Kevin wrote: >On 4/25/06, Jim Self <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Kevin wrote: >> Kevin, I think you greatly underestimate the difficulty of providing a >> general search >> functionality that is easy to use and fast enough to be useful on large and >> complex "live" >> data bases. Then again, it is said that an advantage of youth is in not >> knowing that a >> thing is impossible until after you have done it. ;) >> > >Well, I do chronically underestimate the difficulty of a project. >Just look at what I have bitten off with this darn FDA database >import!
To me, that is much better than overestimating and giving up without a good try. >But my point is that I would not have to write this. It has *already* >been written and is already part of the Fileman Search function. All >I have to do is find a way to replace the interactive UI that >generates the search code (as stored in a SEARCH/SORT TEMPLATE) with >an API for programmers.. That is certainly a much smaller and easier project. >So if you look in a TEMPLATE you will see the logic code that does the >screening of records. We just need an API to generate that code I actually used to be familiar with all of the internals of the search module. If you start on this project, I may be able to help. >Kevin > >> The difficulty is in satisfying all three objectives at the same time (or up >> to seven >> depending on how you count [general, easy, fast, useful, large, complex, >> live]). Brute >> force searches can be painfully slow, so I think that the general philosophy >> is (has been) >> that routine queries should always be based on cross references for ease of >> use, >> efficiency, and speed. Cross references are easy to add and maintain where >> the data is >> updated by the API's. > >I agree that it will be slow. But should every programmer be creating >x-refs on files that they don't manage, just so they can search them? Perhaps not every programmer, but why not every system admin? Or as Gregory suggested, this, or something similar, could actually be triggered or managed through a search interface. When your database is small it doesn't matter, "slow" with current hardware will still be reasonably fast. When the database gets larger, searching on a cross reference can return results in a fraction of a second that would otherwise take hours. --------------------------------------- Jim Self Systems Architect, Lead Developer VMTH Computer Services, UC Davis (http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/us/jaself) (http://vista.vmth.ucdavis.edu/) (http://openforum.worldvista.org/~forum/m.cgi) ------------------------------------------------------- Using Tomcat but need to do more? Need to support web services, security? Get stuff done quickly with pre-integrated technology to make your job easier Download IBM WebSphere Application Server v.1.0.1 based on Apache Geronimo http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=120709&bid=263057&dat=121642 _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
