CentreForDigitalHumanities / CentreForDigitalHumanities/Textcavator

Store word models in elasticsearch?

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backend
Dominant language
Python
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Description

All word models logic currently happens entirely in python, with vector-related logic handled by gensim.

We might consider storing this data in elasticsearch instead. Basically, you could make a `parliament-uk-models` index to accompany `parliament-uk`, with the following fields + field types

- `date_start`: date
- `date_end`: date
- `term`: keyword
- `vector`: [dense vector](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/dense-vector.html)

You can use the vector field to request, say, the N nearest neighbours based on cosine similarity.

This could work a lot faster than our current approach. Elasticsearch allows you to use an HNSW algorithm which takes some time to index, but saves time during search.

@BeritJanssen , what do you think?

Contributor guide

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Research direction

Review the existing word-model logic in Python and the vector-related logic handled by gensim; the payload does not name specific files or tests. Compare the proposed parliament-uk-models index, its date, term, and dense-vector fields, and HNSW nearest-neighbour search with the current approach, then establish whether the Elasticsearch design is faster and complete.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
elasticsearch, python
Domain
data, databases, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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