read backwards?

We have a database with appoximately 500,000 rows. One query allows users to bring up a list of names so that they can narrow down to a specific data record. When the list is up, we want them to have the ability to page forward and backward. The forward works fine, however the backward query using a 'where name < first_displayed_name' type of query goes back to the begining of the table and basically reads 1,000s of rows.

Is there a way to read backwards from a certian point and return say the next 25 names before a specific key and not have ORacle start from the begining of the table?

PS. Sorry if I'm unclear on this, it's easy to visualize, tought to explain! Received on Tue Aug 01 1995 - 00:00:00 CEST