Re: Search Engine

From: stu <smcgouga_at_nospam.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 10:00:07 -0000
Message-ID: <aqap8e$dcn$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk>

"Art Pollard" <pollarda_at_lextek.com> wrote in message news:3dc7eaf9$0$76281$45beb828_at_newscene.com...
>
> Stu:
>
> I think you have the right idea to a point ....
>
> What you really need is an "inverted file" instead of a traditional
> database.
> An inverted file basically consists of all the records associated with
> each keyword in order and adjacent to each other.
>
> For example, "apple", 3, 5, 8, 26, 97, 127, 456, ....

So an inverted file is just a database table sorted by the search string? Or are you meaning a file eg PC text file? Some people refer to database tables as files (esp. AS/400 ppl)

>......
> A traditional database has far too many inefficiencies in it to make it
> appropriate for
> doing searches such as you are describing.. At least that is the case if
> your database
> gets to be of any significant size.

From this I take it you are suggesting moving to a file file! (not a DB table). This would be quite a large change to any system. Any experiences of actual performance gains or problems encountered?

Cheers
Stu Received on Wed Nov 06 2002 - 04:00:07 CST