Question

I understand that with Cassandra, it is possible to search using secondary indexes, but the problem is I am trying to search on information from a super column. So I want to search on a value within a super column, but return everything within that row (not just that one super column).Is this possible to do?

My understanding is that Facebook and Twitter use Cassandra, and so it would seem quite pointless if they have search facilities but it is not possible to search using something built into Cassandra.

Please correct me if I have not understood the proper use of super columns within Cassandra.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You cannot search on a super column value, as secondary indexes are not supported for SCs. You should avoid using super columns for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they are effectively deprecated. Most super column use cases are supported through the use of composites–which will ultimately replace SCs. In the meantime, if you must search for a value in a SC, you will have to do so manually (i.e. in code) or using an external tool such as Hadoop or Solr.