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Scoring ​

Search does not just filter rows, it ranks them. Every filter that runs contributes a weighted SQL expression, those expressions are summed into a __score column, and the combined results across every model are sorted by that score before the limit is applied.

Per filter score expressions ​

A filter's apply() method returns a ScoreExpression: a SQL expression together with an integer weight. When the expression is compiled, it is multiplied by its weight, so a higher weight makes a filter count for more in the ranking.

Filters that only restrict rows return a zero expression, so they influence which rows match but not their order:

php
use Raxos\Database\Query\Literal\Literal;
use Raxos\Search\ScoreExpression;

return new ScoreExpression(
    expression: Literal::of(0),
    weight: $this->weight
);

Boolean, Exact, Defined, DateTime, Enum and Exists all return a zero expression: they narrow the result set without changing the ranking.

Filters that build a real score ​

Some filters build a scoring expression from the matched column:

  • Number returns a CASE expression. An exact match scores 100; a value inside a numeric range scores higher the closer it sits to the midpoint of the range.
  • NaturalText uses the MySQL MATCH ... AGAINST relevance value itself as the score, and defaults to a weight of 3 so full text relevance dominates plain restriction filters.
  • Some returns the greatest of its sub filter scores.

Combining into __score ​

For each model, SearchProvider collects the ScoreExpression returned by every matched filter into a single ScoreExpressions value. That sum is selected as a __score column, and the query orders by it descending:

sql
select ..., ( <expr1> * w1 + <expr2> * w2 + ... ) as __score
from ...
order by __score desc
limit ...

Each model is queried with its own limit, then the results from every registered model are gathered, wrapped in SearchResult with their score read back from __score, re-sorted by score descending, and sliced to the requested limit.

Reading the score back ​

A SearchResult exposes the numeric score alongside the model:

php
foreach ($results as $result) {
    printf("%.2f  %s\n", $result->score, $result->model->title);
}

Because a search runs each model independently and then merges, a single query string can return a mixed, ranked list drawn from several model types at once.