The scenario Geoff described is roughly to get the top ten (a handful) of 2000 records comparing a certain numeric value of each. To get that unknown value of each one has to go once through all the records *and then sort* for that ranking. (LiveCode is very fast with a simple numeric sort!) Any other method of ranking while going through the data will generously waste CPU time.
> Curry wrote: > Put yourself in the computer's shoes, and also clarify what you need to > accomplish. You are asking it to sort the entire list of 2000 records, > but (if I understand) you only want a handful of those. > > And it has already gone through all the records once before the sort. If > you asked a human to do that, it would be a risky interaction. There > might be raised voices when they present the neatly arranged file > cabinet with files in a special order, and you deliver the punch line > that you only need to pull a few. If you only need to pull 5 records, > most people don't want to go through all 2000 files - twice. > > So generally, don't use a sort after doing a complete loop on a big text > list, use another method. Do unto your computer as you hope it will do > unto you when they run the world. :) _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list use-livecode@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
