Can I use solr pecl extension for a production application?

Question

Currently we are using some custom classes for interacting with solr, which are not neatly organized and layered. I am supposed to revamp it but I want to give a try to solr extension.

I am curious to know the stability of current release, how frequently it is updated and weather I will get continued support in future. should i depend on this extension.

Answer 1

you need to see this link it answers all your questions: http://pecl.php.net/package/solr

I'm currently using pecl extension 2.0.0b fo solr 4.x, it is still beta version but it is very useful and clean, so you can rely on it but with precaution(because it may contain bugs).

If y'oure using solr3.x then the 1.0.1 or 1.0.2 releases of the extention are stable and are so recommended.

It effectively simplifies the process of interacting with Apache Solr using PHP5 and it already comes with built-in readiness for the latest features.

The extension has features such as built-in, serializable query string builder objects which effectively simplifies the manipulation of name-value pair request parameters across repeated requests.

The response from the Solr server is also automatically parsed into native php objects whose properties can be accessed as array keys or object properties without any additional configuration on the client-side.

edit: curious to know the stability of current release 2.0.0.x, how frequently it is updated and weather I will get continued support in future. should i depend on this extension.

you can see this link that shows that the extention 2.0.0 or php-pecl-solr2 is really under work and frequently updated:this means that there will be sooner a stable release. and it wil be supported in the future see this link : http://www.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=php-pecl-solr2

and for depending on it in production here is what do one of it's developers says:

version 2.0.0b is tested, however it introduces new functionalities, and some API changes and beta is done mostly so that people can try it and give feedback of any bugs or errors + so people can transition smoothly from the old API to the new one, so general rule, beta versions shall not be used in production. by Omar A. Shaban

Answer 2

The extension will be supported, so you don't have to worry about that.

The current beta versions(2.0.0b, 1.1.0b) have proven to be stable enough for production since there are zero issues reported since their release dates.

What is holding them back till now is the support of SolrServer Exceptions as native exceptions not raw error responses.

To give you a sneak peak of the road map is that PECL Solr will support DisMax/eDisMax Query Parsers natively, and Solr Spatial Features natively + some enhancements in the current QueryResponse + more examples in the docs.

Feature requests are most welcome. Anyone can post them to http://bugs.php.net or send to omars@php.net