Making custom database text fields available for search

Question

I have a custom module that stores text records in a table, however this table records are not mapped to nor an entity neither a node, so as far as I know, I can't expose them to the search module or the search API.

So my question is how do I expose my data (custom table fields) to Drupal so I can use some sort of search module (preferably search API or the core search) ?.

Answer 1

You can use

• hook_search_info
• hook_update_index

To define your own search type and add the required data to the index.

Answer 2

I really think it is good practice to store the data as entities making you able to use views, search, editing, permissions, ... Take a look at the following snippet on how to store your data as entities. Use the Entity Construction Kit (ECK) module to create the entity bundle, type and fields and store your data like this:

$new_ent = entity_create('TYPENAME_YOU_DEFINE_IN_ECK', array(
  'uid' => 1, // the uid that created this record
  'type' => 'BUNDLENAME_YOU_DEFINE_IN_ECK',
  'field_FIELDNAME_YOU_DEFINE_IN_ECK' => 'TEXT_RECORD_VALUE'      
 ), 
))->save()

You'll even get an admin interface from ECK for free. After the creation, you can index the data also.