At 01:01 PM 20-12-01 +0000, you wrote:

>What is the best way to do fast search by first name or last name etc?
>
>Interbase or Firebird does not use index if you uppercase(firstName).

True. What I do is create an uppercase proxy search column for each such column that I want a case insensitive search on. It gets populated by a BI trigger and is maintained by a BU trigger. I index these columns, not the ones they are "standing for". This is also a very secure way to guarantee correct output if you happen to need to join on such columns. In case it's of interest, IB Objects has built-in support for lightning-fast searches using proxy search columns...

Another technique is to use Soundexes (for search indexes only - you can't use them for joins).

>This is driving me crazy.

Can't have that, just on Christmas!

cheers,
Helen

All for Open and Open for All
InterBase Developer Initiative · http://www.interbase2000.org
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