GUIDE: Sphinx with Django

The purpose of this tutorial is to integrate Django-Sphinx inside your Django application to make use of the powerful Sphinx search engine.

This guide assumes the following:

• Python already installed
• Linux Ubuntu operating system
• Django already installed
• Eclipse — with Pydev — is the IDE
• You already have Djnago application to integrate Djnago-Sphinx with
• The Command Console is already opened!
• MySQL installed

Prepare for Sphinx Installation

• Install MySQL client development library, this is a pre-requisite to configure Sphinx with MySQL. Type the following in the Console:
   

  sudo apt-get install libmysqlclient15-dev

• Install C++ compiler to compile Sphinx. Type the following in the Console:
  sudo apt-get install g++

Install Shpinx

• Download the latest stable version of Sphinx (0.9.8.1) here
• Browse to your download folder. In my case I have downloaded the file in the default download file. You should type something similar in the Console:
  cd /home/alaa/Downloads
• Extract the file by typing the following in the Console:
  

  tar xzvf sphinx-0.9.8.1.tar.gz

• Browse to the newly created folder:
  cd sphinx-0.9.8.1
• Now it’s time to compile and install Sphinx, perform the following three commands in sequence:
  

  sudo ./configure –with-prefix=/usr/local/sphinx
  sudo make
  sudo make install

Install Django-Sphinx

Django-Sphinx  is a layer that functions much like the Django ORM does except it works on top of the Sphinx

• Open a new Console session
• Get and install Django-Sphinx project. Type the following in the Console in sequence:
  

  svn checkout http://django-sphinx.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ django-sphinx
  cd django-sphinx
  sudo python setup.py install

Configure Django

Django-Sphinx depends on Django global settings to generate the configuration file. Hence you need to do the following:

• Give your self full access on global_settings.py file. Type the following in the Console:
   

  sudo chmod  777 /usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/django/conf/global_settings.py

• Then open the global_settings.py file – as indicated in the previous step, it can be found at /usr/lib/pymodules/python2./django/conf/ –  and fill values for the following variable with your MySQL settings:
  

  • DATABASE_ENGINE = ‘mysql’
  • DATABASE_NAME = ‘DB_NAME’                       ### replace this with your DB name
  • DATABASE_USER = ‘DB_USERNAME’             ### replace this with your DB username
  • DATABASE_PASSWORD =’DB_PASSWORD’  ### replace this with your DB password
  • DATABASE_HOST = ‘localhost’                            ### replace this with your DB server
  • DATABASE_PORT = ‘3306’                                   ### replace this  if you have changed the default port

  
  

This step is very important to be able to generate sphinx configuration file from your Django models

Add Django-Sphinx to your project

• Browse to the folder where Django-Sphinx was installed. If you followed the previous steps it will be installed in your home folder.
• Copy the foloder djangosphinx to your project src folder
• Go to Eclipse, open your project or refresh it if already opened. The Project Explorer should look something like this:
• Open the application settings file and perform the following:
  • Add djangoshpinx to the list of INSTALLED_APPS
  • Add the following line at the end of the file
    SPHINX_API_VERSION = 0x113

• Now open your application Models file
• Import SearchSphinx from djangosphinx
• Add new variable in the model  of type SearchSphinx identifying the index name and the field weights
  

Configure and Run Sphinx

• Create a file called sphinx.conf on your project root (at the same level of the settings file)
• Click right-click on your project, select Django, the Custom Command
• Insert generate_sphinx_config then the application name that include the model where you have defined SearchSphinx. In my case the application name is search
  
• Copy the text appears on Eclipse Console and paste it in sphinx.conf
  
• Make sure that sql_query value appears on one line, not multiple
• To complete sphinx.conf file, copy and paste the following:
  

  indexer
  {
  mem_limit            = 32M
  max_iops            = 60
  }
  searchd
  {
  port = 3312
  pid_file = /home/alaa/searchd.pid  ### change ‘alaa’ with your username
  }

• Now, you’re ready to run Sphinx. on the Console, browse to the folder where shpinx.conf resides. In my case the command will be :
  cd /workspace/quickJob/src/quickJob
• Run the indexer, my indexer name is quick_job, so my command will be:
  

  indexer quick_job

• Run Sphinx deamon by typing the following in the console:
  

  searchd

Congratulations,  Your Sphinx search engine is ready to accept queries.

Start Searching!

Now you can enjoy searching with Sphinx. Below is a simple example of for a view that performs search. for the sake of illustration, I consolidated the template inside the view.

This is not the end, there are still many powerful features in Sphinx and Django-Sphinx that you need to know more about.