Breaking filters down

Let's take another look at our filters query param. We'll use an example that's easier to read and reason about:

filters is a query parameter that is sent to the search feature whenever a page is loaded.

The search feature is powered by a lightning-fast sophisticated search and discovery API. Currently, complex queries over large data sets of 10K documents or more take as little as 3ms to run. It leverages advanced search algorithms and indexing techniques to swiftly search through large volumes of data in real time. The true power of the search feature comes from filtering.

Our filter above has the following meaning to the search feature:

Before the search feature can understand the filters param, I have to convert it to a "language" it understands.

From here on, this article will get a little more technical.