Lucene Stemmer En Ru Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation Add the package via Composer:

   composer require nqxcode/lucene-stemmer-en-ru
   

2. Basic Usage Require the autoloader and instantiate the stemmer:

   require 'vendor/autoload.php';
   use Nqxcode\LuceneStemmer\Stemmer;
   
   $stemmer = new Stemmer();
   

3. First Use Case Stemming English or Russian words:

   $englishWord = $stemmer->stem('running'); // Output: 'run'
   $russianWord = $stemmer->stem('бегущий');  // Output: 'бег'
   

4. Integration with Laravel Register the service provider in config/app.php:

   'providers' => [
       // ...
       Nqxcode\LuceneStemmer\LuceneStemmerServiceProvider::class,
   ],
   

   Bind the stemmer in config/services.php (if needed) or use the facade:

   use Nqxcode\LuceneStemmer\Facades\Stemmer;
   
   $stemmedWord = Stemmer::stem('example');
   

Implementation Patterns

Workflows

1. Search Optimization Use the stemmer in Laravel Scout or custom search logic:

   $searchTerm = Stemmer::stem($request->input('q'));
   $results = Model::search($searchTerm)->get();
   

2. Text Processing Pipeline Chain stemming with other text transformations:

   $processedText = strtolower($text);
   $processedText = Stemmer::stem($processedText);
   

3. Database Indexing Store stemmed versions of text in a separate column for faster searches:

   $stemmed = Stemmer::stem($post->content);
   $post->stemmed_content = $stemmed;
   $post->save();
   

Integration Tips

• Laravel Scout Customizer Extend ScoutEngine to use stemming in search queries:

  public function scopeSearchUsingStemmer($query, $search)
  {
      $stemmedSearch = Stemmer::stem($search);
      return $query->where('stemmed_column', 'like', "%{$stemmedSearch}%");
  }
  

• Form Request Validation Validate and stem input before processing:

  public function rules()
  {
      return [
          'query' => 'required|string|max:255',
      ];
  }
  
  public function passedValidation()
  {
      $this->merge([
          'stemmed_query' => Stemmer::stem($this->query),
      ]);
  }
  

• Middleware for Global Stemming Apply stemming to all incoming search queries via middleware:

  public function handle($request, Closure $next)
  {
      if ($request->is('search*')) {
          $request->merge(['q' => Stemmer::stem($request->q)]);
      }
      return $next($request);
  }
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Deprecated Dependencies The package relies on ZendSearch/Lucene, which is outdated. Ensure compatibility with your Laravel version (pre-Laravel 5.5 recommended due to PHP 5.6+ requirements).

2. Performance Overhead Stemming adds processing time. Cache results for frequent queries:

   $stemmed = Cache::remember("stem_{$word}", now()->addHours(1), function() use ($word) {
       return Stemmer::stem($word);
   });
   

3. Language Detection The stemmer assumes input language. Explicitly handle mixed-language text:

   if (Text::contains($text, ['а', 'б', 'в'])) {
       // Russian logic
   } else {
       // English logic
   }
   

4. Edge Cases

   • Empty Input: Handle stem('') to avoid errors.
   • Non-Alphabetic Characters: Strip punctuation before stemming:

     $cleaned = preg_replace('/[^a-zа-я]/u', '', $text);
     $stemmed = Stemmer::stem($cleaned);
     

Debugging

• Verify Output: Compare stemmed results against known values (e.g., running → run, бегущий → бег).
• Log Stemming: Temporarily log stemmed terms to debug:

  \Log::debug('Stemmed: ' . Stemmer::stem($input));
  

Extension Points

1. Custom Stemming Rules Extend the stemmer by subclassing and overriding methods:

   class CustomStemmer extends Stemmer {
       protected function customRule($word) {
           // Add logic here
       }
   }
   

2. Integration with Laravel Search Create a custom search trait:

   trait UsesStemmedSearch {
       public function scopeStemmedSearch($query, $term) {
           return $query->where('stemmed_column', Stemmer::stem($term));
       }
   }
   

3. Testing Mock the stemmer in tests to avoid dependency on external libraries:

   $this->app->instance(Stemmer::class, Mockery::mock(Stemmer::class));