 'localhost', // For example
port: '8108',
protocol: 'http'
}],
apiKey: 'xyz', // Replace with your actual API key
connectionTimeoutSeconds: 2
});
const collectionSchema = {
name: 'users',
fields: [
{ name: 'id', type: 'string' },
{ name: 'Account_Language', type: 'string', facet: true }
]
};
async function indexData() {
try {
// Check if collection exists, if not create it
try {
await client.collections('users').retrieve();
} catch (error) {
await client.collections.create(collectionSchema);
}
// Index the documents
await client.collections('users').documents().import(processedData, { action: 'upsert' });
console.log('Data indexed successfully');
} catch (error) {
console.error('Failed to index data', error);
}
}
indexData();
```
#### Step 3: Query for the Placeholder Value
Now, when you want to filter for empty values, you can query for the placeholder value "not specified".
```javascript
async function search() {
const searchParameters = {
q: '*',
query_by: 'Account_Language',
filter_by: 'Account_Language:="not specified"',
};
try {
const response = await client.collections('users').documents().search(searchParameters);
console.log(response);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Failed to search data', error);
}
}
search();
```
### Summary
By pre-processing your data to replace empty values with a placeholder such as "not specified", you enable the ability to filter by these values in your Typesense queries. This approach ensures that all rows with originally empty `Account_Language` fields can be retrieved effectively.