August 27, 1997

Empress Software Inc. announces the availibility of a new indexing method called TIMESERIES.

In choosing an indexing method, the Empress RDBMS user can now take advantage of both the features of the B-tree index and the TIMESERIES index. Depending on the nature of the application, the user can choose the indexing method that optimizes for speed and effeciency in data searching and retrieval.

The TIMESERIES indexing method is recommended for applications in which...

• Key index values change dramatically over a period of time.
• Index data is always a new value; no index data is repeated.
• Key index values consist of a large range of values and shift the distribution of the index values to one side of the index tree.
• Data types such as TIMESTAMP are used in which values never repeat.

The B-tree indexing method is recommended for applications in which...

• Index values reoccur periodically.
• Distribution of index data is fixed.
• Key index values do not change drastically within a span of time.

In selecting an indexing method, the Empress RDBMS user can find the method that offers the most speed and efficiency. The above chart gives you the basic ideas behind selecting the most beneficial index method for a specific type of application. To obtain more information about the TIMESERIES or the B-tree index, contact sales@empress.com.