Search in SQLite

Generated on 10/3/2024

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To implement search functionality in your app using SQLite, you might want to consider leveraging Apple's Core Spotlight framework, which was discussed in the session titled "Support semantic search with Core Spotlight" at WWDC 2024. This session introduced new capabilities for semantic search, allowing users to search for content in your app using terms that are similar in meaning, rather than requiring exact matches.

Here are some key points from the session:

  • Semantic Search: Core Spotlight now supports query understanding with SemanticSearch, enabling more flexible search experiences by understanding the meaning behind search terms.
  • Indexing Content: To build a great search experience, you should donate searchable content to Spotlight. This involves creating a CS searchable item with a unique identifier and an attribute set.
  • Structured Queries: Use structured queries with metadata syntax to tailor search results to your app's user interface. This can include filtering results based on specific criteria, such as showing only images.
  • Ranking and Suggestions: You can boost the ranking of search results that are most relevant to the user and configure suggestions to enhance the search experience.

For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the session Support semantic search with Core Spotlight (01:37) which covers searchable content and how to integrate it into your app.

If you are interested in using SwiftData for search functionality, the session "What’s new in SwiftData" discusses using predicates and expressions to filter and sort data efficiently. You can learn more about this in the chapter on customizing queries and using the index macro for performance improvements.

For further exploration, you might also consider the session "What’s new in App Intents," which discusses integrating app entities with Spotlight for enhanced search capabilities.

What’s new in App Intents

What’s new in App Intents

Learn about improvements and all-new features with App Intents, and discover how this framework can help you expose your app’s functionality to Siri, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and more. We’ll show you how to make your entities more meaningful to the platform with the Transferable API, File Representations, new IntentFile APIs, and Spotlight Indexing, opening up powerful functionality in Siri and the Shortcuts app. Empower your intents to take people deep into your app with URL Representable Entities. Explore new techniques to model your entities and intents with new APIs for error handling and union values.

What’s new in SwiftData

What’s new in SwiftData

SwiftData makes it easy to add persistence to your app with its expressive, declarative API. Learn about refinements to SwiftData, including compound uniqueness constraints, faster queries with #Index, queries in Xcode previews, and rich predicate expressions. Join us to explore how you can use all of these features to express richer models and improve performance in your app. To discover how to build a custom data store or use the history API in SwiftData, watch “Create a custom data store with SwiftData” and “Track model changes with SwiftData history”.

Meet FinanceKit

Meet FinanceKit

Learn how FinanceKit lets your financial management apps seamlessly and securely share on-device data from Apple Cash, Apple Card, and more, with user consent and control. Find out how to request one-time and ongoing access to accounts, transactions, and balances — and how to build great experiences for iOS and iPadOS.

Bring your app to Siri

Bring your app to Siri

Learn how to use App Intents to expose your app’s functionality to Siri. Understand which intents are already available for your use, and how to create custom intents to integrate actions from your app into the system. We’ll also cover what metadata to provide, making your entities searchable via Spotlight, annotating onscreen references, and much more.

Support semantic search with Core Spotlight

Support semantic search with Core Spotlight

Learn how to provide semantic search results in your app using Core Spotlight. Understand how to make your app’s content available in the user’s private, on-device index so people can search for items using natural language. We’ll also share how to optimize your app’s performance by scheduling indexing activities. To get the most out of this session, we recommend first checking out Core Spotlight documentation on the Apple Developer website.