Indexing TNSNAMES?

A few days ago I posted a question here (see "Puzzling Results of Using Bequeaqth") that didn't draw any responses, so I posted it to MetaLink. (I generally find this NG provides faster response and better advice than MetaLink). Their response was to point me to a white paper -- CR 212951 --that didn't even approach the subject of my question, but did have a couple of statements I found interesting:

"When a client application initiates a transaction to retrieve data
from a server, the entire Tnsnames.ora file is read."

"Instead of reading the entire file and scanning for the relevant
entry, it is better to implement an indexing method."

First, while I had never been told otherwise, I always assumed tnsnames was read until the relevant entry was found, rather than reading the entire file into a buffer then scanning. Right or wrong?

Second, and much more interesting . . . I've never heard of indexing tnsnames. What is this all about?

BTW, I'm still searching for an answer to my question in "puzzling performance results with bequeath connection" if anyone wants to take a crack at it.

Thanks.

• Ed Stevens -- Ed Stevens (Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of my employer.)