Sorting results in Elasticsearch - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to sort the search results by the field price in ascending order.

Elasticsearch

{
  "sort": [
    {"price": {"order": "[1]"}}
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adesc

Basc

Cup

Ddown

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'desc' instead of 'asc' for ascending order.

Using words like 'up' or 'down' which are not valid.

To sort results in ascending order, use "order": "asc".

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to sort the results by date in descending order.

Elasticsearch

{
  "sort": [
    {"date": {"order": "[1]"}}
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adesc

Basc

Cascending

Ddescending

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using full words like 'descending' which are not valid.

Confusing ascending and descending orders.

Descending order is specified with "desc" in Elasticsearch sorting.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the sorting code to sort by rating in ascending order.

Elasticsearch

{
  "sort": [
    {"rating": {"order": "[1]"}}
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adescending

Bup

Casc

Ddown

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using invalid strings like 'descending' or 'down'.

Mixing up ascending and descending.

The correct order value for ascending is "asc". Words like 'descending' or 'down' cause errors.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to sort results by price ascending and then by date descending.

Elasticsearch

{
  "sort": [
    {"price": {"order": "[1]"}},
    {"date": {"order": "[2]"}}
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aasc

Bdesc

Cascending

Ddescending

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using full words like 'ascending' or 'descending' which are invalid.

Mixing the order of sorting directions.

First sort by price ascending (asc), then by date descending (desc).

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to sort by rating descending, then price ascending, then date descending.

Elasticsearch

{
  "sort": [
    {"rating": {"order": "[1]"}},
    {"price": {"order": "[2]"}},
    {"date": {"order": "[3]"}}
  ]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aasc

Bdesc

Cascending

Ddescending

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using full words like 'ascending' or 'descending'.

Swapping the order of sorting directions.

Sort first by rating descending (desc), then price ascending (asc), then date descending (desc).

Practice

1. What does the sort parameter do in an Elasticsearch query?

easy

A. It arranges the search results in a specified order.

B. It filters the search results based on a condition.

C. It changes the index mapping settings.

D. It deletes documents from the index.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of sort

   The sort parameter is used to order search results by a field in ascending or descending order.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other parameters

   Filtering narrows results, mapping changes structure, and deleting removes data, none of which are sorting.

3. Final Answer:

   It arranges the search results in a specified order. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Sorting = arranging results [OK]

Hint: Sort means order your results by a field [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing sorting with filtering
• Thinking sort deletes or changes data
• Mixing sort with index settings

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to sort results by the field price in descending order?

easy

A. "sort": [{"price": "desc"}]

B. "sort": {"price": "descending"}

C. "sort": ["price:desc"]

D. "sort": [{"price": "down"}]

Solution

1. Step 1: Check Elasticsearch sort syntax

   Sorting uses an array of objects with field name and order as "asc" or "desc" strings.

2. Step 2: Validate each option

   "sort": [{"price": "desc"}] uses correct JSON array and "desc" keyword. Others use invalid keywords or formats.

3. Final Answer:

   "sort": [{"price": "desc"}] -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct syntax uses array and "desc" [OK]

Hint: Use array with field and "asc" or "desc" strings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using wrong keywords like "descending" or "down"
• Not using an array for sort
• Incorrect JSON object structure

3. Given this Elasticsearch query snippet, what is the order of the returned documents by age?

{
  "sort": [{"age": "asc"}]
}

medium

A. Documents are sorted from oldest to youngest.

B. Documents are sorted alphabetically by age.

C. Documents are sorted randomly.

D. Documents are sorted from youngest to oldest.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of "asc" in sorting

   "asc" means ascending order, so smaller values come first.

2. Step 2: Apply to the field "age"

   Sorting by age ascending means documents with lower age values appear before higher ones.

3. Final Answer:

   Documents are sorted from youngest to oldest. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   "asc" = ascending = smallest to largest [OK]

Hint: "asc" means smallest to largest values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing "asc" with descending order
• Thinking sorting is random
• Assuming alphabetical sort on numbers

4. Identify the error in this Elasticsearch sort snippet:

{
  "sort": {"date": "asc"}
}

medium

A. Sort cannot be used with date fields.

B. Sort must be an array, not a single object.

C. Field name "date" must be inside quotes.

D. The order "asc" is invalid; should be "ascending".

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the required structure for sort

   Sort expects an array of objects, even if sorting by one field.

2. Step 2: Analyze the given snippet

   The snippet uses an object directly, missing the array brackets [].

3. Final Answer:

   Sort must be an array, not a single object. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Sort = array of objects [OK]

Hint: Sort always uses an array, even for one field [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using object instead of array for sort
• Wrong order keywords like "ascending"
• Thinking sort can't be used on dates

5. You want to sort search results first by category alphabetically ascending, then by price descending. Which is the correct sort clause?

hard

A. "sort": {"category": "asc", "price": "desc"}

B. "sort": [{"price": "desc"}, {"category": "asc"}]

C. "sort": [{"category": "asc"}, {"price": "desc"}]

D. "sort": [{"category": "desc"}, {"price": "asc"}]

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand multi-level sorting order

   Sorting applies fields in order: first field sorts primary, second field breaks ties.

2. Step 2: Match required order

   First by category ascending, then by price descending means category asc first, price desc second.

3. Step 3: Validate syntax

   Sort must be an array of objects with field and order pairs.

4. Final Answer:

   "sort": [{"category": "asc"}, {"price": "desc"}] -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   Primary asc category, secondary desc price [OK]

Hint: List sort fields in order inside array [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Reversing sort order of fields
• Using object instead of array for multiple fields
• Mixing ascending and descending incorrectly