Re: Phone Numbers

v5034 wrote:
>
> What is the best way to store, index and search N. American phone
> numbers for maximum search efficiency? Should they be broken up and
> stored as area code columns and number columns? How should they be
> indexed? I have a standard Oracle database - not EE.
> How should they be searched for efficiency?
>
> Thanks

Depends partially on how you plan on searching and what your return. If you were to do 'directory style' lookups (effectly tree sreaches), then area code separation is recommended as you can prune entire subsets of the tree.

If there is a possibility of going towards EE, keep the area code separate and you would be able to use the partitioning option to do pruning.

Most important is to test/benchmark both variants and try appropriate indexes. Any suggestions from the newsgroup will only be guidelines and may not fit your scenario, your hardware or your coding style.

Also, use good Oracle practises when setting up the code, eg.: minimum data movement, bind variables, proper (composite?) indexes, IOT's is appropriate, no procedures/3GL/loops if a simple select will do, etc. Received on Wed Nov 26 2003 - 10:47:22 CST