Text vs keyword field types in Elasticsearch - Quick Revision & Key Differences

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the main use of the text field type in Elasticsearch?

The text field type is used for full-text search. It breaks the content into words (tokens) so you can search for individual words or phrases inside the text.

beginner

What is the keyword field type best suited for in Elasticsearch?

The keyword field type is used for structured data like IDs, tags, or categories. It stores the whole value exactly as it is, without breaking it into words, so it is good for exact matches and sorting.

intermediate

How does Elasticsearch treat text fields differently from keyword fields during indexing?

Text fields are analyzed and broken into tokens (words) for searching, while keyword fields are not analyzed and stored as a single token for exact matching.

beginner

Can you use keyword fields for full-text search in Elasticsearch?

No, keyword fields are not suitable for full-text search because they do not break the text into words. They are meant for exact matches and aggregations.

beginner

Why might you choose a text field over a keyword field for a user comment?

Because user comments are long and need to be searched by words or phrases, a text field is better since it allows full-text search by breaking the comment into tokens.

Which Elasticsearch field type should you use to store a product ID for exact matching?

A keyword

B text

C integer

D date

Product IDs are exact values, so the keyword field type is best for exact matching.

What happens to a text field during indexing in Elasticsearch?

A It is stored as a single token without changes

B It is converted to a number

C It is ignored

D It is broken into tokens (words) for searching

Text fields are analyzed and broken into tokens to allow full-text search.

Which field type is better for sorting values alphabetically in Elasticsearch?

A text

B float

C keyword

D boolean

Keyword fields store exact values and are suitable for sorting.

Can you perform phrase searches on a keyword field?

A No, because it is not tokenized

B Yes, because it is tokenized

C Yes, but only for numbers

D No, because it is ignored

Keyword fields are not tokenized, so phrase searches are not possible.

Which field type would you use for storing a user's full name if you want to search by parts of the name?

A keyword

B text

C integer

D date

Text fields allow searching by parts of the name because they are tokenized.

Explain the difference between the text and keyword field types in Elasticsearch.

Think about how the data is stored and searched.

When would you choose a keyword field over a text field in Elasticsearch?

Consider the type of search or operation you want to perform.