(RFC) Refactor search interface with unified SearchDispatch trait#773
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narendatha wants to merge 9 commits intomainfrom
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(RFC) Refactor search interface with unified SearchDispatch trait#773narendatha wants to merge 9 commits intomainfrom
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- Add SearchDispatch trait for unified search entry point - Split search types into separate files (graph_search, range_search, multihop_search, diverse_search) - Rename execute_search to search, parameters to search_params - Rename search_recorded to debug_search to signal debug-only intent - Move internal implementations to respective search type files - Add From impls for SearchParams/RangeSearchParams to new types - Add test helper functions in test modules for backwards compat - Bump version to 0.46.0
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Pull request overview
This PR refactors the search interface in the diskann crate to provide a unified entry point via the SearchDispatch trait. The refactoring improves code organization by moving search implementations to dedicated files and consolidates the API around a single index.search() method that dispatches to type-specific implementations.
Changes:
- Introduces
SearchDispatchtrait as the unified search interface, with separate implementations for standard graph search, range search, multihop (label-filtered) search, and diversity-aware search - Replaces multiple search methods (
execute_search,multihop_search,range_search) with a singlesearch()method that delegates toSearchDispatch::dispatch() - Renames
search_recordedtodebug_searchto clearly signal debug-only intent - Maintains backward compatibility by implementing
SearchDispatchfor the legacySearchParamstype
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 16 out of 17 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
diskann/src/graph/search/dispatch.rs |
Core SearchDispatch trait definition |
diskann/src/graph/search/graph_search.rs |
Standard k-NN graph search implementation (GraphSearch, RecordedGraphSearch) |
diskann/src/graph/search/range_search.rs |
Range-based search implementation and range_search_internal helper |
diskann/src/graph/search/multihop_search.rs |
Label-filtered search and multihop_search_internal helper, includes NotInMutWithLabelCheck predicate |
diskann/src/graph/search/diverse_search.rs |
Feature-gated diversity-aware search implementation |
diskann/src/graph/search/mod.rs |
Module organization with public re-exports |
diskann/src/graph/mod.rs |
Top-level re-exports of search types |
diskann/src/graph/index.rs |
New unified search() method, renamed debug_search(), removed old search methods, made internal helpers pub(crate) |
diskann/src/graph/test/cases/grid.rs |
Updated to use GraphSearch::new() and params.k |
diskann-providers/src/index/diskann_async.rs |
Test helper functions for backward-compatible multihop and range search calls |
diskann-providers/src/index/wrapped_async.rs |
Converts SearchParams to GraphSearch for unified API |
diskann-disk/src/search/provider/disk_provider.rs |
Updated to use GraphSearch and renamed debug_search |
diskann-benchmark-core/src/search/graph/*.rs |
Updated benchmark code to use new search dispatch API |
Cargo.toml, Cargo.lock |
Version bump to 0.46.0 across all workspace crates |
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This enables RecordedGraphSearch to implement SearchDispatch properly, since it holds &mut recorder which requires mutable access. - Change dispatch signature from &self to &mut self - Update index.search to take &mut P for search params - Implement SearchDispatch for RecordedGraphSearch - Remove apologetic comment about trait limitations - Update all callers to use &mut params
- RecordedGraphSearch in graph_search.rs - MultihopSearch in multihop_search.rs
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Subject: Re: [microsoft/DiskANN] (RFC) Refactor search interface with unified SearchDispatch trait (PR #773)
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Thanks @narendatha! I think this does a good job of tying together the disparate APIs we've gathered. I'm pretty strongly in favor of getting rid of the legacy SearchParams and RangeSearchParams to avoid clutter, and updating the structs defined in this PR to not expose all the methods as public and therefore render the constructor invariant checks invalid.
- Rename SearchDispatch trait to Search and move to mod.rs - Remove unnecessary doc comment about &mut self (can be inferred) - Remove 'feature-gated' mention from diverse_search.rs module doc - Fix banner styles to use ///// format instead of //=== - Make create_diverse_scratch an inherent method on DiverseSearch - Remove flat_search mention from index.search docs - Redirect debug_search to use RecordedGraphSearch internally - Revert version bump (0.46.0 -> 0.45.0) Co-authored-by: hildebrandmw <hildebrandmw@users.noreply.github.com>
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…roUsize - Rename GraphSearch to KnnSearch for clarity (k-NN search) - Change k_value and l_value from usize to NonZeroUsize (compile-time zero check) - Rename RecordedGraphSearch to RecordedKnnSearch - Move RangeSearch validation from misc.rs to range_search.rs - Remove deprecated SearchParams, SearchParamsError, RangeSearchParams, RangeSearchParamsError - Update all callers across diskann, diskann-providers, diskann-disk, diskann-benchmark crates - Remove ensure_positive helper (no longer needed with NonZeroUsize) - Fix duplicated cfg attribute in diverse_search.rs
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…e diverse_search_experimental, use DiverseSearch + search() directly
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Thanks @narendatha, I'm really liking how this is coming together!
| /// - [`search::KnnSearch`]: Standard k-NN graph-based search | ||
| /// - [`search::MultihopSearch`]: Label-filtered search with multi-hop expansion | ||
| /// - [`search::RangeSearch`]: Range-based search within a distance radius | ||
| /// - [`search::DiverseSearch`]: Diversity-aware search (feature-gated) |
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Quick naming/export observation, I'd like to hear your thoughts. The links here scope the search parameters to the search module, but they are also re-exported through graph.
There is a world where we structure it like
diskann::graph::search::KNN;
diskann::graph::search::MultiHop;
diskann::graph::search::Range;
diskann::graph::search::Diverse;
That is, we can drop the Search suffixes, use the module for namespacing, and do not reexport through graph (the Search trait itself should probably be reexported though).
What do you think?
| /// let result = index.search(&strategy, &context, &query, &mut params, &mut ()).await?; | ||
| /// // result.ids and result.distances contain the matches | ||
| /// ``` | ||
| pub fn search<'a, S, T, O: 'a, OB, P>( |
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IMO, search_params should probably come first now since it's the most important argument at this level for determining what kind of search is about to get run.
| strategy: &'a S, | ||
| context: &'a DP::Context, | ||
| query: &'a T, | ||
| search_params: &'a mut P, |
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Taking search_params by mutable reference is a bit unfortunate for the caller. I know why we did this, but it has an unfortunate side-effect of making it harder to work with in cases where mutability is not needed.
To that end, what if we do this:
- Take
search_paramsby value. - Implement
Searchfor bothKnnSearchand&KnnSearch- making sure thatKnnSearchby value simply delegates to the&KnnSearchimplementation.
It does make generic plumbing when mutability is required more tricky (i.e., we'd need HRTB all over the place), but I think that might be preferable to always forcing mutability?
| /// # Errors | ||
| /// | ||
| /// Returns an error if there is a failure accessing elements or computing distances. | ||
| fn dispatch<'a>( |
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You can drop the explicit lifetime 'a here. Additionally, when you drop the lifetime, you will be able to get rid of the explicit lifetime in DiskANNIndex::search as well.
| /// # Errors | ||
| /// | ||
| /// Returns an error if there is a failure accessing elements or computing distances. | ||
| fn dispatch<'a>( |
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Small preference for calling this method search, following the convention of traits having a single method named after themselves.
| /// | ||
| /// let mut params = KnnSearch::new(10, 100, None)?; | ||
| /// let stats = index.search(&strategy, &context, &query, &mut params, &mut output).await?; | ||
| /// ``` |
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I'd say that 90% of the time, I'm a fan of attaching documentation to the trait implementations and allowing that to be discovered while perusing rustdoc.
However, this feels like a situation where the algorithmic level documentation would be more discoverable if attached to the KnnSearch struct (and other searchers) themselves or as module-level documentation. The trait-impl can then include a cross-reference to the struct level documentation.
Basically - these structs exist almost exclusively to implement Search. So struct-level documentation feels appropriate.
Thinking of how this would look for users of the docs, I think it's cleaner. What do you think?
| } | ||
|
|
||
| impl From<KnnSearchError> for ANNError { | ||
| fn from(err: KnnSearchError) -> Self { |
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Recommend attaching #[track_caller] to all conversions to ANNError as it will improve the quality of the error message if backtraces are not collected.
| /// Search list size - controls accuracy vs speed tradeoff. | ||
| l_value: NonZeroUsize, | ||
| /// Optional beam width for parallel graph exploration. | ||
| beam_width: Option<usize>, |
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Since beam_width cannot be zero, we can embed it in an Option<NonZeroUsize> to formalize the guarantee.
| diskann::graph::SearchParams::new(run.search_n, *search_l, None).unwrap(); | ||
| let k = NonZeroUsize::new(run.search_n).expect("search_n must be non-zero"); | ||
| let l = NonZeroUsize::new(*search_l).expect("search_l must be non-zero"); | ||
| let search_params = diskann::graph::KnnSearch::new(k, l, None).unwrap(); |
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One small thing I noticed: since KnnSearch::new already checks the k <= l invariant, we could also check for non-zero there and simplify the caller's life.
This is especially relevant because I'm seeing expect being applied to the NonZeroUsize constructors where-as before those paths wouldn't necessarily panic.
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Refactor search interface with unified SearchDispatch trait
Summary
This PR refactors the search interface in
diskannto provide a unified entry point via theSearchDispatchtrait, improving code organization and API clarity. This also removes (un)popular SearchParams and search specific structs. This PR also removes (un)popular SearchParamsand replaces with search specific structs, so it is clear what params are used and which ones are ignored.Changes
New Architecture
SearchDispatchtrait - A unified dispatch interface that all search types implement, enabling a singleindex.search()entry pointdispatch.rs- Core trait definitiongraph_search.rs- Standard k-NN graph search (GraphSearch,RecordedGraphSearch)range_search.rs- Range-based search (RangeSearch,RangeSearchOutput)multihop_search.rs- Label-filtered search (MultihopSearch)diverse_search.rs- Diversity-aware search (DiverseSearch, feature-gated)API Changes
index.execute_search(..., parameters, ...)index.search(..., search_params, ...)index.search_recorded(...)index.debug_search(...)search()with dispatchCode Organization
range_search_internal,multihop_search_internal) to their respective search type filesNotInMutWithLabelCheckhelper tomultihop_search.rsFromimpls forSearchParams->GraphSearchandRangeSearchParams->RangeSearchgraph_search,multihop_search,range_search) fromDiskANNIndexto avoid encouraging direct useOther
search_recorded->debug_searchto clearly signal debug-only intentUsage Example
Why flat_search is not included
flat_searchremains a separate method because it has unique constraints incompatible withSearchDispatch: (1) it requires an additional generic boundSearchAccessor<'a>: IdIterator<I>that forces the strategy's accessor to support iteration over all IDs - a capability not all strategies provide, and (2) it takes an extravector_filterclosure parameter that other search types don't need. Sinceflat_searchis fundamentally a linear scan with filtering rather than a graph traversal, keeping it as a distinct method with its own signature is cleaner than complicating the trait to accommodate it.Testing
cargo build --workspacecargo test -p diskann -p diskann-providers -p diskann-disk