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Object field type
An object field type contains a JSON object (a set of name/value pairs). A value in a JSON object may be another JSON object. It is not necessary to specify object
as the type when mapping object fields because object
is the default type.
Example
Create a mapping with an object field:
PUT testindex1/_mappings
{
"properties": {
"patient": {
"properties" :
{
"name" : {
"type" : "text"
},
"id" : {
"type" : "keyword"
}
}
}
}
}
Index a document with an object field:
PUT testindex1/_doc/1
{
"patient": {
"name" : "John Doe",
"id" : "123456"
}
}
Nested objects are stored as flat key/value pairs internally. To refer to a field in a nested object, use parent field
.child field
(for example, patient.id
).
Search for a patient with ID 123456:
GET testindex1/_search
{
"query": {
"term" : {
"patient.id" : "123456"
}
}
}
Parameters
The following table lists the parameters accepted by object field types. All parameters are optional.
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
dynamic | Specifies whether new fields can be dynamically added to this object. Valid values are true , false , and strict . Default is true . |
enabled | A Boolean value that specifies whether the JSON contents of the object should be parsed. If enabled is set to false , the object’s contents are not indexed or searchable, but they are still retrievable from the _source field. Default is true . |
properties | Fields of this object, which can be of any supported type. New properties can be dynamically added to this object if dynamic is set to true . |
The dynamic
parameter
The dynamic
parameter specifies whether new fields can be dynamically added to an object that is already indexed.
For example, you can initially create a mapping with a patient
object that has only one field:
PUT testindex1/_mappings
{
"properties": {
"patient": {
"properties" :
{
"name" : {
"type" : "text"
}
}
}
}
}
Then you index a document with a new id
field in patient
:
PUT testindex1/_doc/1
{
"patient": {
"name" : "John Doe",
"id" : "123456"
}
}
As a result, the field id
is added to the mappings:
{
"testindex1" : {
"mappings" : {
"properties" : {
"patient" : {
"properties" : {
"id" : {
"type" : "text",
"fields" : {
"keyword" : {
"type" : "keyword",
"ignore_above" : 256
}
}
},
"name" : {
"type" : "text"
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
The dynamic
parameter has the following valid values.
Value | Description |
---|---|
true | New fields can be added to the mapping dynamically. This is the default. |
false | New fields cannot be added to the mapping dynamically. If a new field is detected, it is not indexed or searchable. However, it is still retrievable from the _source field. |
strict | When new fields are added to the mapping dynamically, an exception is thrown. To add a new field to an object, you have to add it to the mapping first. |
Inner objects inherit the dynamic
parameter value from their parent unless they declare their own dynamic
parameter value.