Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!bionet!ryals
From: ryals@genbank.bio.net (Julie Ryals)
Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.genbank
Subject: Re: Sorting order in .idx files
Message-ID: <Sep.5.09.00.30.1990.18044@genbank.bio.net>
Date: 5 Sep 90 16:00:32 GMT
References: <1990Aug30.170917.26314@phri.nyu.edu>
Organization: GenBank Online Service
Lines: 16

Roy Smith asks:

>	How are the .idx files on GenBank tapes sorted?  More specifically,
>  if I want to do a keyword binary search through the .idx files, and I use
>  the standard Unix strcmp(3) routine for comparing my key with the keys from
>  the file, will I be guaranteed to get the same sorting order as was used to
>  prepare the files?

The index files on GenBank tape releases are sorted using the standard
Unix sort command.  Therefore I believe that the Unix strcmp command 
should achieve the desired result.

Julie Ryals
Assistant GenBank Manager
(415) 962-7309
ryals@genbank.bio.net