DrMark-thinking-sphinx 1.1.15 → 1.2.5

data/lib/thinking_sphinx/search_methods.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,421 @@
+module ThinkingSphinx
+  module SearchMethods
+    def self.included(base)
+      base.class_eval do
+        extend ThinkingSphinx::SearchMethods::ClassMethods
+      end
+    end
+    
+    module ClassMethods
+      def search_context
+        # Comparing to name string to avoid class inheritance complications
+        case self.class.name
+        when 'Class'
+          self
+        else
+          nil
+        end
+      end
+      
+      # Searches through the Sphinx indexes for relevant matches. There's
+      # various ways to search, sort, group and filter - which are covered
+      # below.
+      #
+      # Also, if you have WillPaginate installed, the search method can be used
+      # just like paginate. The same parameters - :page and :per_page - work as
+      # expected, and the returned result set can be used by the will_paginate
+      # helper.
+      # 
+      # == Basic Searching
+      #
+      # The simplest way of searching is straight text.
+      # 
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search "pat"
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search "google"
+      #   User.search "pat", :page => (params[:page] || 1)
+      #   Article.search "relevant news issue of the day"
+      #
+      # If you specify :include, like in an #find call, this will be respected
+      # when loading the relevant models from the search results.
+      # 
+      #   User.search "pat", :include => :posts
+      #
+      # == Match Modes
+      #
+      # Sphinx supports 5 different matching modes. By default Thinking Sphinx
+      # uses :all, which unsurprisingly requires all the supplied search terms
+      # to match a result.
+      #
+      # Alternative modes include:
+      #
+      #   User.search "pat allan", :match_mode => :any
+      #   User.search "pat allan", :match_mode => :phrase
+      #   User.search "pat | allan", :match_mode => :boolean
+      #   User.search "@name pat | @username pat", :match_mode => :extended
+      #
+      # Any will find results with any of the search terms. Phrase treats the
+      # search terms a single phrase instead of individual words. Boolean and 
+      # extended allow for more complex query syntax, refer to the sphinx
+      # documentation for further details.
+      #
+      # == Weighting
+      #
+      # Sphinx has support for weighting, where matches in one field can be
+      # considered more important than in another. Weights are integers, with 1
+      # as the default. They can be set per-search like this:
+      #
+      #   User.search "pat allan", :field_weights => { :alias => 4, :aka => 2 }
+      #
+      # If you're searching multiple models, you can set per-index weights:
+      #
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search "pat", :index_weights => { User => 10 }
+      #
+      # See http://sphinxsearch.com/doc.html#weighting for further details.
+      #
+      # == Searching by Fields
+      # 
+      # If you want to step it up a level, you can limit your search terms to
+      # specific fields:
+      # 
+      #   User.search :conditions => {:name => "pat"}
+      #
+      # This uses Sphinx's extended match mode, unless you specify a different
+      # match mode explicitly (but then this way of searching won't work). Also
+      # note that you don't need to put in a search string.
+      #
+      # == Searching by Attributes
+      #
+      # Also known as filters, you can limit your searches to documents that
+      # have specific values for their attributes. There are three ways to do
+      # this. The first two techniques work in all scenarios - using the :with
+      # or :with_all options.
+      #
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search :with => {:tag_ids => 10}
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search :with => {:tag_ids => [10,12]}
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search :with_all => {:tag_ids => [10,12]}
+      #
+      # The first :with search will match records with a tag_id attribute of 10.
+      # The second :with will match records with a tag_id attribute of 10 OR 12.
+      # If you need to find records that are tagged with ids 10 AND 12, you
+      # will need to use the :with_all search parameter. This is particuarly
+      # useful in conjunction with Multi Value Attributes (MVAs).
+      #
+      # The third filtering technique is only viable if you're searching with a
+      # specific model (not multi-model searching). With a single model,
+      # Thinking Sphinx can figure out what attributes and fields are available,
+      # so you can put it all in the :conditions hash, and it will sort it out.
+      # 
+      #   Node.search :conditions => {:parent_id => 10}
+      # 
+      # Filters can be single values, arrays of values, or ranges.
+      # 
+      #   Article.search "East Timor", :conditions => {:rating => 3..5}
+      #
+      # == Excluding by Attributes
+      #
+      # Sphinx also supports negative filtering - where the filters are of
+      # attribute values to exclude. This is done with the :without option:
+      #
+      #   User.search :without => {:role_id => 1}
+      #
+      # == Excluding by Primary Key
+      #
+      # There is a shortcut to exclude records by their ActiveRecord primary
+      # key:
+      #
+      #   User.search :without_ids => 1
+      #
+      # Pass an array or a single value.
+      #
+      # The primary key must be an integer as a negative filter is used. Note
+      # that for multi-model search, an id may occur in more than one model.
+      #
+      # == Infix (Star) Searching
+      # 
+      # Enable infix searching by something like this in config/sphinx.yml:
+      #
+      #   development:
+      #     enable_star: 1
+      #     min_infix_len: 2
+      #
+      # Note that this will make indexing take longer.
+      #
+      # With those settings (and after reindexing), wildcard asterisks can be
+      # used in queries:
+      #
+      #   Location.search "*elbourn*"
+      #
+      # To automatically add asterisks around every token (but not operators),
+      # pass the :star option:
+      #
+      #   Location.search "elbourn -ustrali", :star => true,
+      #     :match_mode => :boolean
+      #
+      # This would become "*elbourn* -*ustrali*". The :star option only adds the
+      # asterisks. You need to make the config/sphinx.yml changes yourself.
+      #
+      # By default, the tokens are assumed to match the regular expression
+      # /\w+/u. If you've modified the charset_table, pass another regular
+      # expression, e.g.
+      #
+      #   User.search("oo@bar.c", :star => /[\w@.]+/u)
+      #
+      # to search for "*oo@bar.c*" and not "*oo*@*bar*.*c*".
+      #
+      # == Sorting
+      #
+      # Sphinx can only sort by attributes, so generally you will need to avoid
+      # using field names in your :order option. However, if you're searching
+      # on a single model, and have specified some fields as sortable, you can
+      # use those field names and Thinking Sphinx will interpret accordingly.
+      # Remember: this will only happen for single-model searches, and only
+      # through the :order option.
+      #
+      #   Location.search "Melbourne", :order => :state
+      #   User.search :conditions => {:role_id => 2}, :order => "name ASC"
+      #
+      # Keep in mind that if you use a string, you *must* specify the direction
+      # (ASC or DESC) else Sphinx won't return any results. If you use a symbol
+      # then Thinking Sphinx assumes ASC, but if you wish to state otherwise,
+      # use the :sort_mode option:
+      #
+      #   Location.search "Melbourne", :order => :state, :sort_mode => :desc
+      #
+      # Of course, there are other sort modes - check out the Sphinx
+      # documentation[http://sphinxsearch.com/doc.html] for that level of
+      # detail though.
+      #
+      # If desired, you can sort by a column in your model instead of a sphinx
+      # field or attribute. This sort only applies to the current page, so is
+      # most useful when performing a search with a single page of results.
+      #
+      #   User.search("pat", :sql_order => "name")
+      #
+      # == Grouping
+      # 
+      # For this you can use the group_by, group_clause and group_function
+      # options - which are all directly linked to Sphinx's expectations. No
+      # magic from Thinking Sphinx. It can get a little tricky, so make sure
+      # you read all the relevant
+      # documentation[http://sphinxsearch.com/doc.html#clustering] first.
+      # 
+      # Grouping is done via three parameters within the options hash
+      # * <tt>:group_function</tt> determines the way grouping is done
+      # * <tt>:group_by</tt> determines the field which is used for grouping
+      # * <tt>:group_clause</tt> determines the sorting order 
+      #
+      # As a convenience, you can also use
+      # * <tt>:group</tt>
+      # which sets :group_by and defaults to :group_function of :attr
+      # 
+      # === group_function
+      #  
+      # Valid values for :group_function are
+      # * <tt>:day</tt>, <tt>:week</tt>, <tt>:month</tt>, <tt>:year</tt> - Grouping is done by the respective timeframes. 
+      # * <tt>:attr</tt>, <tt>:attrpair</tt> - Grouping is done by the specified attributes(s)
+      # 
+      # === group_by
+      #
+      # This parameter denotes the field by which grouping is done. Note that
+      # the specified field must be a sphinx attribute or index.
+      #
+      # === group_clause
+      #
+      # This determines the sorting order of the groups. In a grouping search,
+      # the matches within a group will sorted by the <tt>:sort_mode</tt> and
+      # <tt>:order</tt> parameters. The group matches themselves however, will
+      # be sorted by <tt>:group_clause</tt>. 
+      # 
+      # The syntax for this is the same as an order parameter in extended sort
+      # mode. Namely, you can specify an SQL-like sort expression with up to 5
+      # attributes (including internal attributes), eg: "@relevance DESC, price
+      # ASC, @id DESC"
+      #
+      # === Grouping by timestamp
+      # 
+      # Timestamp grouping groups off items by the day, week, month or year of 
+      # the attribute given. In order to do this you need to define a timestamp
+      # attribute, which pretty much looks like the standard defintion for any
+      # attribute.
+      #
+      #   define_index do
+      #     #
+      #     # All your other stuff
+      #     #
+      #     has :created_at
+      #   end
+      #
+      # When you need to fire off your search, it'll go something to the tune of
+      #   
+      #   Fruit.search "apricot", :group_function => :day,
+      #     :group_by => 'created_at'
+      #
+      # The <tt>@groupby</tt> special attribute will contain the date for that
+      # group. Depending on the <tt>:group_function</tt> parameter, the date
+      # format will be:
+      #
+      # * <tt>:day</tt> - YYYYMMDD
+      # * <tt>:week</tt> - YYYYNNN (NNN is the first day of the week in question, 
+      #   counting from the start of the year )
+      # * <tt>:month</tt> - YYYYMM
+      # * <tt>:year</tt> - YYYY
+      #
+      # === Grouping by attribute
+      #
+      # The syntax is the same as grouping by timestamp, except for the fact
+      # that the <tt>:group_function</tt> parameter is changed.
+      #
+      #   Fruit.search "apricot", :group_function => :attr, :group_by => 'size'
+      # 
+      # == Geo/Location Searching
+      #
+      # Sphinx - and therefore Thinking Sphinx - has the facility to search
+      # around a geographical point, using a given latitude and longitude. To
+      # take advantage of this, you will need to have both of those values in
+      # attributes. To search with that point, you can then use one of the
+      # following syntax examples:
+      # 
+      #   Address.search "Melbourne", :geo => [1.4, -2.217],
+      #     :order => "@geodist asc"
+      #   Address.search "Australia", :geo => [-0.55, 3.108],
+      #     :order => "@geodist asc" :latitude_attr => "latit",
+      #     :longitude_attr => "longit"
+      # 
+      # The first example applies when your latitude and longitude attributes
+      # are named any of lat, latitude, lon, long or longitude. If that's not
+      # the case, you will need to explicitly state them in your search, _or_
+      # you can do so in your model:
+      #
+      #   define_index do
+      #     has :latit  # Float column, stored in radians
+      #     has :longit # Float column, stored in radians
+      #     
+      #     set_property :latitude_attr   => "latit"
+      #     set_property :longitude_attr  => "longit"
+      #   end
+      # 
+      # Now, geo-location searching really only has an affect if you have a
+      # filter, sort or grouping clause related to it - otherwise it's just a
+      # normal search, and _will not_ return a distance value otherwise. To
+      # make use of the positioning difference, use the special attribute
+      # "@geodist" in any of your filters or sorting or grouping clauses.
+      # 
+      # And don't forget - both the latitude and longitude you use in your
+      # search, and the values in your indexes, need to be stored as a float in
+      # radians, _not_ degrees. Keep in mind that if you do this conversion in 
+      # SQL you will need to explicitly declare a column type of :float.
+      #
+      #   define_index do
+      #     has 'RADIANS(lat)', :as => :lat,  :type => :float
+      #     # ...
+      #   end
+      # 
+      # Once you've got your results set, you can access the distances as
+      # follows:
+      # 
+      # @results.each_with_geodist do |result, distance|
+      #   # ...
+      # end
+      # 
+      # The distance value is returned as a float, representing the distance in
+      # metres.
+      # 
+      # == Handling a Stale Index
+      #
+      # Especially if you don't use delta indexing, you risk having records in
+      # the Sphinx index that are no longer in the database. By default, those 
+      # will simply come back as nils:
+      #
+      #   >> pat_user.delete
+      #   >> User.search("pat")
+      #   Sphinx Result: [1,2]
+      #   => [nil, <#User id: 2>]
+      #
+      # (If you search across multiple models, you'll get
+      # ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound.)
+      #
+      # You can simply Array#compact these results or handle the nils in some 
+      # other way, but Sphinx will still report two results, and the missing
+      # records may upset your layout.
+      #
+      # If you pass :retry_stale => true to a single-model search, missing
+      # records will cause Thinking Sphinx to retry the query but excluding
+      # those records. Since search is paginated, the new search could
+      # potentially include missing records as well, so by default Thinking
+      # Sphinx will retry three times. Pass :retry_stale => 5 to retry five
+      # times, and so on. If there are still missing ids on the last retry, they
+      # are shown as nils.
+      # 
+      def search(*args)
+        ThinkingSphinx::Search.new *search_options(args)
+      end
+      
+      # Searches for results that match the parameters provided. Will only
+      # return the ids for the matching objects. See #search for syntax
+      # examples.
+      #
+      # Note that this only searches the Sphinx index, with no ActiveRecord
+      # queries. Thus, if your index is not in sync with the database, this
+      # method may return ids that no longer exist there.
+      #
+      def search_for_ids(*args)
+        ThinkingSphinx::Search.new *search_options(args, :ids_only => true)
+      end
+      
+      # Checks if a document with the given id exists within a specific index.
+      # Expected parameters:
+      #
+      # - ID of the document
+      # - Index to check within
+      # - Options hash (defaults to {})
+      # 
+      # Example:
+      # 
+      #   ThinkingSphinx.search_for_id(10, "user_core", :class => User)
+      # 
+      def search_for_id(id, index, options = {})
+        ThinkingSphinx::Search.new(
+          *search_options([],
+            :ids_only => true,
+            :index    => index,
+            :id_range => id..id
+          )
+        ).any?
+      end
+      
+      def count(*args)
+        search_context ? super : search_count(*args)
+      end
+      
+      def search_count(*args)
+        search = ThinkingSphinx::Search.new(
+          *search_options(args, :ids_only => true)
+        )
+        search.first # forces the query
+        search.total_entries
+      end
+      
+      # Model.facets *args
+      # ThinkingSphinx.facets *args
+      # ThinkingSphinx.facets *args, :all_facets  => true
+      # ThinkingSphinx.facets *args, :class_facet     => false
+      # 
+      def facets(*args)
+        ThinkingSphinx::FacetSearch.new *search_options(args)
+      end
+      
+      private
+      
+      def search_options(args, options = {})
+        options = args.extract_options!.merge(options)
+        options[:classes] ||= classes_option
+        args << options
+      end
+      
+      def classes_option
+        classes_option = [search_context].compact
+        classes_option.empty? ? nil : classes_option
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end

data/lib/thinking_sphinx/source/internal_properties.rb

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
   class Source
     module InternalProperties
       def add_internal_attributes_and_facets
-        add_internal_attribute :sphinx_internal_id, :integer, @model.primary_key.to_sym
+        add_internal_attribute :sphinx_internal_id, :integer, @model.primary_key_for_sphinx.to_sym
         add_internal_attribute :class_crc,          :integer, crc_column, true
         add_internal_attribute :subclass_crcs,      :multi,   subclasses_to_s
         add_internal_attribute :sphinx_deleted,     :integer, "0"

data/lib/thinking_sphinx/source/sql.rb

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
 SELECT #{ sql_select_clause options[:offset] }
 FROM #{ @model.quoted_table_name }
   #{ all_associations.collect { |assoc| assoc.to_sql }.join(' ') }
-WHERE #{ sql_where_clause(options) }
+#{ sql_where_clause(options) }
 GROUP BY #{ sql_group_clause }
         SQL
 
@@ -30,11 +30,13 @@ GROUP BY #{ sql_group_clause }
       # so pass in :delta => true to get the delta version of the SQL.
       # 
       def to_sql_query_range(options={})
+        return nil if @index.options[:disable_range]
+        
         min_statement = adapter.convert_nulls(
-          "MIN(#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)})", 1
+          "MIN(#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)})", 1
         )
         max_statement = adapter.convert_nulls(
-          "MAX(#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)})", 1
+          "MAX(#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)})", 1
         )
 
         sql = "SELECT #{min_statement}, #{max_statement} " +
@@ -51,32 +53,32 @@ GROUP BY #{ sql_group_clause }
       # 
       def to_sql_query_info(offset)
         "SELECT * FROM #{@model.quoted_table_name} WHERE " +
-        "#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)} = (($id - #{offset}) / #{ThinkingSphinx.indexed_models.size})"
+        "#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)} = (($id - #{offset}) / #{ThinkingSphinx.indexed_models.size})"
       end
 
       def sql_select_clause(offset)
         unique_id_expr = ThinkingSphinx.unique_id_expression(offset)
 
         (
-          ["#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)} #{unique_id_expr} AS #{quote_column(@model.primary_key)} "] + 
+          ["#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)} #{unique_id_expr} AS #{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)} "] + 
           @fields.collect     { |field|     field.to_select_sql     } +
           @attributes.collect { |attribute| attribute.to_select_sql }
         ).compact.join(", ")
       end
 
       def sql_where_clause(options)
-        logic = [
-          "#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)} >= $start",
-          "#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)} <= $end"
-        ]
+        logic = []
+        logic += [
+          "#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)} >= $start",
+          "#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)} <= $end"
+        ] unless @index.options[:disable_range]
 
         if self.delta? && !@index.delta_object.clause(@model, options[:delta]).blank?
           logic << "#{@index.delta_object.clause(@model, options[:delta])}"
         end
 
         logic += (@conditions || [])
-
-        logic.join(" AND ")
+        logic.empty? ? "" : "WHERE #{logic.join(' AND ')}"
       end
 
       def sql_group_clause
@@ -86,7 +88,7 @@ GROUP BY #{ sql_group_clause }
         end
 
         (
-          ["#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key)}"] + 
+          ["#{@model.quoted_table_name}.#{quote_column(@model.primary_key_for_sphinx)}"] + 
           @fields.collect     { |field|     field.to_group_sql     }.compact +
           @attributes.collect { |attribute| attribute.to_group_sql }.compact +
           @groupings + internal_groupings
@@ -110,7 +112,9 @@ GROUP BY #{ sql_group_clause }
       end
 
       def crc_column
-        if @model.column_names.include?(@model.inheritance_column)
+        if @model.table_exists? &&
+          @model.column_names.include?(@model.inheritance_column)
+          
           adapter.cast_to_unsigned(adapter.convert_nulls(
             adapter.crc(adapter.quote_with_table(@model.inheritance_column), true),
             @model.to_crc32

data/lib/thinking_sphinx/source.rb

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
     
     attr_accessor :model, :fields, :attributes, :conditions, :groupings,
       :options
-    attr_reader :base
+    attr_reader :base, :index
     
     def initialize(index, options = {})
       @index        = index
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
       source.parent = "#{name}_core_#{index}"
       
       set_source_database_settings  source
-      set_source_attributes         source, offset
+      set_source_attributes         source, offset, true
       set_source_sql                source, offset, true
       
       source
@@ -89,9 +89,9 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
       source.sql_sock = config[:socket]
     end
     
-    def set_source_attributes(source, offset)
+    def set_source_attributes(source, offset, delta = false)
       attributes.each do |attrib|
-        source.send(attrib.type_to_config) << attrib.config_value(offset)
+        source.send(attrib.type_to_config) << attrib.config_value(offset, delta)
       end
     end
     
@@ -102,8 +102,8 @@ module ThinkingSphinx
       
       source.sql_query_pre += send(!delta ? :sql_query_pre_for_core : :sql_query_pre_for_delta)
       
-      if @options[:group_concat_max_len]
-        source.sql_query_pre << "SET SESSION group_concat_max_len = #{@options[:group_concat_max_len]}"
+      if @index.local_options[:group_concat_max_len]
+        source.sql_query_pre << "SET SESSION group_concat_max_len = #{@index.local_options[:group_concat_max_len]}"
       end
       
       source.sql_query_pre += [adapter.utf8_query_pre].compact if utf8?

data/lib/thinking_sphinx/tasks.rb

@@ -2,10 +2,19 @@ require 'fileutils'
 
 namespace :thinking_sphinx do
   task :app_env do
-    Rake::Task[:environment].invoke if defined?(RAILS_ROOT)
+    if defined?(RAILS_ROOT)
+      Rake::Task[:environment].invoke
+      Rails.configuration.cache_classes = false
+    end
+    
     Rake::Task[:merb_env].invoke    if defined?(Merb)
   end
   
+  desc "Output the current Thinking Sphinx version"
+  task :version => :app_env do
+    puts "Thinking Sphinx v" + ThinkingSphinx.version
+  end
+  
   desc "Stop if running, then start a Sphinx searchd daemon using Thinking Sphinx's settings"
   task :running_start => :app_env do
     Rake::Task["thinking_sphinx:stop"].invoke if sphinx_running?
@@ -21,9 +30,7 @@ namespace :thinking_sphinx do
     
     Dir["#{config.searchd_file_path}/*.spl"].each { |file| File.delete(file) }
 
-    cmd = "#{config.bin_path}searchd --pidfile --config #{config.config_file}"
-    puts cmd
-    system cmd
+    system! "#{config.bin_path}#{config.searchd_binary_name} --pidfile --config \"#{config.config_file}\""
     
     sleep(2)
     
@@ -39,7 +46,7 @@ namespace :thinking_sphinx do
     raise RuntimeError, "searchd is not running." unless sphinx_running?
     config = ThinkingSphinx::Configuration.instance
     pid    = sphinx_pid
-    system "#{config.bin_path}searchd --stop --config #{config.config_file}"
+    system! "#{config.bin_path}#{config.searchd_binary_name} --stop --config \"#{config.config_file}\""
     puts "Stopped search daemon (pid #{pid})."
   end
   
@@ -64,10 +71,17 @@ namespace :thinking_sphinx do
     end
         
     FileUtils.mkdir_p config.searchd_file_path
-    cmd = "#{config.bin_path}indexer --config #{config.config_file} --all"
+    cmd = "#{config.bin_path}#{config.indexer_binary_name} --config \"#{config.config_file}\" --all"
     cmd << " --rotate" if sphinx_running?
-    puts cmd
-    system cmd
+    
+    system! cmd
+  end
+  
+  desc "Stop Sphinx (if it's running), rebuild the indexes, and start Sphinx"
+  task :rebuild => :app_env do
+    Rake::Task["thinking_sphinx:stop"].invoke if sphinx_running?
+    Rake::Task["thinking_sphinx:index"].invoke
+    Rake::Task["thinking_sphinx:start"].invoke
   end
   
   namespace :index do
@@ -96,6 +110,8 @@ namespace :thinking_sphinx do
 end
 
 namespace :ts do
+  desc "Output the current Thinking Sphinx version"
+  task :version => "thinking_sphinx:version"
   desc "Stop if running, then start a Sphinx searchd daemon using Thinking Sphinx's settings"
   task :run     => "thinking_sphinx:running_start"
   desc "Start a Sphinx searchd daemon using Thinking Sphinx's settings"
@@ -115,6 +131,8 @@ namespace :ts do
   task :conf    => "thinking_sphinx:configure"
   desc "Generate the Sphinx configuration file using Thinking Sphinx's settings"
   task :config  => "thinking_sphinx:configure"
+  desc "Stop Sphinx (if it's running), rebuild the indexes, and start Sphinx"
+  task :rebuild => "thinking_sphinx:rebuild"
   desc "Process stored delta index requests"
   task :dd      => "thinking_sphinx:delayed_delta"
 end
@@ -126,3 +144,19 @@ end
 def sphinx_running?
   ThinkingSphinx.sphinx_running?
 end
+
+# a fail-fast, hopefully helpful version of system
+def system!(cmd)
+  unless system(cmd)
+    raise <<-SYSTEM_CALL_FAILED
+The following command failed:
+  #{cmd}
+
+This could be caused by a PATH issue in the environment of cron/passenger/etc. Your current PATH:
+  #{ENV['PATH']}
+You can set the path to your indexer and searchd binaries using the bin_path property in config/sphinx.yml:
+  production:
+    bin_path: '/usr/local/bin'
+SYSTEM_CALL_FAILED
+  end
+end