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Analysis of directory searching

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  • Thomas C. Lowe
  • David C. Roberts

Abstract

Files are frequently organized into records, and keys are associated with those records. A directory is a list of key‐address pairs, where each pair consists of a key and an address associated with that key. The addresses may be those of records in the file, or of intermediate data, such as inverted lists. A fundamental problem is searching a directory efficiently for known keys, in order to find all addresses associated with those keys. Several problems of finding keys in directories are considered. Methods of searching both ordered and unordered directories are analyzed; directories are classified as they organize unused space: compacted, distributed, or chained. Searching on ranges of key values, rather than exact key matching, is also considered. Finally, design tradeoffs among the classes of directory and searching strategies are developed.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas C. Lowe & David C. Roberts, 1972. "Analysis of directory searching," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 23(3), pages 143-149, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamest:v:23:y:1972:i:3:p:143-149
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.4630230302
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