To manage indexing and updating documents in Haystack, you first need to understand the basic structure of how Haystack treats documents. Documents in Haystack are typically stored in a data store that supports efficient retrieval and indexing. For instance, if you are using a database like Elasticsearch, you can leverage its indexing capabilities to make searching documents faster. To index a document, you typically create a dictionary or object that represents your document and then send it to the Haystack pipeline for processing.
When you want to index a new document, you can use the write_document function, which accepts the document structure, including its text, metadata, and any relevant tags. The document is then stored in the specified document store and can be retrieved later for querying. For example, if you have a document containing product information, you would create a document object with the product details and index it. This ensures that it is searchable through your Haystack pipeline.
Updating documents in Haystack involves identifying the document you want to modify, altering its content or metadata, and then re-indexing it. To update a document, you would typically retrieve it using its unique identifier, make the desired changes, and use the update_document or equivalent method to save the new state back to the document store. For example, if you have a blog post that was updated with new information, you would fetch the existing post, modify its content, and re-index it so that the latest version is what users receive during searches. Being diligent with updates helps maintain the accuracy and relevancy of your indexed documents.