At 03:23 PM 4/27/2000 -0600, Timothy Hoefner wrote:
>I'm going at it again with our DBA but I can swear that I learned
>somewhere that TurboImage can hash faster with an X item
>rather than an I item.

As long as the key size is less than or equal to 4 bytes, the performance
can essentially be considered equal.  However, when the non-binary key type
size goes beyond 4 bytes its rules involve folding-in the other bytes
whereas the binary calculation simply uses only the right-most 32-bit
value.  From that perspective, the non-binary hash address calculation
for sizes > 4 bytes require more processing steps to derive the
primary hash address.

In terms of entry storage/retrieval, its a case of 'it depends'.  From
a general view point, the non-binary key 'usually' has less collisions
and therefore, possibly less secondaries.  But there are always exceptions.

I would strongly recommend that you go to the Adager web site and get a
copy of Fred White's papers on this subject to better understand how
this process works from a data value perspective. The papers are entitled:

    "The Three Bears of IMAGE"
    "The Use and Abuse of Non-hashing Keys in IMAGE"
    "Integer Keys: The Final Chapter"

These are located at:

      http://www.adager.com/TechnicalPapers.html



/jf
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