Recent updates don't seem to be taken into account (search results ordering)

[stouch]

I recently noticed that "Ain" in https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/ui/search.html gave in first result "Aisne" (another France admin division). Few days ago, I noticed that now it gives the good result which is well "Ain".

I ran an update on my nominatim instance and "Ain" still returns me "Aisne" instead of "Ain".

Is there a kind of cache or something that I should clear to see updates ? (for search results ordering)

Thanks,

[lonvia]

Hard to say without understanding why Aisne was previously the preferred result. Neither the relations of Ain nor Aisne have changed in the last 3 months, so they are certainly not the culprit. Maybe there used to be a place node but this is hard to determine after the fact. Is your instance publicly accessible?

[stouch]

It's private but I can give you debug results ? For Ain and Aisne if it can be useful ?
I use docker instance version 4.2 (Nominatim 4.2.3).

Full planet import with ADMIN style

[stouch]

For Ain :

Debug output for Geocode::lookup
Geocode:  'Query' => 'Ain'
          'Structured query' => False
          'Name keys' => 'name', '_place_name', 'brand', '_place_brand', 'official_name', '_place_official_name', 'short_name', '_place_short_name', 'ref', '_place_ref', 'type', '_place_type'
          'Excluded place IDs' => 
          'Limit (for searches)' => 20
          'Limit (for results)' => 10
          'Country codes' => 
          'Bounded search' => False
          'Viewbox' => 
          'Route points' => 
          'Route width' => False
          'Max rank' => 20
          'Min address rank' => 0
          'Max address rank' => 30
          'Address rank list' => 
Query Preprocessing
Search context:  'Near radius' => False
                 'Near point (SQL)' => ''
                 'Bounded viewbox' => False
                 'Viewbox (SQL, small)' => ''
                 'Viewbox (SQL, large)' => ''
                 'Viewbox (SQL, centre)' => ''
                 'Countries (SQL)' => ''
                 'Excluded IDs (SQL)' => ''
Base search:  'Search rank' => 0
              'Country code' => ''
              'Name terms' => 
              'Name terms (stop words)' => 
              'Address terms' => 
              'Address terms (stop words)' => 
              'Address terms (full words)' => ''
              'Special search' => 0
              'Class' => ''
              'Type' => ''
              'House number' => ''
              'Postcode' => ''
Tokenization
Phrase:  'ain'
Tokens:  'ain' => 'ain'
WordLists:  0 => 0 => 'ain'
SELECT word_id, word_token, type, word, info->>'op' as operator, info->>'class' as class, info->>'type' as ctype, info->>'count' as count, info->>'lookup' as lookup FROM word WHERE word_token in ('ain')

Valid Tokens:
Group	ID	Type	Info
ain
220569
'word'
'count' => 4
'terms' => 0
ain
819545
'word'
'count' => 1
'terms' => 0
ain
220543
'word'
'count' => 1
'terms' => 0
ain
81189
'partial'
'count' => 1133
Phrases:
Type	Phrase	WordSets
''
'Ain'
0 => 0 => 'ain'
Search candidates
rank	Name Tokens	Name Not	Address Tokens	Address Not	country	operator	class	type	postcode	housenumber
1	#ain(W 220569)#									
1	#ain(W 819545)#									
1	#ain(W 220543)#									
Search Loop, group 1, loop 1
rank	Name Tokens	Name Not	Address Tokens	Address Not	country	operator	class	type	postcode	housenumber
1	#ain(W 220569)#									
SELECT place_id, address_rank, ( SELECT count(*) FROM ( SELECT unnest(ARRAY[220569,819545,220543]) INTERSECT SELECT unnest(nameaddress_vector) ) s) as exactmatch FROM search_name WHERE name_vector @> ARRAY[220569] ORDER BY (CASE WHEN importance = 0 OR importance IS NULL THEN 0.75001-(search_rank::float/40) ELSE importance END) DESC, exactmatch DESC LIMIT 20

Place IDs:
Table	ID	House number	Exact Matches	Result rank
0
9285955
-1
0
0
0
1106143
-1
1
0
0
9849517
-1
0
0
0
228958
-1
0
0
Search Loop, group 1, loop 2
rank	Name Tokens	Name Not	Address Tokens	Address Not	country	operator	class	type	postcode	housenumber
1	#ain(W 819545)#									
SELECT place_id, address_rank, ( SELECT count(*) FROM ( SELECT unnest(ARRAY[220569,819545,220543]) INTERSECT SELECT unnest(nameaddress_vector) ) s) as exactmatch FROM search_name WHERE name_vector @> ARRAY[819545] ORDER BY (CASE WHEN importance = 0 OR importance IS NULL THEN 0.75001-(search_rank::float/40) ELSE importance END) DESC, exactmatch DESC LIMIT 20

Place IDs:
Table	ID	House number	Exact Matches	Result rank
0
9390177
-1
0
0
Search Loop, group 1, loop 3
rank	Name Tokens	Name Not	Address Tokens	Address Not	country	operator	class	type	postcode	housenumber
1	#ain(W 220543)#									
SELECT place_id, address_rank, ( SELECT count(*) FROM ( SELECT unnest(ARRAY[220569,819545,220543]) INTERSECT SELECT unnest(nameaddress_vector) ) s) as exactmatch FROM search_name WHERE name_vector @> ARRAY[220543] ORDER BY (CASE WHEN importance = 0 OR importance IS NULL THEN 0.75001-(search_rank::float/40) ELSE importance END) DESC, exactmatch DESC LIMIT 20

Place IDs:
Table	ID	House number	Exact Matches	Result rank
0
9273468
-1
0
0
Split results:  'head' => 9285955 => 'Table' => 0
                                     'ID' => 9285955
                                     'House number' => -1
                                     'Exact Matches' => 0
                                     'Result rank' => 0
                          1106143 => 'Table' => 0
                                     'ID' => 1106143
                                     'House number' => -1
                                     'Exact Matches' => 1
                                     'Result rank' => 0
                          9849517 => 'Table' => 0
                                     'ID' => 9849517
                                     'House number' => -1
                                     'Exact Matches' => 0
                                     'Result rank' => 0
                          228958 => 'Table' => 0
                                    'ID' => 228958
                                    'House number' => -1
                                    'Exact Matches' => 0
                                    'Result rank' => 0
                          9390177 => 'Table' => 0
                                     'ID' => 9390177
                                     'House number' => -1
                                     'Exact Matches' => 0
                                     'Result rank' => 0
                          9273468 => 'Table' => 0
                                     'ID' => 9273468
                                     'House number' => -1
                                     'Exact Matches' => 0
                                     'Result rank' => 0
                'tail' => 
Debug output for Place lookup
Ids from placex:  '9285955,1106143,9849517,228958,9390177,9273468'
SELECT osm_type, osm_id, class, type, admin_level, rank_search, rank_address, min(place_id) AS place_id, min(parent_place_id) AS parent_place_id, -1 as housenumber, country_code,get_address_by_language(place_id,-1,ARRAY['name','_place_name','brand','_place_brand','official_name','_place_official_name','short_name','_place_short_name','ref','_place_ref','type','_place_type']) AS langaddress, get_name_by_language(name,ARRAY['name','_place_name','brand','_place_brand','official_name','_place_official_name','short_name','_place_short_name','ref','_place_ref','type','_place_type']) AS placename, get_name_by_language(name, ARRAY['ref']) AS ref, avg(ST_X(centroid)) AS lon, avg(ST_Y(centroid)) AS lat, COALESCE(importance,0.75-(rank_search::float/40)) AS importance, (SELECT max(ai_p.importance * (ai_p.rank_address + 2)) FROM place_addressline ai_s, placex ai_p WHERE ai_s.place_id = min(CASE WHEN placex.rank_search < 28 THEN placex.place_id ELSE placex.parent_place_id END) AND ai_p.place_id = ai_s.address_place_id AND ai_s.isaddress AND ai_p.importance is not null) AS addressimportance, COALESCE(extratags->'place', extratags->'linked_place') AS extra_place FROM placex WHERE place_id in (9285955,1106143,9849517,228958,9390177,9273468) AND ( placex.rank_address between 0 and 30 OR (extratags->'place') = 'city' ) AND linked_place_id is null GROUP BY osm_type, osm_id, class, type, admin_level, rank_search, rank_address, housenumber, country_code, importance, langaddress, placename, ref, extra_place

Places:  9285955 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                    'osm_id' => 7387
                    'class' => 'boundary'
                    'type' => 'administrative'
                    'admin_level' => 6
                    'rank_search' => 12
                    'rank_address' => 12
                    'place_id' => 9285955
                    'parent_place_id' => 9580804
                    'housenumber' => -1
                    'country_code' => 'fr'
                    'langaddress' => 'Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France métropolitaine, France'
                    'placename' => 'Ain'
                    'ref' => '01'
                    'lon' => '5.28478031423462'
                    'lat' => '46.06551335'
                    'importance' => 0.61891985305069
                    'addressimportance' => '6.839572048786384'
                    'extra_place' => 
                    'addresstype' => 'county'
         1106143 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                    'osm_id' => 1226192397
                    'class' => 'place'
                    'type' => 'village'
                    'admin_level' => 15
                    'rank_search' => 19
                    'rank_address' => 16
                    'place_id' => 1106143
                    'parent_place_id' => 9849517
                    'housenumber' => -1
                    'country_code' => 'ye'
                    'langaddress' => 'الحجب, مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                    'placename' => 'الحجب'
                    'ref' => 'Al Ḩajab'
                    'lon' => '45.5295672'
                    'lat' => '14.8508919'
                    'importance' => 0.27501
                    'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                    'extra_place' => 
                    'addresstype' => 'village'
         9849517 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                    'osm_id' => 9865291
                    'class' => 'boundary'
                    'type' => 'administrative'
                    'admin_level' => 6
                    'rank_search' => 12
                    'rank_address' => 12
                    'place_id' => 9849517
                    'parent_place_id' => 9397580
                    'housenumber' => -1
                    'country_code' => 'ye'
                    'langaddress' => 'مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                    'placename' => 'مديرية عين'
                    'ref' => 'Ain'
                    'lon' => '45.600437'
                    'lat' => '14.928287'
                    'importance' => 0.26771915055605
                    'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                    'extra_place' => 'district'
                    'addresstype' => 'county'
         228958 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                   'osm_id' => 151766111
                   'class' => 'place'
                   'type' => 'hamlet'
                   'admin_level' => 15
                   'rank_search' => 20
                   'rank_address' => 20
                   'place_id' => 228958
                   'parent_place_id' => 9476249
                   'housenumber' => -1
                   'country_code' => 'us'
                   'langaddress' => 'Ain, Grant County, Arkansas, United States'
                   'placename' => 'Ain'
                   'ref' => 'Ain'
                   'lon' => '-92.3376518'
                   'lat' => '34.208431'
                   'importance' => 0.25001
                   'addressimportance' => '7.046922613107118'
                   'extra_place' => 
                   'addresstype' => 'hamlet'
         9390177 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                    'osm_id' => 344299
                    'class' => 'boundary'
                    'type' => 'administrative'
                    'admin_level' => 8
                    'rank_search' => 16
                    'rank_address' => 16
                    'place_id' => 9390177
                    'parent_place_id' => 9452539
                    'housenumber' => -1
                    'country_code' => 'es'
                    'langaddress' => 'Aín, la Plana Baixa, Castelló / Castellón, Comunitat Valenciana, España'
                    'placename' => 'Aín'
                    'ref' => 'Ahín'
                    'lon' => '-0.3409807'
                    'lat' => '39.9007811'
                    'importance' => 0.45520772335271
                    'addressimportance' => '7.769498378370569'
                    'extra_place' => 'village'
                    'addresstype' => 'city'
         9273468 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                    'osm_id' => 7411
                    'class' => 'boundary'
                    'type' => 'administrative'
                    'admin_level' => 6
                    'rank_search' => 12
                    'rank_address' => 12
                    'place_id' => 9273468
                    'parent_place_id' => 9617173
                    'housenumber' => -1
                    'country_code' => 'fr'
                    'langaddress' => 'Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France métropolitaine, France'
                    'placename' => 'Aisne'
                    'ref' => '02'
                    'lon' => '3.606899003594057'
                    'lat' => '49.453285449999996'
                    'importance' => 0.6354824779459
                    'addressimportance' => '6.829526263568878'
                    'extra_place' => 
                    'addresstype' => 'county'
Recheck words:  1 => 'Ain'
Pre-filter results:  9273468 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                                'osm_id' => 7411
                                'class' => 'boundary'
                                'type' => 'administrative'
                                'admin_level' => 6
                                'rank_search' => 12
                                'rank_address' => 12
                                'place_id' => 9273468
                                'parent_place_id' => 9617173
                                'housenumber' => -1
                                'country_code' => 'fr'
                                'langaddress' => 'Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France métropolitaine, France'
                                'placename' => 'Aisne'
                                'ref' => '02'
                                'lon' => '3.606899003594057'
                                'lat' => '49.453285449999996'
                                'importance' => 0.7354824779459
                                'addressimportance' => '6.829526263568878'
                                'extra_place' => 
                                'addresstype' => 'county'
                                'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '48.8372137'
                                                  1 => '50.0693878'
                                                  2 => '2.9579507'
                                                  3 => '4.2557496'
                                'label' => 'County'
                                'name' => 'Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France métropolitaine, France'
                                'foundorder' => -0.68313262635689
                     9285955 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                                'osm_id' => 7387
                                'class' => 'boundary'
                                'type' => 'administrative'
                                'admin_level' => 6
                                'rank_search' => 12
                                'rank_address' => 12
                                'place_id' => 9285955
                                'parent_place_id' => 9580804
                                'housenumber' => -1
                                'country_code' => 'fr'
                                'langaddress' => 'Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France métropolitaine, France'
                                'placename' => 'Ain'
                                'ref' => '01'
                                'lon' => '5.28478031423462'
                                'lat' => '46.06551335'
                                'importance' => 0.72891985305069
                                'addressimportance' => '6.839572048786384'
                                'extra_place' => 
                                'addresstype' => 'county'
                                'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '45.6107563'
                                                  1 => '46.5199006'
                                                  2 => '4.7281684'
                                                  3 => '6.1700273'
                                'label' => 'County'
                                'name' => 'Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France métropolitaine, France'
                                'foundorder' => -0.68413720487864
                     9390177 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                                'osm_id' => 344299
                                'class' => 'boundary'
                                'type' => 'administrative'
                                'admin_level' => 8
                                'rank_search' => 16
                                'rank_address' => 16
                                'place_id' => 9390177
                                'parent_place_id' => 9452539
                                'housenumber' => -1
                                'country_code' => 'es'
                                'langaddress' => 'Aín, la Plana Baixa, Castelló / Castellón, Comunitat Valenciana, España'
                                'placename' => 'Aín'
                                'ref' => 'Ahín'
                                'lon' => '-0.3409807'
                                'lat' => '39.9007811'
                                'importance' => 0.45520772335271
                                'addressimportance' => '7.769498378370569'
                                'extra_place' => 'village'
                                'addresstype' => 'city'
                                'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '39.874314'
                                                  1 => '39.9115727'
                                                  2 => '-0.3816899'
                                                  3 => '-0.3198348'
                                'label' => 'City'
                                'name' => 'Aín, la Plana Baixa, Castelló / Castellón, Comunitat Valenciana, España'
                                'foundorder' => -0.77708983783706
                     228958 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                               'osm_id' => 151766111
                               'class' => 'place'
                               'type' => 'hamlet'
                               'admin_level' => 15
                               'rank_search' => 20
                               'rank_address' => 20
                               'place_id' => 228958
                               'parent_place_id' => 9476249
                               'housenumber' => -1
                               'country_code' => 'us'
                               'langaddress' => 'Ain, Grant County, Arkansas, United States'
                               'placename' => 'Ain'
                               'ref' => 'Ain'
                               'lon' => '-92.3376518'
                               'lat' => '34.208431'
                               'importance' => 0.36001
                               'addressimportance' => '7.046922613107118'
                               'extra_place' => 
                               'addresstype' => 'hamlet'
                               'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '34.188431'
                                                 1 => '34.228431'
                                                 2 => '-92.3576518'
                                                 3 => '-92.3176518'
                               'label' => 'Hamlet'
                               'name' => 'Ain, Grant County, Arkansas, United States'
                               'foundorder' => -0.70379226131071
                     1106143 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                                'osm_id' => 1226192397
                                'class' => 'place'
                                'type' => 'village'
                                'admin_level' => 15
                                'rank_search' => 19
                                'rank_address' => 16
                                'place_id' => 1106143
                                'parent_place_id' => 9849517
                                'housenumber' => -1
                                'country_code' => 'ye'
                                'langaddress' => 'الحجب, مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                                'placename' => 'الحجب'
                                'ref' => 'Al Ḩajab'
                                'lon' => '45.5295672'
                                'lat' => '14.8508919'
                                'importance' => 0.27501
                                'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                                'extra_place' => 
                                'addresstype' => 'village'
                                'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '14.8308919'
                                                  1 => '14.8708919'
                                                  2 => '45.5095672'
                                                  3 => '45.5495672'
                                'label' => 'Village'
                                'name' => 'الحجب, مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                                'foundorder' => -1.5656328115937
                     9849517 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                                'osm_id' => 9865291
                                'class' => 'boundary'
                                'type' => 'administrative'
                                'admin_level' => 6
                                'rank_search' => 12
                                'rank_address' => 12
                                'place_id' => 9849517
                                'parent_place_id' => 9397580
                                'housenumber' => -1
                                'country_code' => 'ye'
                                'langaddress' => 'مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                                'placename' => 'مديرية عين'
                                'ref' => 'Ain'
                                'lon' => '45.600437'
                                'lat' => '14.928287'
                                'importance' => 0.26771915055605
                                'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                                'extra_place' => 'district'
                                'addresstype' => 'county'
                                'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '14.71069'
                                                  1 => '15.1899205'
                                                  2 => '45.4745663'
                                                  3 => '45.7263082'
                                'label' => 'County'
                                'name' => 'مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                                'foundorder' => -0.56660281159374
Post-filter results:  0 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                           'osm_id' => 7411
                           'class' => 'boundary'
                           'type' => 'administrative'
                           'admin_level' => 6
                           'rank_search' => 12
                           'rank_address' => 12
                           'place_id' => 9273468
                           'parent_place_id' => 9617173
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'fr'
                           'langaddress' => 'Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France métropolitaine, France'
                           'placename' => 'Aisne'
                           'ref' => '02'
                           'lon' => '3.606899003594057'
                           'lat' => '49.453285449999996'
                           'importance' => 0.7354824779459
                           'addressimportance' => '6.829526263568878'
                           'extra_place' => 
                           'addresstype' => 'county'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '48.8372137'
                                             1 => '50.0693878'
                                             2 => '2.9579507'
                                             3 => '4.2557496'
                           'label' => 'County'
                           'name' => 'Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France métropolitaine, France'
                           'foundorder' => -0.68313262635689
                      1 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                           'osm_id' => 7387
                           'class' => 'boundary'
                           'type' => 'administrative'
                           'admin_level' => 6
                           'rank_search' => 12
                           'rank_address' => 12
                           'place_id' => 9285955
                           'parent_place_id' => 9580804
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'fr'
                           'langaddress' => 'Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France métropolitaine, France'
                           'placename' => 'Ain'
                           'ref' => '01'
                           'lon' => '5.28478031423462'
                           'lat' => '46.06551335'
                           'importance' => 0.72891985305069
                           'addressimportance' => '6.839572048786384'
                           'extra_place' => 
                           'addresstype' => 'county'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '45.6107563'
                                             1 => '46.5199006'
                                             2 => '4.7281684'
                                             3 => '6.1700273'
                           'label' => 'County'
                           'name' => 'Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France métropolitaine, France'
                           'foundorder' => -0.68413720487864
                      2 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                           'osm_id' => 344299
                           'class' => 'boundary'
                           'type' => 'administrative'
                           'admin_level' => 8
                           'rank_search' => 16
                           'rank_address' => 16
                           'place_id' => 9390177
                           'parent_place_id' => 9452539
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'es'
                           'langaddress' => 'Aín, la Plana Baixa, Castelló / Castellón, Comunitat Valenciana, España'
                           'placename' => 'Aín'
                           'ref' => 'Ahín'
                           'lon' => '-0.3409807'
                           'lat' => '39.9007811'
                           'importance' => 0.45520772335271
                           'addressimportance' => '7.769498378370569'
                           'extra_place' => 'village'
                           'addresstype' => 'city'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '39.874314'
                                             1 => '39.9115727'
                                             2 => '-0.3816899'
                                             3 => '-0.3198348'
                           'label' => 'City'
                           'name' => 'Aín, la Plana Baixa, Castelló / Castellón, Comunitat Valenciana, España'
                           'foundorder' => -0.77708983783706
                      3 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                           'osm_id' => 151766111
                           'class' => 'place'
                           'type' => 'hamlet'
                           'admin_level' => 15
                           'rank_search' => 20
                           'rank_address' => 20
                           'place_id' => 228958
                           'parent_place_id' => 9476249
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'us'
                           'langaddress' => 'Ain, Grant County, Arkansas, United States'
                           'placename' => 'Ain'
                           'ref' => 'Ain'
                           'lon' => '-92.3376518'
                           'lat' => '34.208431'
                           'importance' => 0.36001
                           'addressimportance' => '7.046922613107118'
                           'extra_place' => 
                           'addresstype' => 'hamlet'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '34.188431'
                                             1 => '34.228431'
                                             2 => '-92.3576518'
                                             3 => '-92.3176518'
                           'label' => 'Hamlet'
                           'name' => 'Ain, Grant County, Arkansas, United States'
                           'foundorder' => -0.70379226131071
                      4 => 'osm_type' => 'N'
                           'osm_id' => 1226192397
                           'class' => 'place'
                           'type' => 'village'
                           'admin_level' => 15
                           'rank_search' => 19
                           'rank_address' => 16
                           'place_id' => 1106143
                           'parent_place_id' => 9849517
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'ye'
                           'langaddress' => 'الحجب, مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                           'placename' => 'الحجب'
                           'ref' => 'Al Ḩajab'
                           'lon' => '45.5295672'
                           'lat' => '14.8508919'
                           'importance' => 0.27501
                           'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                           'extra_place' => 
                           'addresstype' => 'village'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '14.8308919'
                                             1 => '14.8708919'
                                             2 => '45.5095672'
                                             3 => '45.5495672'
                           'label' => 'Village'
                           'name' => 'الحجب, مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                           'foundorder' => -1.5656328115937
                      5 => 'osm_type' => 'R'
                           'osm_id' => 9865291
                           'class' => 'boundary'
                           'type' => 'administrative'
                           'admin_level' => 6
                           'rank_search' => 12
                           'rank_address' => 12
                           'place_id' => 9849517
                           'parent_place_id' => 9397580
                           'housenumber' => -1
                           'country_code' => 'ye'
                           'langaddress' => 'مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                           'placename' => 'مديرية عين'
                           'ref' => 'Ain'
                           'lon' => '45.600437'
                           'lat' => '14.928287'
                           'importance' => 0.26771915055605
                           'addressimportance' => '5.664228115937421'
                           'extra_place' => 'district'
                           'addresstype' => 'county'
                           'aBoundingBox' => 0 => '14.71069'
                                             1 => '15.1899205'
                                             2 => '45.4745663'
                                             3 => '45.7263082'
                           'label' => 'County'
                           'name' => 'مديرية عين, محافظة شبوة, اليمن'
                           'foundorder' => -0.56660281159374

After pre-filter, Aisne is sorted first for "Ain" search.

[stouch]

I also noticed that "keywords" of Aisne contains "Ain" :

	"keywords": {
		"name": [
			{
				"id": 2395,
				"token": "fr"
			},
			{
				"id": 10748,
				"token": "ena"
			},
			{
				"id": 60755,
				"token": "02"
			},
			{
				"id": 81189,
				"token": "ain"
			},
			{
				"id": 82689,
				"token": "02"
			},
			{
				"id": 220541,
				"token": "aisne"
			},
			{
				"id": 220542,
				"token": "aisne"
			},
			{
				"id": 220543,
				"token": "ain"
			},

Do you know if it can have an impact in sorting ? Why "Ain" keyword is under "Aisne"?

[lonvia]

I'm not surprised that Aisne is in the results because in Greek Aisne is 'Ain' and 'Ain' is 'An'. Fun, isn't it? (the new frontend will not return Aisne for Ain unless you type it in Greek letters but for the frontend you are using Nominatim still returns the result.)

Turns out this is a simple matter of requested output languages. Nominatim does a rematch against the input to adapt the result order. When the result comes back in French 'France Metropolaine' matches against 'ain' in both results, so the slightly more important 'Aisne' wins. When results come back in English (probably the indirect default for you when using the browser), then it is 'France Metropolitan' and the rematch works against Ain/Aisne as intended. This issue is also already fixed with the new frontend.

[stouch]

hmm, atm I don't set any accept-language, but indeed if I set &accept-language=en_GB, it gives me well "Ain" !

This means I need to preset default accept-language even for my french users ? This will probably impact many cities or region results which are translated in english and that will sorted in a different manner.

[lonvia]

Using a different language may make it work for Ain but may break it for other queries. This really can only be fixed on the server side. Quick fix would be to change the code at

Nominatim/lib-php/Geocode.php

Lines 878 to 881 in 2171b38

	$iCountWords++;
	if (preg_match('/(^|,)\s*'.preg_quote($sWord, '/').'\s*(,|$)/', $sAddress)) {
	$iCountWords += 0.1;
	}

to:

                        $iCountWords += 0.1;
                        if (preg_match('/(^|,)\s*'.preg_quote($sWord, '/').'\s*(,|$)/', $sAddress)) {
                            $iCountWords += 1;
                        }

This basically gives a much higher prominence to full-word matches. I haven't really tested that, so there might be other unintended side effects.

[stouch]

I can't test that on my server for now because I only use it in production, but do you think it's something that could be tested in the future ? For now, I gonna use an heuristic condition for "Ain" because it's the only rare case I found that does not match to its exact word place (I never use accept-language and I never had any other problem than with this 3-letter place !).