Define and disambiguate Elasticsearch in glossary #4031

leemthompo · 2025-11-21T13:47:54Z

Just some ideation around a "canonical disambiguation" of Elasticsearch as being discussed in this internal doc

github-actions · 2025-11-21T13:48:55Z

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File	Line	Rule	Message
reference/glossary/index.md	566	Elastic.WordChoice	Consider using 'refer to (if it's a document), view (if it's a UI element)' instead of 'See', unless the term is in the UI.

github-actions · 2025-11-21T13:50:53Z

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reference/glossary/index.md

lcawl · 2025-11-21T17:13:34Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+The term "{{es}}" has several meanings depending on the context in which it is used.
+
+**The standalone software**
+- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).


Is project intentional here?

Suggested change

- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).

- The [`elasticsearch` open source product](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).

it was intentional, but maybe we don't need to mention either project or product here

is it important that we hint about methods of installation at this stage? for our own disambiguation needs, I think we need to get across that it is:

an analytics engine/data store/vector DB

an installable piece of software

a component of our platform / the elastic stack

lcawl · 2025-11-21T17:31:59Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+
+<br>
+**The platform**
+- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.


IMO this is the piece that still needs refinement since it's not clear on that site how the "platform" concept overlaps with the Stack or the deployment types.

Suggested change

- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.

- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.

yeah we shouldn't link there, this is all mainly food for thought, but perhaps if we define "platform" satisfactorily in the glossary too, we can just link to that definition here and reuse it when we revisit the fundamentals or wherever we explain the platform more thoroughly

shainaraskas

i like this direction but added some picky comments because it is my hobby

what this hints to me is that us pivoting from elasticsearch to search for the use case docs is even more important

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:46:58Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+The term "{{es}}" has several meanings depending on the context in which it is used.
+
+**The standalone software**
+- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).


is it important that we hint about methods of installation at this stage? for our own disambiguation needs, I think we need to get across that it is:

an analytics engine/data store/vector DB

an installable piece of software

a component of our platform / the elastic stack

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:48:19Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+
+**The standalone software**
+- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).
+- An `elasticsearch` [node](#glossary-node) is a running instance of the software, which can be part of a [cluster](#glossary-cluster) and exposes REST API endpoints. Refer to the [reference documentation](elasticsearch://reference/elasticsearch/index.md) for usage details.


I don't think we refer to nodes as "elasticsearch". we're more likely to refer to a cluster as "elasticsearch". would suggest removing this, and, in the definition above, we could say that it is distributable and link out to the architecture docs

also think that throwing to the reference docs does not help the user at this stage

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:49:37Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+
+<br>
+**The project type / solution view**
+- {{es}} is the name of a [project type (or solution view)](/solutions/search.md) that includes UI features tailored for general-purpose search use cases:


do we need to specify that what it brings is UI features? could we just say "that is tailored for x"?

consider splitting this in two and defining them separately to reduce mental load

looking at this again, I see what you wrapped them together (to connect them well to the search solution section). I still think we should split them and just link to the search section on general-purpose search use cases or something instead in each definition perhaps

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:50:04Z

reference/glossary/index.md

+
+<br>
+**The platform**
+- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.


consider rolling stack into this (another former/current name of the platform, currently the docs name for the versioned platform)

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:51:02Z

reference/glossary/index.md


+$$$glossary-elasticsearch$$$ {{es}}
+:   The open source search and analytics engine, data store, and vector database which is the core of the [{{stack}}](#glossary-elastic-stack) and powers the Elastic platform.
+:::{admonition} Disambiguation


nitpick: disambiguation is a big word. how does "What else can Elasticsearch mean?" or something a little friendlier strike you?

shainaraskas · 2025-11-21T20:51:52Z

reference/glossary/index.md

 :   Also known as the *ELK Stack*, the {{stack}} is the combination of various Elastic products that integrate for a scalable and flexible way to manage your data.

+$$$glossary-elasticsearch$$$ {{es}}
+:   The open source search and analytics engine, data store, and vector database which is the core of the [{{stack}}](#glossary-elastic-stack) and powers the Elastic platform.


🤔 what if this glossary definition just had all of the disambiguation stuff in it? elasticsearch might mean any of these things: ...

Define and disambiguate Elasticsearch in glossary

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leemthompo self-assigned this Nov 21, 2025

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precision, use glossary link for spaces

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lcawl reviewed Nov 21, 2025

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shainaraskas reviewed Nov 21, 2025

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	- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).
	- The [`elasticsearch` open source product](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).

	- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.
	- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.

Define and disambiguate Elasticsearch in glossary #4031

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github-actions bot commented Nov 21, 2025 •

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