Question:
What is an index and what is a sort?
Answer:
Here is a table that I will refer to during my answer:
RecNo cName nAge----- ----- ----1 Rick 342 Dan 303 Chris 33
An index is a logical reorganization of the data in a table. The record numbers do not change; the index just allows the table to be viewed in an order other than record number order. If I create an index on the cName field in the table above, here are the results:
RecNo cName nAge----- ----- ----3 Chris 332 Dan 301 Rick 34
Notice that even though Rick appears as the last record, it is still the first record in the table (Recno=1).
A sort is a physical reorganization of the records in a DBF. If I sort the table above by cName, I get the following table:
RecNo cName nAge----- ----- ----1 Chris 332 Dan 303 Rick 34
Notice that the records in the table have been reorganized: record 1 is no longer “Rick.”