HT Enterprises is now taking orders for and shipping a radically new kind
of text search software, designed for 386/486 computers running MicroSoft
Windows 3.1, with a mouse pointing device.

Typical text-search software generates tables of key-words which hash into
tables of linked lists of sector locations for a data file.  This
methodology allows fast search once it is set up for a particular data
file, but setting it up is very time consuming.  Index files (the keyword
tables and linked lists etc.) tend to be not much smaller than the
original data files, which can be a problem with very large files.  

Instant Index, on the other hand, is a two-stage process.  The second state
is a more sophisticated grep-like routine which typically analyzes a small
fraction of the data file handed to it by the first stage, which utilizes
statistical methods and a peculiar mathematical transform to achieve a
very fast correlation between textual content and location.  Instant Index
produces index files which are typically 6 percent of the size of the
original data file.  This system is more malleable than the standard
keyword hashing algorithms;  a number of desirable functions, such as
actual fuzzy searching on very large data sets, are natural fallouts of
the technology.  It is not easy to imagine fuzzy searching on a file too
large for memory using keyword tables and hashing algorithms.

A very recent issue of PC Week mentioned a leading text-search product
taking more than 2.5 hours to index a 27 MB file.  Instant Index indexes a
file that size in less than four minutes.        

One of  the standard test files which we've been working with at HTE is the
King James Bible, about 4.6 MB of text, and Instant Index can index that
in something like 30 seconds on a 33 MH generic 486 with a 17 MS disk. 
Beta testers have indexed and searched files as large as 120 MB and, at
least in theory, the system should work for files up to around 800 MB. 
Instant Index requires enough memory (including RAM and Windows swap
space) to hold one of the index files it creates plus around 400 K bytes
for the program.  

A number of text management products purport to manage large numbers of
text files in various word-processing, spreadsheet, or database formats,
along with graphic files, voice files, and everything imaginable.  Instant
Index, at least in this version, does not claim to do that. Instant Index
is an awsomely fast system for indexing and searching large to gigantic
text files.  It assumes a user has one or more ascii text files with a
.txt extension, and then creates matching .con (control) files for
indexing.  The text files may then be searched for words or combinations
of words in settable proximity,  and text may then be pasted into typical
MS Windows word processing software using the Windows clipboard.  Instant
Index is single-purpose;  it does one thing and does that one thing very
well.  

Individual licenses are $200.  Call for site-license info.

For more information, call (703) 760-9713 or write:

HT Enterprises, 1947 Storm Dr, Falls Church, VA 22043

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