algolia how to orderby string-value and geolocation - algolia

Question

I am working on a prototype for a new product, need some help to figure out algolia feasibility. I did go through their documentation but couldn't find right answer. Any help appreciated.
Best example of our data is classified. In dataset we have geolocation(lat-lng) and category
[
{
category: 'retail_shops',
"_geoloc": {
"lat": 40.639751,
"lng": -73.778925
},
title: 'walget1'
},
{
category: 'retail_shops',
"_geoloc": {
"lat": 40.639751,
"lng": -73.778925
},
title: 'walget1'
},
]
Search Requirement
sortby category, selected category first, then all other in anyorder
sortby geolocation, this is secondary filter
We need to display all data in the system but selected category first and distance as secondary.
I am trying to do this is javascript, did find find search and searchForFacetValues methods but documentation is all-around. Any ideal how to achieve this? don't need code but general guidance will definitely help.

Answer 1

In order to do so, you can use a multiple-queries strategy, where you would have a query with a filter that matches the category, and then another query that matches all objects not in the category. In the query parameters you can then use the aroundLatLng field or the aroundLatLngViaIp field.
The following snippet should help you get a better understanding of how to achieve what you want:
const client = algoliasearch('ApplicationID', 'apiKey');
// these two values would be obtained from somewhere (like InstantSearch)
const query = 'walg';
const category = 'retail_shops';
const queries = [{
indexName: 'products',
query: `${query}`,
params: {
hitsPerPage: 3,
filters: `category:${category}`,
aroundLatLngViaIP:true
}
}, {
indexName: 'products',
query: `${query}`,
params: {
hitsPerPage: 10,
filters: `NOT category:${category}`,
aroundLatLngViaIP:true
}
}];
const searchCallback = (err, content) => {
if (err) {
console.error(err);
return;
}
const categorySpecificResults = content.results[0];
for (var i = 0; i < categorySpecificResults.hits.length; ++i) {
console.log(categorySpecificResults.hits[i]);
}
const geolocatedOnlyResults = content.results[1];
for (var i = 0; i < geolocatedOnlyResults.hits.length; ++i) {
console.log(geolocatedOnlyResults.hits[i]);
}
}
// perform the 2 queries in a single API call:
// - 1st query targets index `products` with category filter and geolocation
// - 2nd query targets index `products` with negative category filter and geolocation
client.search(queries, searchCallback);
You will find more information about how to use multiple queries on this page:
How to use multiple Queries
If you want a more fine grained control on the geolocation, like for instance defining a precision or a maximum range for the search, you can find more about these different features on these pages:
aroundLatLng: used when you want to define the geographical center of your query
aroundRadius: used to limit a search to a certain range around the center of the query
aroundPrecision: defines how precise the ranking has to be when it comes to distance.