Lucene vs Sphinx: What are the differences?

Introduction

Lucene and Sphinx are both popular open-source search engines used for information retrieval purposes. While both share some similarities, there are key differences between the two.

1. Indexing Approach: Lucene uses an inverted index approach to store data, which allows for efficient and fast full-text searching. Sphinx, on the other hand, focuses on real-time indexing and retrieval, making it more suitable for quickly updating data sources.

2. Scalability and Distributed Searching: Lucene is primarily designed for single-node deployments, and scaling it to support a distributed search infrastructure requires additional development effort. Sphinx, on the other hand, offers built-in support for distributed searching, making it easier to scale across multiple nodes.

3. Query Languages: Lucene uses a query language based on Boolean operators, where queries can be constructed using logical combinations. Sphinx, however, supports an extended SQL-like query language, making it more familiar and easier to use for developers familiar with SQL syntax.

4. Supported Document Formats: Lucene is capable of indexing and searching various document formats like text, HTML, PDF, etc., thanks to its analyzers and parsers. Sphinx, while it supports a wide range of document formats, primarily focuses on indexing and searching text-based documents.

5. Integrations and Language Support: Lucene has extensive integrations with programming languages like Java, Python, and Ruby, making it accessible for developers using these languages. Sphinx, while it also supports multiple programming languages, has stronger integration with PHP, as it was originally developed for PHP-based projects.

6. Community and Documentation: Lucene has a larger and more active community, resulting in a wider array of resources, forums, and documentation available. Sphinx, while having a smaller community, still has sufficient resources and documentation available for developers to utilize.

In Summary, Lucene and Sphinx differ in their indexing approach, scalability, query languages, supported document formats, integrations, and community size.