This method has following consequences:

• The ActiveRecord::Base class is made searchable.

  Practically speaking, a SearchApi::Search::Base subclass that targets this model is created, prefilled with many automatic search keys (see SearchApi::Bridge::ActiveRecord).

• The ActiveRecord::Base class is able to define its own condition hash keys.

  Practically speaking, the SearchApi::Integration::ActiveRecord::Base methods are included, and specifically its search method that allows to define custom keys for condition hashes.

Example:

  class People < ActiveRecord::Base
    has_search_api

    # define age search key
    search :age do |search|
      { :conditions => ['birth_date BETWEEN ? AND ?',
                        (Date.today-search.age.years),
                        (Date.today-(search.age-1).years+1.day)]}
    end
  end

  People.search_class # => the SearchApi::Search::Base subclass for People.
  People.find(:all, :conditions => { :age => 30 })

Optional block is for advanced purpose only. It is executed as a class_eval block for the SearchApi::Search::Base subclass.

  class People < ActiveRecord::Base
    has_search_api do
      ...
    end
  end

[Source]

     # File lib/active_record_integration.rb, line 234
234:     def has_search_api(&block) # :yields:
235:       # Creates a new SearchApi::Search::Base subclass
236:       search_class = Class.new(::SearchApi::Search::Base)
237:       
238:       # Tells the SearchApi::Search::Base subclass which models it searches in
239:       search_class.model(self, :type_cast=>true)
240:       
241:       # Let given block define search keys
242:       search_class.class_eval(&block) if block
243:             
244:       (class << self; self; end).instance_eval do
245:         # The search_class method returns the SearchApi::Search::Base subclass.
246:         define_method(:search_class) { search_class }
247:         
248:         # Alter class behavior so that the SearchApi::Search::Base subclass seemlessly integrates.
249:         include ::SearchApi::Integration::ActiveRecord::Base
250:       end
251:       
252:       nil # don't pollute class creation
253:     end

Returns an SearchApi::Bridge::ActiveRecord instance.

The presence of this method allows ActiveRecord::Base subclasses to be used as models by SearchApi::Search::Base subclasses.

[Source]

     # File lib/active_record_bridge.rb, line 372
372:     def search_api_bridge
373:       SearchApi::Bridge::ActiveRecord.new(self)
374:     end