Re: [MacPerl] DBM Quality Question (Newbie)

[Peter Hartmann <hartmann@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp>]

At 11:24 Uhr -0400 02.07.1998, Chris Nandor wrote:
>At 11.16 -0400 1998.07.02, Dave Emme wrote:
>>I'm just learning Perl and becoming familiar with MacPerl.  I'm confused
>>about the DBM facility supplied with the MacPerl distribution.  I see
>>references to Berkeley DB and don't even understand if that's what I
>>currently have...
>>
>>More specifically: If I attempt to build a database with 10,000 records
>>with 256-byte ASCII keys, will this database handle it well, or do I need
>>something more robust that the default database?
>
>Berkeley DB is what is under the hood of the DB_File module.  It can surely
>handle a DB that big, or bigger.  There have been some reports that
>creating such a large database can be slow in MacPerl, but I believe key
>access is very fast in such a large database.
>
That's true, but only under the condition that you have enough memory.
I recently tried to create an index for an 8MB flat text file, but I had to
give it up since I cannot give MacPerl 20MB or more for creating/merging
index databases.
10.000 records should not be a problem, though. If it works, it is
extremely fast. See the pod contained in DB_File, where you'll find
everything you need to know. Note the remark at the end, concerning
reopening of a DB file.

BTW: Is there anybody out there who could point me to an alternative
method/algorithm for generating an index file for full text search, other
than using a DB_File. It shouldn't be too memory hungry and index files
should be around the size of the original file. The original file's content
itself cannot easily be converted into a database. I'd like to be able to
access every single word.

Every offer is greatly appreciated.

Peter Hartmann
Visiting Scholar
Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan
e-mail:
hartmann@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp (preferred)
phv00542@askic.kic.ritsumei.ac.jp




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