--- In IBObjects@yahoogroups.com, Robert martin <rob@c...> wrote:

> I might be off track but I suspect the following would do the trick
>
> SELECT FIRST 1 fullname FROM mnames WHERE fullname>'SMITH,JOHN' ORDER BY
> fname;
>
> SELECT FIRST 1 fullname FROM mnames WHERE fullname<'SMITH,JOHN'

ORDER BY

> fname
> DESC;

Hi Rob, I don't think you are off track. The main reason for us not
using this was that everything was originally designed for IB6 which
(if I recall correctly) did not understand "FIRST". I was hoping for
a method that did not break the backwards compatibility. However, FYI
I tried this and my speed problems go away, so it is certainly one
valid solution.